What Happens to Your State Pension When Your Spouse Dies?

What Happens Immediately After a Spouse Dies

When your spouse or civil partner dies, their State Pension payments will stop. The DWP needs to be notified of the death as soon as possible. You can do this in two ways:

• Tell Us Once service – When you register the death at the local register office, you can use the Tell Us Once service which notifies the DWP, HMRC, and other government departments in a single step
• DWP Bereavement Service – Call 0800 731 0469 (free, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm) to report the death directly

Any State Pension that was owed to your spouse up to the date of death can be claimed by their estate. If payments were made after the date of death, the DWP will recover the overpayment.

Inheriting State Pension: The New State Pension Rules

If your spouse reached State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, they were on the new State Pension. Under these rules, what you can inherit is more limited than under the old system.

Protected Payment Inheritance

If your deceased spouse had a “protected payment” – meaning their State Pension was calculated at more than the standard full rate of £230.25 per week – you may be able to inherit a portion of the excess amount. The protected payment typically arises from Additional State Pension (SERPS/S2P) built up before April 2016 that pushed their starting amount above the full new State Pension rate.

You can inherit 50% of the protected payment, and it will be added to your own State Pension.

Inheriting Additional State Pension

Even under the new system, you may be able to inherit up to 50% of any Additional State Pension (SERPS or S2P) that your spouse built up before 6 April 2016. The exact percentage depends on when your spouse reached State Pension age and the rules in force at that time. For those reaching State Pension age after 6 October 2002, the maximum inheritable percentage is 50%.

What You Cannot Inherit

Under the new State Pension, you cannot inherit any of the basic element of your spouse’s pension (the part based on their NI qualifying years up to the £230.25 per week cap). You can only inherit any excess above the full rate and Additional State Pension amounts.

Inheriting State Pension: The Old State Pension Rules

If your spouse reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, the old rules apply. These are generally more generous for surviving spouses.

Basic State Pension

Under the old system, a surviving spouse could use their deceased partner’s NI record to increase their own basic State Pension up to the full amount (£176.45 per week in 2026/27). This was particularly valuable where the surviving spouse had a limited NI record of their own.

Additional State Pension (SERPS/S2P)

You can inherit up to 50% of your late spouse’s Additional State Pension. The exact percentage depends on the date your spouse reached State Pension age. There is also an overall cap on the combined amount of your own and inherited Additional State Pension.

Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is a separate benefit from inherited State Pension. It is available if your spouse or civil partner died and you are under State Pension age at the time of their death. BSP is not means-tested – your income and savings do not affect eligibility.

You must claim BSP within 21 months of your spouse’s death. Claims made within three months of the death will receive backdated payments to the date of death. Claims made after three months but within 21 months will receive fewer monthly payments.

How Inherited State Pension Is Calculated

The DWP will automatically review your State Pension entitlement when your spouse dies. If you are already receiving State Pension, any inherited amount will be added to your existing payments. If you have not yet reached State Pension age, the inherited amount will be included when you eventually claim.

The calculation depends on several factors:

• Which State Pension system each of you is under (old or new)
• Whether your spouse had a protected payment
• How much Additional State Pension your spouse built up before April 2016
• Whether your spouse had deferred their State Pension
• Your own marital status at the time you claim

Cohabiting Partners: What Are Your Rights?

Unfortunately, cohabiting partners – no matter how long they have lived together – have no right to inherit any part of their partner’s State Pension. State Pension survivor benefits are only available to legally married spouses and civil partners. This is one area where the law has not kept pace with modern living arrangements.

If you are in a long-term cohabiting relationship, you may want to consider getting married or entering a civil partnership to protect your survivor benefits. Alternatively, ensuring both partners have strong private pension provision can help mitigate this gap. See our guides on pension death benefits and dependants vs nominees pensions for more on private pension survivor options.

Steps to Take After Bereavement

1. Register the death and use the Tell Us Once service to notify government departments
2. Contact the DWP on 0800 731 0469 if the Tell Us Once service was not available
3. Claim Bereavement Support Payment if you are under State Pension age – do this within three months for full backdating
4. Check your own State Pension entitlement – The DWP should automatically review your pension, but you can request a new State Pension forecast to check
5. Review private pensions – Check whether your spouse’s workplace or personal pensions offer survivor benefits
6. Check Pension Credit entitlement – As a single person, you may now be eligible for Pension Credit with its lower single-person threshold
7. Get professional advice if the situation is complex, particularly if your spouse was on the old State Pension system or had deferred their pension