Does a state pension pass to spouse??

[Galaxygirl93]

I have recently lost my father this week, he was 61. My mother is 60. She is a house wife, my father worked his whole life.

They have been married for 35 years, can anyone let me know if she can claim his state pension- she will be stuck financially if not.

I don't know what to do.

Sorry for your loss.
Your mum cannot claim any state pension now as she is not state pension age and likely won't be for a few years.
She would be eligible to claim bereavement support payment now. She can apply easily- the number is on the Gov.Uk website and they were recently trialling online application which may still be available. Assuming no dependent children still it would be a £2500 lump sum and then £100 a month for 18 months.
Anything means tested will depend on savings or whether she can access any of your dads private pensions. If she has savings over 16k she cannot claim any Universal Credit. Any private pensions etc would reduce it. If she does claim Universal credit then she would need to hand in sick notes if she is unfit to work. Unfortunately the fact that she has not worked for years does not allow her not to work now unless she is unfit to. A recent bereavement of a spouse should mean no work search commitments for ? 6 months I believe. If she hands in sick notes she would eventually have a work capability assessment. I'm thinking if your dad was working there must be some kind of life insurance pay off or death in service pay off which would keep her going for a while?
She should also apply for single occupancy discount on her council tax and council tax support if her income is low currently but again if savings over 16k she cannot get council tax support but can still have the single occupancy discount.
When she reaches state retirement age then she should get part of your dad's pension and if then her state pension is still below a certain amount she will het pension creidt but this will depend on savings etc also.

Sorry, I've reported my posts to MN to ask them to sort out the links - they looked fine in the previews and are legit links to the .gov website. I'm sorry, you'll have to look up the details again.

She can't claim ESA if she hasn't worked for years. the only ESA available is contributions based ESA.

I don't think she will be entitled to pension yet anyway if she is only 60. She will probably have to claim universal credit and if too unwell to work, submit sick notes.

I was so slow that babyroobs said it all above.

Sorry I should have also said that the £100 a month Bereavement support payments should not affect any Universal credit, they should not be deducted from a Universal credit amount.

@Babyroobs she could be on legacy benefit for all we know at the moment - OP may not be aware either.

She is likely to receive about half of your father's pension

This is nonsense. The state pension doesn't transfer. It's based on National Insurance contributions. You need 35-years'-worth for the full state pension which will become due at the age of 67 in your mother's case.

If your father had a private pension fund (usually as a result of working for an organisation or company that offered a private pension fund or if he was self-employed) then she may be eligible for some of that, but not all.

Sounds as if in the meantime she will either have to look for work or cope on benefits.

They owned their house- we are really Clueless on this sorry, if they own their house can she claim universal credit? Had a look at the Bereavement payment but it's only 18 months and it's quite a while until she's 67

Well, if she owns her own home perhaps she could think of downsizing and living off the capital she frees up?

No. it's what happened with my grandparents. The first week, my gran was in full "what am I going to do" mode.
Once the haze lifted, she was able to sit down with the paperwork and remember everything they had sorted.

And here, we're not talking about people in their 90s. We're talking about people only just 60. a very different generation were society was clearer that women needed to have things in place.

At the moment, her mom may just be unsure about it all but there is a good chance that things were in place. If not, then she can still claim benefits but it's the first week so her mind isnt in the right place to go through all that.

Yes, she can still claim UC, but she won't be entitled to housing benefit. Is the mortgage paid off?

The only support for mortgages now is to help with the interest on the mortgage, but it's a loan not a benefit and has to be repaid when the house is sold, so she'd still have to pay the rest of the payment due each month.

Does she claim any other benefits already?

If she owns the house the obvious thing is to downsize and free up money (assuming it's not a tiny house already).

First of all I would find out what private pensions your dad had in place, whether there's any death in service benefit etc, whether he had a life insurance policy and then go from there. You need to get all the facts before thinking about claiming universal credit/other benefits.

