What hope for widows?
State pension rules are complicated if your partner dies before you, says Paul Lewis
The rules around the state pension are complicated. So much so that even the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) gets them wrong. And no rules are quite as complex as those that entitle some widows and widowers to extra pension based on the contributions paid by their late spouse. The DWP has reviewed nearly 300,000 pensions paid to older widows, and found over 21,000 who had been underpaid over many years, giving them an average £12,500 in arrears.
Now, former Pensions Minister Steve Webb has identified a new group of younger “widows” who have not been paid enough pension – including, of course, widowers and people who were in a civil partnership. The people in this group reached state pension age on 6 April 2016 or later, and when they claimed the new state pension they were already widowed. So their late spouse had died before that date or had reached pension age before 6 April 2016.
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These widows can inherit two things. First, at least half – and potentially all – of any additional pension their late spouse was entitled to. This used to be called SERPS, or State Second Pension, and was related to earnings as an employee. The average SERPS paid to a man is around £100 a week. Second, half of any Graduated Retirement Benefit (GRB). It’s just a few pounds a week, based on contributions paid from 1961 to 1975.
Neither SERPS nor GRB is paid as part of the new state pension. But SERPS and GRB earned by a deceased spouse can be added to the new state pension claimed by widows.
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Lane Clark & Peacock, the consultancy where Steve Webb is now a partner, has produced an online tool to help widows see if they have a claim. If you are a woman born 6 April 1953 or later, or a man born 6 April 1951 or later, and were already widowed when you claimed your pension, it is worth checking at go.lcp.com/inheritingstatepension.
If your new state pension does not include extra amounts from your late spouse, call the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469 and hang on until you speak to a human. Alternatively, write to The Pension Service, Post Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 1AF.