Although state pension payments technically come to an end when someone dies, there are some circumstances under which you can receive an extra state pension payment after your spouse or civil partner’s death.
Check your state pension:
Call the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175. Contact the Pension Service:
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Losing a spouse is a particularly difficult experience, one that we all hope will never happen. But in the event that it does, it’s important to know what happens to the assets and benefits that your spouse was entitled to during his or her life. One question that may come to mind is whether you can inherit your spouse’s state pension if they die.
The answer is yes, you can inherit your spouse’s state pension if they die, but the amount you receive will depend on various factors and, in some cases, may not be available.
Firstly, if your spouse died before reaching state pension age, unfortunately, you won’t be able to receive any benefits. State pension payments are made to the individual who has reached the necessary age of eligibility, not to their surviving partner.
If your spouse was receiving state pension payments before they passed away, the government’s Bereavement Service will contact you to discuss the amount that you may be entitled to. There are different levels of bereavement benefits available, ranging from a lump sum payment to ongoing payments at a flat rate or a percentage of your spouse’s pension amount.
The amount you receive in bereavement benefits will depend on a variety of factors, including your age, whether you have dependent children, and your income. For example, if you are over 45 at the time of your spouse’s death, you may be eligible for a one-off payment of up to £2,500. If you have dependent children, you may be eligible for ongoing payments at a weekly rate, and the amount you receive will depend on the age of your children and whether you are working or receive other benefits.
It’s important to note that the rules regarding bereavement benefits have changed over the years, and you may need to contact the Bereavement Service to find out exactly what you may be entitled to.
Another factor that could affect whether you can inherit your spouse’s state pension is whether your spouse had deferred their pension payments. If your spouse had deferred their pension payments, the payment amount may change when they pass away. If they had deferred their pension payments for more than ten years, then only basic state pension benefits may be payable to you as their surviving spouse.
In summary, it is possible to inherit some of your spouse’s state pension if they pass away, but the amount you receive will depend on a variety of factors. It’s important to understand the rules and regulations surrounding bereavement benefits and to contact the Bereavement Service to find out exactly what you may be entitled to.
Do you know what will happen to your state pension when your spouse dies?
if someone dies before reaching state pension age their contributions should be refunded to the surviving family and not get stolen by the DWP.
My late husband passed away Dec 2019 he was in receipt of his state pension from 2013/14!..as I said he passed away 2019 when I rang the pension office to inform them I also asked about what I was entitled to Nothing I was told..So ok in my state of mind at the time I just accepted that , until recently when people are telling me yes claim it Megan it is what you are entitled too.. can you advise. Correct procedure..thank you..
Unless they were self-employed – in which case, they HAD no second-state pension – the EMPLOYER would have done the contracting-(opting)-out.
Very enlightening video, There’s this woman I got in touch with during the 2020 lockdown which cost me my job. Rose Gardner helped me manage my assets by introducing my to the best trading platform and strategies, I earned a lot of $$$ working with Gardner at the comfort of my home. I still keep in touch with the amazing lady
My wife sadly died in 2014 at the age of 56. I get approximately £10 per week on top of my £189 State Pension . I’d rather have my wife back.
Hi just a concern that puzzles me is that my wife is not entitled to any state pension at all only got 6 years of national insurance contributions, I myself have 49 years of national insurance contributions, we are told we need 35 years to get full pension, what happens to the 14 years of contributions, can they be passed on to the wife.??
The government will ALWAYS TRY AND SHAFT YOU THE PENSIONER BUT their own pensions are GUARANTEED
i have just discovered this today as i am recieving my state pension next month. my wife sadly passed away 2 years ago and she was in reciept of state pension . i am 10 years younger and only just getting it . she was born in 1946 and i was 1957 . we where married 30 years . am i entitled to a percentage of her pension ?.
My wife has no pension but I have pre 2016 pension…….can she get my pension when I die soon !
I retired with full compliment of years to qualify for full state pension. However, my wife died just before the age of 60, having worked 25 years full-time. However, I do not receive any percentage of her pension. I also looked this week at the Gov pension credit allowances. 70% of pensioners receive pension credits in a variety of ways, but I am apparently not eligible for so much as a penny, despite never claiming any benefits! The moral of this story could be ; stay on the dole, spend, spend, spend, long holidays, new cars etc; don't bother about tomorrow, don't buy your own home, rent it. When you reach pension age you can then claim rent allowance, state pension allowance, car allowance, you name it allowance! That said, I do feel for those who have been unable to work for years, they should receive more than they do! The idle British parasites who refuse to work and are still able to claim are the people who should be deported to Rwanda!! One more point, those in the House of Lords claim £300 per day, most sign in to claim then pop off back home again! They too are parasites!