Check the National insurance record - if she’s been married for 35 years and been a SAHM, does she have contributions from before she was married? She might have up to 9 yrs contributions? She can also claim home responsibility years for 12 years when child benefit was claimed (more if she had more than one child). And she can buy top up for a few of the missing years contributions… get advice on whether it’s worth it. She’s got till she’s 67 before her state pension age so she could possibly work for five years or so (she’s obviously not going to feel like working straight away after being bereaved) to get another five years contributions - or look into benefits if she’s not well
enough to work. She might not then be so far off the contributions needed for the full state pension.

If he had any private pension schemes or life assurance there may be a spousal benefit, lump sum and/or income, but state pension will not transfer. Was there any mortgage left on the property? Savings?

No mortgage on the property luckily. This is all so overwhelming.

She can claim Universal credit as long as she does not have savings over 16k. Anything over 6k and under 16k will reduce the amount she gets. bereavement support payment can be paid alongside Uc and should not affect it . If she is unfit for work she needs to declare her health conditions on the Uc application and hand in sick notes.

Does she have savings over 16k? If not then apply for UC today and ask her Gp for a sick notes if she is unfit to work.
make a claim for Bereavement support payment today- you will need the death certificate to claim this but it does only take about 3 weeks to be paid and the lump sum can help people have some breathing space and help towards funeral costs.

Sorry for your loss. As your Dad was below state pension age, your DM will be entitled to a bereavement allowance which isn’t a huge amount, an initial lump sum of £2,500 and then £100 a month but for 18 months. I think it’s meant as a transition payment whilst you adjust. It’s not means tested.

I am afraid that she won’t be entitled to your Dad’s state pension. My DH died with a full NI contribution and I got zilch.

Your Mum may be entitled to a payment from any employer pensions that your Dad had, often these are paid from date of the spouse’s death, NOT normal retirement age. There may be a lump sum and/or a payment for life that is a percentage (e.g. half) of the amount that the spouse had built up by the date they died. You will need to find out the names of any companies that he has ever worked for and approach their pension departments. Hopefully you will find something in his paperwork to help you.

Other than that, your DM will need to apply for state benefits. At retirement age, it’s pension credit.

Thank you all, you have all been very helpful

As your DM is below state pension age you should start by going to

www.gov.uk/browse/working/state-pension

and doing a state pension forecast in her own name. Your DM will get NI credits for years when she had child responsibilities and may actually have more pension entitlement than you realise.

The forecast will also show her the cost of buying additional years in her own right. She may be able to buy up to 6 years if she hasn’t worked over those years.

Once you have that information contact DWP and ask whether she will receive any inherited SERPs from your DF.

www.gov.uk/additional-state-pension/inheriting

Once you have all that information you will be able to assess her position going forward, consider what other benefits she may be able to claim and also consider if she needs to try and find work between now and retirement.

@Galaxygirl93

I am sorry for your loss. I can understand how overwhelming it is for you both.

There is a lot of paperwork, some you need to do quicker than others to get some income for your Mum.

Use the Tell Us Once Service

www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

If your parents had a joint bank account ask the bank to change it to your Mums name.

Help your Mum apply for Bereavement Support Allowance www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment.

Get in touch with the Council to get Council Tax reduced to single person rate (I assume she sadly now lived alone.)

once you have done that, Work out what private pensions, insurance payments etc your Mum will get.

Get in touch with the JobCentre and help your Mum apply for Universal Credit. If she is too disabled/unwell to work she may need to get Fit Notes from her GP. She will need to declare savings etc. It might be worth a visit to CAB first.

As pp have advised get a copy of your Mum’s NI record www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record and current state pension statement. www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

Also get copies of your Dad’s NI record and state pension entitlement

Your Dad will have a protected State Pension Payment for NI contributions prior to 2017. Your Mum may inherit half of this when she reaches state pension age.
www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/inheriting-or-increasing-state-pension-from-a-spouse-or-civil-partner

Sorry the links haven’t worked
www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/how-its-calculated

Don’t know what’s up with the links not posting.

Use the gov.uk website for the relevant details.

sorry for your loss op.
the rules have changed as regards pensions

did he set up a private pension?