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Basic State Pension

• Qualifying for a basic State Pension

Bereavement benefits

Your widowed 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 NICs 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.

To see how much additional State Pension can be inherited, see 'SERPS and the State Second Pension'. To find out more about additional State Pension, see ‘Additional State Pension’.

• SERPS and the State Second Pension

• 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.

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

• extra State Pension when you start to claim it (around 10.4 per cent extra for every year you put off claiming it) or
• a lump-sum payment (based on the amount you put off claiming, plus interest at two per cent above the Bank of England base rate)

Changes to State Pension age

The State Pension age is increasing. To find out more see ‘Calculating your State Pension age’.

• Calculating your State Pension age

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.

From 6 April 2010, they may inherit extra State Pension or a lump sum payment from you. But only if either of the following applies:

• they're a surviving husband or a surviving civil partner and they reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2023
• they're a surviving wife

They won't inherit if they re-marry or register again as a civil partner before reaching State Pension age.

Before 6 April 2023 only wives could inherit extra State Pension or a lump sum if they were widowed before they reached State Pension age. Husbands and civil partners had to be State Pension age or over when widowed.

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. They will be entitled to the same amount of basic State Pension you would have received. They will 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.

• Contact details for The Pension Service

More useful links

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

• Wills and probate (government, citizens and rights section)

• Getting married or forming a civil partnership (government, citizens and rights section)