A Martin Lewis fan has shared her success of bagging £22,000 by following the financial buff's Money Saving Expert advice.
54-year-old Joanna Greenwood from Bradford found herself highlighted as one of MSE's 'Successes of the Week' after being inspired to act upon advice given to someone who found themselves in a similar predicament prior.
She wrote into the Money Saving Expert team to share her successes after being inspired to do so from another Success of the Week who had successfully managed to claim a Bereavement Support Payment.
Read more: Martin Lewis reveals 'biggest' benefit worth £160 that millions of families are missing out on
The Mirror reports that Joanne stated she was with her partner for 27 years 'living as husband and wife in all but paper', and how she had almost deleted the MSE newsletter that week but thankfully did not. She would then go on to follow the guidance after reading the earlier story and make a claim of her own.
Joanne was in turn told she was eligible for a payment, but was completely shocked after learning of a £22,000 sum being paid into her bank account. Joanne's partner Darren passed away in 2016, leaving behind two boys aged just 11 and 14 at the time.
She said: "It was completely out of the blue, one morning he just didn't wake up. We later discovered there had been underlying health problems that we weren't aware of. It completely pulled the rug out from under all of us."
Joanne shared how she wasn't sure she would be able to keep her home after Darren's passing. She added: "Thankfully, my partner and I were prudent enough to have taken out life insurance which, after his death, helped pay for our mortgage and allowed me to work part-time while also taking care of the boys, but it was still very hard."
Bereavement Support Payments at one time were only available to those who were married or in a civil partnership, however, as of February 9 this year, the rules changed to allow unmarried couples who have children together and live together are eligible for financial help should one pass away.
Martin previous highlighted the change to his readers, noting how claims are also allowed to be backdated to August 2018. In order to qualify, claimants must meet strict eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payment or Widowed Parent’s Allowance on or after 30 August 2018.
Bereavement Support Payment is worth £3,500, and is followed by payments of £350 over the next 18 months. If your partner died on or after April 6, 2017, you may be eligible for this support. Meanwhile, if your partner died before April 6, 2017, you may be able to get Widowed Parent’s Allowance instead.
Widowed Parent's Allowance pays £126.35 a week and you can continue to get this for however long you claim Child Benefit. Households have until February 8, 2024, to submit any backdated claims.
Joanne added: "I would really urge people, if they think they're eligible, to apply; the process was so simple and you might end up with a life-changing amount of money. I really am so grateful to MSE for publicising it and all that you've done."
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