Website of the UK government

Basic State Pension

• Understanding the basic State Pension

Bereavement benefits

Your widowed legal husband, wife or civil partner may also be able to claim the following bereavement benefits:

• a one-off Bereavement Payment
• Bereavement Allowance for one year
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance (if they have a dependent child or children)

All these benefits will depend on the amount of National Insurance contributions you’ve paid, or are treated as having paid.

If they’re still of working age, they may also be able to claim tax credits.

• Bereavement Payment

• Bereavement Allowance

• Widowed Parent's Allowance (money, tax and benefits section)

Additional State Pension

You may have contributed towards an additional State Pension - also known as the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and State Second Pension.
If you die, your spouse or civil partner may be able to inherit some of this additional State Pension.

If they are eligible to inherit some of this additional State Pension, the amount they can inherit will depend on when you were born:

If you are...	% of additional State Pension payable
...a man born on or after 6 October 1945	50%
...a man born on or before 5 October 1937	100%
...a man born between 6 October 1937 and 5 October 1945	60% to 90%*
...a woman born on or after 6 July 1950	50%
...a woman born on or before 5 October 1942	100%
...a woman born between 6 October 1942 and 5 October 5 July 1950	60% to 90%*

*the percentage depends on your exact date of birth

• Understanding the additional State Pension

Putting off claiming your State Pension

When you reach State Pension age, you may choose to put off claiming your State Pension. State Pension age is currently 65 for men and 60 for women born on or before 5 April 1950. For women born on or after 6 April 1950 it will increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. State Pension age will increase for both men and women from age 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046.

If you put off claiming your State Pension in this way, you can choose to get either:

If you die before starting to claim the State Pension you have put off claiming

Your extra State Pension may be added to your spouse's or civil partner's State Pension. If you get an additional State Pension, they can still inherit some of this – usually around half.

Under the current rules, which will change in 2010, men and women are treated differently:

If you die after starting to claim a State Pension you had put off claiming

Your widow's, widower's or civil partner's own State Pension payments will be increased. For any basic State Pension you put off claiming, your widow, widower or civil partner will be entitled to the same amount as you would have received. They'll also be entitled to some of your additional State Pension (usually half), if you were receiving any.

If you chose a lump-sum payment instead of extra State Pension, any amount you still have left forms part of your estate. The State Pension payments of your widow, widower or civil partner won't be increased.

State Pension rights if you have no spouse or civil partner

If you have no husband, wife or civil partner when you die, the State Pension you put off claiming becomes part of your estate. Your next of kin can claim an amount equal to the first three months of extra State Pension payments.

• State Pension deferral - taking up your State Pension later

Getting advice

For information and help on pensions, you can contact The Pension Service. In a financial crisis you can call its emergency helpline on 020 8902 8769 (8.00 am to 10.00 pm Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 10.00 pm on Saturday, and noon to 8.00 pm on Sunday).

• Contact details for The Pension Service

More useful links

• Find out more about civil partnerships Opens new window

• Sorting out finances after a death (government, citizens and rights section)