Inheriting State Pension entitlement

Your widow, widower or surviving civil partner may be entitled to some basic State Pension based on your National Insurance (NI) contributions, but only if they have not already built up a full Basic State Pension on their own NI contributions record.

When you die, your partner can apply for your NI record to be used instead of their own, so this will only help them if your record is more complete than theirs. If you die while they are under State Pension age, they will lose this right if they:

• remarry (before they reach state pension age);

• form a new civil partnership (before they reach state pension age).

Further information is available at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/Basicstatepension/DG_10026707

If your spouse or civil partner is over State Pension age when you die, they should contact the Pension Service to check what they can claim. They may be able to increase their basic State Pension by using your qualifying years if they don’t already get the full amount.

If they are under State Pension age when you die, any State Pension based on your qualifying years will be included when they claim their own State Pension. For this to happen they can’t have remarried or formed a new civil partnership by the time they reach State Pension age.

If you are single or divorced

If you’re single, divorced or your civil partnership was dissolved and you die after you’ve reached State Pension age, your estate can claim up to three months of your basic State Pension. They can only do this if you did not claim it.

Extra money from deferring your State Pension

If you decided to defer your State Pension and built up an extra amount, your spouse or civil partner may either claim the extra State Pension or get a lump sum. If you deferred for less than 12 months your spouse or civil partner can only get extra State Pension, not a lump sum. If you deferred for 12 months or more, they can choose to get extra State Pension or a lump sum payment. Provided they haven’t remarried or formed a new civil partnership since your death, they can get this when they reach State Pension age.