Claiming on husband´s state and private pension advice

lisalou_2

I´m not sure if anyone can offer any guidance on this. I´m posting this on behalf of someone close to me so I´ll give a bit of background info.
This couple have been married for 35 years. The husband worked throughout this period contributing to a private pension plan and obviously paying NI contributions. The wife was a stay at home mother for much of this time and is not entitled to a very high state pension and has a small private pension through an ex-employer. The couple are now living separately. The wife whom is now 60 is receiving a basic state pension of around £200 per month and around £50 per month from the other private pension plan. She receives no money from her husband and is having to work in order to pay rent and meet monthly expenses. Due to other issues with the husband she visited a solicitor provided through the Citizens Advice Bureau for a half hour consultation and was told that she may be able to claim on the husband´s private pension and his state pension. I have tried to find out further information on this but so far have drawn a blank.

The solicitor mentioned that it may be necessary to obtain a divorce before she could claim on his private pension. When talking to the Government department that administrates state pensions, one of the advisors advised her that she may be able to claim on her husband´s pension if they were separated (ie not divorced). Some time later the wife called the Pension Service and enquired again about the possibility of claiming on the husband´s pension and was told that she wouldn´t be able to claim on the husband´s pension until he had reached retirement age. He is currently 57.

I would really like to find out more information on this to give her. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks in advance.

isasmurf

Everyone builds up a basic state pension entitlement in their own right. However, for a normal married couple living together, if the woman's own pension is less than 60% of her husband's entitlement, she can claim on her husband's pension to boost her own pension up to 60% of her husbands, but not before her husband starts claiming himself.

According to Age Concern a woman separated from her husband and does not have a BSP entitlement of £50.50 a week (60% of the maximum) may be able to claim on her husbands pension when he starts claiming state pension. If you are divorced than you may be able to use your ex-husbands pension record to boost your pension up to the full BSP (£84.25 a week).

CIS

As a 'married person' she can receive an increase on her basic state pension to a maximum of 60% of her husbands basic state pension only when he reaches state pension age.

A divorced person can claim on her ex-husbands record and usually gets 100% (I used to calculate pensions for divorcees) , she can also apply for a PSOD order (Pension sharing on divorce) against both the husbands additional pension and occupational pensions to be added on to any entitlement that she gets by claiming against his pension as a divorcee.