Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the £60,000 life assurance payment for NHS and social care covid-19 victims is disregarded for means-tested benefits.

The Government launched the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance scheme on 20 May 2020. The £60,000 payment it provides is tax-free and aims to provide a substantial level of financial security to the families of health and social care workers who die from coronavirus. Benefits from the scheme are payable in addition to additional survivor benefits individuals may have purchased, such as those provided by the NHS Pension Scheme.

A key principle is that Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits should only go to people who do not have assets available to meet their basic needs. This is to ensure that we can maintain our focus on getting money to families who most need it.

As the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance scheme is non-contributory and taxpayer funded, payments are factored into means-testing to ensure fairness and affordability for the public purse.