A State Pension claim from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not end automatically when a spouse or civil partner dies. The surviving partner must inform the Pension Service so payments stop, and may be entitled to extra payments depending on the deceased's National Insurance contributions and the date they reached State Pension age.
The State Pension provides a regular income for over 13 million older people across Great Britain, including more than 1.1 million living in Scotland. Payments are issued to those who have reached the UK Government's eligible age for retirement and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance Contributions.
State Pension age and payment rates
The State Pension age started a phased rise from 66 to 67 in April and is due to be completed by March 2028. Some 5 million people claiming the New State Pension are now receiving payments of up to £241.30 each week, which amounts to £965.20 per four-week pay period.
The majority of overall claimants (8.2 million) are receiving Basic State Pension payments of up to £184.90 each week, the equivalent of £739.60 per pay period. The type of State Pension a person receives depends on their date of birth - men born before April 6, 1951 and women born before April 6, 1953 are eligible for the Basic State Pension, while those born after these dates will get the New State Pension.
What to do after a bereavement
When a person dies, you must inform the Pension Service so payments stop - you can do this by calling the Pension Service helpline on 0800 731 0469. You may be entitled to extra payments from your deceased spouse's or civil partner's State Pension, but this depends on their National Insurance Contributions and the date they reached State Pension age. If you haven't reached State Pension age yet, you might also be eligible for Bereavement benefits.
Should a spouse or civil partner have reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, then GOV.UK instructs people to contact the Pension Service once someone dies in order to check what they can claim. It may be that they can increase their Basic State Pension by using the deceased's qualifying years if they do not already get the full amount.
Inheritance rules for Basic and New State Pension
Should they have reached State Pension age on or after April 6, 2016, or be under State Pension age when their spouse or civil partner dies, the "Your partner's National Insurance record and your State Pension" tool on the UK Government website can enable a person to check what inheritance they may be entitled to.
For people who are single or divorced, or who have had their civil partnership dissolved, it may be that their estate can claim some of a Basic State Pension. This is if that person dies after reaching State Pension age, and only if the State Pension had not been claimed. In this circumstance, the estate can claim up to three months of the Basic State Pension.
Once someone reaches State Pension age they can defer payments if they choose to carry on working. Doing this will actually increase payments when they eventually decide to claim by around £660 each year. Guidance on GOV.UK states anyone who has topped up their State Pension, the spouse or civil partner may be able to inherit some or all of the top up.
It may be that a person is able to inherit an extra payment on top of their new State Pension if they are widowed. However, an individual cannot inherit anything should they remarry or form a new civil partnership before they reach State Pension age.
Inheriting Additional State Pension and protected payments
If a marriage or civil partnership began before April 6, 2016 and one of the following circumstances applies, then a person may inherit part of their deceased partner's Additional State Pension: the deceased partner reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, or they died before April 6, 2016 but would have reached State Pension age on or after that date.
A person will inherit half of their partner's protected payment if their marriage or civil partnership with them began before April 6, 2016, and their State Pension age is on or after April 6, 2016, and they died on or after April 6, 2016. This payment will be made with the State Pension.
A person may inherit part of all of their partner's extra State Pension or lump sum if they died while they were deferring their State Pension or had started claiming it after deferring, they reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, and they were married or in the civil partnership when they died.