Interesting to hear your comments and read the many made by others. I am amazed that so many folk are ignorant of how the pension system works, or clearly does not in some cases. The public needs educating in these matters to help avoid some of the myths and legends that spring up. The biggest misnomer seems to be that you pay into the state pension system for your pension. That is incorrect. You pay in to meet the needs of those already claiming and your state pension will be paid by those contributing in the future. Yes, its a complex subject but every individual needs to take the time to understand how it works and to seek professional guidance where necessary. Keep up the good work Justin. JUst what we need.
My State Pension is FROZEN At the Rate I 1st Received it in April 2015 ,Just Because I Chose to Live in Thailand ( My Wife's Country ) which is a Non Reciprocal Country …..I'm FORCED Live on The DISGUSTING Amount of 72.00 Per Week……..
The state pension system is one of the worst in Europe. Richard Tice ( Reform Party) has stated that if he was in power, he would change income tax from £12,571 to £20,000, this would help 6 million people on wages under £20,000 not to pay tax on their wages. Also, if everyone relies on their state pension and have no other pension then they’ll be able to keep all of their pension and not pay any tax.
I,m male don’t go by the Google name! I retired in 2005 my wife born 1947 but she has no state pension . I will soon die so how much will she get ?
Both my parents worked all their lives paying into the state pension scheme and both died at the age of 56. I often wondered where their pension fund ended up, and the pension funds of all those who died near their pension age. The DWP say they can't comment on individual cases, I take that as mind your own bleeding business, its ours get over it.
The UK pension system is completely crooked. They are quoting T&C's that didn't exist when my NI contributions were mandatorily deducted from my earnings. Nobody gave me a contract to sign with any T&C"s, and nobody was aware of any T&C's prior to the internet access making all these conditions readily available to view.
Serps simply disappeared under the new "Basic State Pension". These were credits you earned from additional payments, over and above the basic contributions, related to your higher earnings. So where did they go?? Everybody gets the new "basic State Pension" irrespective of the level of your contributions, hardly fair on those of us who paid in extra contributions.
Frozen pensions for pensioners living overseas in the unlisted countries, where there are no reciprocal pension arrangements. What has that got to do with anything? You've paid in so you should be entitled to the same pay out, regardless of where you live. The state pension is NOT a benefit, it is a contracted scheme directly related to the number of years you contributed. So, what has the place you live in got anything to do with it?
I retired end of March 2016 and a guy who retired 2 weeks later than me now gets £200 a month more than me ,why ? as I paid more I to the system but get less in return.
When my wife died I received a letter from the pension people, this told me because she had not claimed her pension (age 61) that I would receive an enhanced payment when I was eligible to collect mine,(60 at the time).
By the time I could claim at 66 I had just remarried. Guess what! You are no longer allowed to clamp it. So her 40+ years of payments vanish into the government pocket
Dose die
Yea I can as if my husband's does i.get his military pension but after we got divorced I do not get any of his second pension
We should get this and we should be able to will our pension on if we die before pension age, after all we paid into it. Why should those greedy xxxxards keep it all
Justin: Thank you: most informative.
I find it staggering how devious and difficult the traitors in London can make a simple thing like a subsistence pension!!
Only if you or your partner are an mp
Hi I’m I untitled to anything.. my husband died from covid 2nd December 2021 age 69 . We were married for 39 years and I’m only 57
What happened to the Adult Dependency payments, the increase you used to get for your wife if you were married? Sometime after 2010 they went "walkies" and all I can get from the Pension Service is that this allowance is "no longer available". Having paid in several thousand pounds of AVC's on the advice that it was particularly valuable in increasing this payment, I am more than miffed!
Great video thank you. B.
What I disagree with is let’s say you die a week after drawing your pension for the first time and your single what happens to all the money you have paid into your pension! You lose it how can that be fair?
The Government Rob Us Blind from Birth to Death your tax when to earn then tax on your state pension ,and tax when ones dies. iligal mitigates get money for nothing. we live in an unjust country these commie Barsteward are laughing at us
I'm in the same boat as Chris , only 49 years with 8 years opted out , they stopped me £33 a week out of my pension. That now is £45 a week and after the rise in April it will be £50 . I retired in 2015 but I had to finish in 2014 due to blood clots on my lungs. I've always thought this to be wrong .Brian Gascoigne .
So basically NO.
It is not a benifite it is a saving for ur old age they give it in dribs and drabs to kill you slowly
Yup they steal it Robbers
When my brother passed aged 70 my sister in law only got £10 from his state pension. Why when we have private pensions do the government take money off of your state pension. We pay into that all our working lives then they steel it off of us. It makes you wonder why you take out pensions.
My husband is 14 years older than me and I don’t retire until 2024 ( having had my retirement age pushed back to 66). It seems that my state pension will nearly £200 a month more than my husbands state pension… why have they brought in this two tier system? It seem entirely inequitable.