Widowers may be able to increase or inherit the state pension of their loved ones depending on the date of their marriage/civil partnership.
After the passing of a loved one, those grieving may be faced with financial challenges they were not prepared for, however, the state pension can still provide some extra support.
Individuals might be able to inherit an extra payment on top of their new state pension if they’re widowed.
However, it should be noted that they can’t inherit anything if they remarry or form a new civil partnership before they reach state pension age.
Britons can inherit additional state pension if they married or had a civil partnership with their deceased partner before April 6, 2016, and one of the following applies:
- Their partner reached state pension age before April 6, 2016
- They died before April 6, 2016, but would have reached state pension age on or after that date
It will be paid with their state pension.
If someone is married or in a civil partnership and they both reached state pension age before April 6, 2016, and one of them dies, the survivor may be entitled to receive a higher basic state pension based on the National Insurance record of their partner.
This is only the case if the surviving partner hasn’t already built up a full basic state pension from their own National Insurance contribution record.
If their spouse or civil partner is under the state pension age when they die, they will lose this right if they remarry or enter into a new civil partnership before they reach state pension age.
Widowers may inherit part of or all of their partner’s extra state pension or lump sum if they died while they were deferring their state pension (before claiming) or they had started claiming it after deferring.
They can also inherit some or all of it if they reached state pension age before April 6, 2016, or they were married or in a civil partnership when they died.
Everyone who builds up a National Insurance record of at least 10 qualifying years is eligible for a state pension of some amount.
People need to have 35 years of contributions to get the full new flat-rate state pension which started in April 2016.
Prior to this, people needed to have 30 years of qualifying National Insurance contributions.
Britons can fill gaps in unpaid and or underpaid National Insurance in previous years by making voluntary top-ups to buy extra years.
They can also build up more years by paying NI while they continue to work.
Everyone has the option of deferring their state pension to get extra cash in their later years.
Britons can check their NI record on the Government website.
If someone gets divorced or dissolves their civil partnership the courts can make a ‘pension sharing order’.
People will get an extra payment on top of their state pension if their ex-partner is ordered to share their additional state pension or protected payment with them.
The state pension will be reduced if they’re ordered to share their additional state pension or protected payment with their partner.
The basic state pension is £156.20 a week or around £8,120 a year.
The new state pension introduced on April 6, 2016, is worth £203.85 a week or £10,600 a year if someone qualifies for the full amount.
People who retire after April 2016 get less than the full new state pension. Even if they paid in full for a whole 35 years or more, if someone contracted out for some years it might still reduce what they get.
