Initial contact by customers claiming Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment (PBBP) 065-01010040

The PBBP is a tax free lump sum payable to the surviving partner of a deceased member of the Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS) who died on or after 1 January 2008 and had not previously been paid Age Pension or Pension Bonus Payment before they passed away.

No payment is made to the estate of a single person who died before claiming Age Pension and the Pension Bonus.

As part of the Government's Secure and Sustainable Pension Reforms, the Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS) was closed to new entrants who do not qualify for Age Pension before 20 September 2009.

The PBS is closed to new registrations from 1 July 2014. Applications to register in the PBS that were lodged or deemed to be lodged before 1 July 2014 can be processed per existing procedures.

All existing members may remain in the scheme and claim their Pension Bonus in due course, in line with existing arrangements. The closure of the Scheme does not prevent the surviving partner of a PBS member from claiming a PBBP.

The PBBP is based on 100% of the deceased person's entitlement to the Pension Bonus immediately prior to their death. The bonus calculation excludes the deceased person's and/or their partner's PBBP employment income and any compensation payments.

There are specific requirements for PBBP. The deceased person must:

• have died on or after 1 January 2008 and their death must be verified
• have been partnered at the time of death
• have been an Australian resident for the purposes of social security law at the time of death (not necessarily in Australia at the time of death - as long as their absence was temporary)
• have been registered for the PBS
• have accumulated at least 1 full year bonus period and met the work test while accruing the bonus period
• have met the residential requirements for PBBP for example must have been able to qualify for Age Pension without the use of an international agreement to satisfy residence criteria
• have not previously received a pension bonus
• since being qualified for Age Pension, have not received an income support payment, apart from Carer Payment or have not received a Department of Veterans' Affairs income support payment since reaching service pension age

In addition, the customer must:

• be an Australian resident for the purposes of social security law at the time of claim
• be physically in Australia at the time of claim
• provide identity documentation
• have been partnered to the PBS member at the time the PBS member died

The following additional documents must be provided when a claim for the Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment (PBBP) is lodged. The customer will need to provide:

• Verification of partner's death.
• Their partner's evidentiary certificates or work records. If the customer does not have evidentiary certificates or for any periods the evidentiary certificates do not cover, a record of all work performed must be provided to show they had met the work test.