What happens to a State Pension when a husband or wife dies

When a husband, wife or civil partner dies, the household’s income often changes at exactly the moment nobody has the energy to work out how. One of the first questions is what happens to the State Pension: the one that stops, and the one that continues. The answer is less generous than many people expect under the new State Pension, and more generous than many realise under the old one.

This article sets out the rules as GOV.UK describes them. It cannot say what any individual will receive, and the Pension Service will check each case, but it explains which dates matter and why.

The dates that decide everything

Two sets of rules apply, depending on when each partner reached State Pension age. People who reached it before 6 April 2016 are on the old system: the basic State Pension, often with Additional State Pension. People who reached it on or after that date are on the new State Pension. For many couples the two partners are on different systems, which is one reason the outcomes vary so much. For some of the rules, the date the marriage or civil partnership began also matters.

Under the old system: building on a partner’s record

For someone who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, GOV.UK says it may be possible to increase their basic State Pension using a late partner’s qualifying years, if they do not already receive the full £184.90 a week. For many widows who had a broken work record, or who paid the married women’s reduced rate, this can make a substantial difference.

The survivor may also be able to inherit part of the partner’s Additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit. How much depends on the scheme it came from:

Summary of GOV.UK’s “Inheriting Additional State Pension” guidance. The SERPS percentage falls in steps for partners born later; the full table is on GOV.UK.

GOV.UK also notes that if the partner bought a State Pension top-up between 12 October 2015 and 5 April 2017, some or all of it may be inherited.

Under the new system: a pension of your own

The new State Pension was designed around each person’s own National Insurance record. GOV.UK states that the new State Pension is based on your own record, and there is no rule for inheriting the new State Pension itself. What can pass on is narrower:

• Half of a protected payment. A survivor inherits half of the partner’s protected payment if the marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016 and the partner reached State Pension age, or died, on or after that date.
• Additional State Pension. This can be inherited if the marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016 and the partner reached State Pension age before that date, or died before it but would have reached State Pension age after it.
• Extra State Pension from deferral. Part or all of a partner’s extra State Pension or lump sum can be inherited if they reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and deferred, and the couple were married or in a civil partnership when they died. How deferral builds up is covered in what putting off your State Pension adds.

There is one important condition. GOV.UK says a survivor will not be able to inherit anything if they remarry or form a new civil partnership before reaching State Pension age.

Under the new State Pension, the record that matters most is your own. A partner’s record helps only in the cases the rules set out.

If the survivor is under State Pension age

A survivor below State Pension age cannot yet receive a State Pension, but may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment. GOV.UK states that it is not means-tested, that the partner must have paid a certain amount of National Insurance in any one tax year since 6 April 1975 (or died because of an accident at work or a work-related disease), and that a claim usually needs to be made within 21 months of the death. To receive the full amount, the claim usually needs to be made within 3 months.

The practical steps

• Tell Us Once. Most councils offer the government’s Tell Us Once service when a death is registered, which passes the news to DWP, HMRC and other departments in one go.
• Contact the Pension Service. GOV.UK says most people who qualify for an increase using a partner’s record get it automatically, but anyone widowed in the last 12 months, or unsure, should contact the Pension Service to check.
• Look again at other help. A single person’s Pension Credit threshold (£238.00 a week in 2026/27) may now be relevant, and a person now living alone may get 25% off council tax, as explained in help with council tax that many pensioners don’t ask for.
• Unclaimed Marriage Allowance. GOV.UK says it can still be claimed if a partner has died since 5 April 2022. See the Marriage Allowance many retired couples never claim.

Who this matters for, and what to check

• Widows and widowers who reached State Pension age before April 2016 and receive less than the full basic State Pension.
• Survivors of a partner who had a protected payment, Additional State Pension or deferred pension.
• Anyone considering remarriage or a new civil partnership before State Pension age, given the rule above.
• Couples planning ahead: knowing which system each partner is on, and whether either is below the full rate, makes the survivor’s position easier to understand.

The takeaway

Under the old system, a partner’s record can do a good deal of work for a survivor. Under the new system, the survivor’s own record does almost all of it, with a few inherited extras defined by date. GOV.UK’s partner tool and the Pension Service can confirm an individual position. No outside service is needed, and none should charge for it.