State pension uplift for widows and widowers – are you missing out?
Over a quarter of a million pensioners are getting extra state pension because of the NI contributions m…
31st July 2019 10:43
by Tom Bailey from interactive investor
Over a quarter of a million pensioners are getting extra state pension because of the NI contributions made by a husband or wife who never reached pension age.
If your spouse dies before reaching pension age, you may still be entitled to the higher rate of state pension, according to a new Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Royal London’s pension policy director Steve Webb.
It is commonly believed that if someone’s wife or husband dies before the age they can start claiming the state pension, the deceased’s national insurance contributions are not transferable to their spouse.
However, as Webb’s FOI has revealed, over a quarter of a million pensioners are getting extra state pension because of the NI contributions made by a husband or wife who never reached pension age, so long as the surviving spouse has not remarried.
As the FOI response notes: “The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) holds data on 263,000 people receiving state pension whose state pension includes an inherited Serps (State earnings-related pension scheme) amount in respect of a deceased spouse who did not reach state pension age.”
Webb says: “In principle, as long as the surviving spouse does not remarry, they can potentially get a higher state pension in respect of their late spouse’s contributions.”
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However, it appears that while pensioners are able to receive a state pension uplift on the back of NI contributions by a deceased spouse, they are rewarded only if the connection is made clear to the government.
As the FOI states, the uplift applies only “[if] we become aware that they are a widow, widower, or surviving civil partner”. As a consequence, many pensioners with deceased spouses could be missing out on a vital top-up to their state pension.
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As Webb notes: “Although this should be picked up by the DWP, it seems that there is a chance the link might not be made.
“I would encourage anyone in this position to check that they have received an uplift, and to contact the Pension Service if they are unsure.”
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Money Observer, which ceased publication in August 2020.
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