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Reporting service for DWP and HMRC claimants if someone dies

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The Tell Us Once service allows people to report a death to the majority of government organisations in a quick and streamlined process

Family Financial Crisis Concept. Depressed Black Couple Looking At Invoice, Not Able To Pay Huge Bills,
One reporting service can make it easier to report the death of a benefit claimant to the DWP and HMRC(Image: Getty Images)

Friends and family of those on benefits who have died can alleviate the stress of sorting out affairs with one particular reporting service.

When someone dies and the death is registered, benefit departments do not automatically stop payments and they must instead be told of the death directly. However, each relevant department does not need to be individually told due to the Tell Us Once service.

This service enables people to report a death to most government organisations all at once. This means that if the deceased was claiming benefits from one or more departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), they can be notified at the same time so that all payments stop.

Woman reviewing financial documents
Tell Us Once helps to avoid any overpayments taking place(Image: Getty Images)

Carer’s benefits and death

This is particularly crucial if you’re receiving a carer’s benefit, such as Carer’s Allowance, that is dependent on a person who has now died, as you could be overpaid. If you are overpaid because of this, you may be required to repay the money.

However, you can still receive payments from Carer’s Allowance for up to eight weeks after the person you were caring for passed away. Similarly, payments will continue up to eight weeks for other carer benefits such as Income Support and Carer Premium.

If you’re currently receiving the carer element of Universal Credit, you could continue to receive your payment at its existing rate before a reassessment takes place and your payments are adjusted through a ‘bereavement run on’. This is typically paid for up to three months prior to a reassessment of the claim.

Eligibility for Tell Us Once

To use the Tell Us Once service, the deceased must have been residing in England, Scotland, or Wales at the time of their passing. The service can also be used if the person passed away whilst temporarily abroad, such as on holiday.

Additionally, the death must have been registered or reported to a coroner while possessing a final or interim death certificate. The Tell Us Once service cannot be used if the person was living in Northern Ireland or was permanently residing abroad when they passed away.

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Certain conditions must be met before using the Tell Us Once service(Image: Getty Images)

How to use the Tell Us Once service

Upon registering someone’s death, a registrar should explain how to use the Tell Us Once service and will either assist you in completing the service or provide you with a unique reference number so you can use the service online or over the phone.

However, the unique reference number is only valid for 28 days, so you must use the service within this period. Alongside this reference number, you will also need the following before using Tell Us Once:

  • surname
  • if there’s no surviving spouse or civil partner or their spouse or civil partner is not able to deal with their affairs, the name and address of their next of kin
  • if there’s a surviving spouse or civil partner, the name, address, telephone number and the National Insurance number or date of birth of the spouse or civil partner
  • date they died
  • if they died in a hospital, nursing home, care home or hospice, the name and address of that institution
  • name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’
  • National Insurance Number (if they were getting money or paying into a relevant pension scheme)

In some cases, you may also need to provide:

  • if they were getting any benefits, tax credits or State Pension, information about which ones they were getting
  • if they had a driving licence, their driving licence number
  • if they were getting money or paying into public sector pension schemes, details of those schemes
  • if they had a Blue Badge, their Blue Badge number if you know it
  • if they owned any vehicles, the vehicle registration numbers
  • if they had a passport, their passport number and town of birth
  • if they were paying Council Tax or getting services from their local council, such as Housing Benefit payments, the name of their local council and which services they were getting
  • if they were getting money from an Armed Forces Pension or Compensation Scheme, details of that scheme

Further details on Tell Us Once, as well as a link to start using the service, can be found on GOV.UK here.

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