The Social Security (Back to Work Bonus) (No.2)Regulations 1996

Payments on death

26.—(1) Where a person satisfies the requirements for entitlement to a bonus other than the need to make a claim, but dies within 12 weeks of the last day of entitlement to a qualifying benefit, the Secretary of State may appoint such person as he may think fit to claim a bonus in place of the deceased person.

(2) Where the conditions specified in paragraph (3) are satisfied, a claim may be made by the person appointed for a back to work bonus to which the deceased person would have been entitled if he had claimed it in accordance with regulation 22 (claiming a bonus).

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the following conditions are specified for the purposes of paragraph (2)—

(a) the application to the Secretary of State to be appointed a fit person to make a claim shall be made within 6 months of the date of death;

(b) the claim shall be made in writing within 6 months of the date the appointment was made.

(4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), the Secretary of State may, in exceptional circumstances, extend the period for making an application or a claim to such longer period as he considers appropriate in the particular case.

(5) Where the period is extended in accordance with paragraph (4), the period specified in paragraph (3)(a) or (b) shall be shortened by a corresponding period.

(6) The Secretary of State shall not extend the period of claim in accordance with paragraph (4) for more than 12 months from the date of death, but in calculating that period any period between the date when an application for a person to be appointed to make a claim is made and the date when the Secretary of State makes the appointment shall be disregarded.

(7) A claim made in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be treated, for the purposes of these Regulations, as if made on the date of the deceased’s death.