Pension headache

Alex1976

Hi any help on this one would be good...

My dad sadly passed away at the beginning of this month at the age of 63. He had made all of his national insurance contributions.

He and my mum had remarried last December for a 2nd time; they had been living together for about 4 years after an 8 year break up.

My mum is 69 and receives about £100 a week state pension already.

My dad also had a private pension and named mum beneficiary and she can use this to buy an annuity.

Will mum be able to claim dads full state pension as well as her own or is it only a percentage, or will she now just get an increased widows pension that will replace her existing state pension.

Will the fact they were married for such a short time affect things (they were married 25 years before the divorce).

Please help

Thank you

Alex1976

anyone ???????

jem16

Alex1976 wrote: »

Will mum be able to claim dads full state pension as well as her own or is it only a percentage, or will she now just get an increased widows pension that will replace her existing state pension.

Does your mum already get a full basic pension in her own right? If so she will get no more. Widow's pension doesn't exist anymore.

If your mum did not have a full basic state pension in her own right she will be able to claim via your dad's contributions if this is higher.

datostar

If a married woman's state pension is less than 60% of the full rate, it can be uprated, on application (it's not automatic), to 60%. The husband has to be drawing his own pension for that to apply, so where the wife is older she usually has to wait for the increase until he is 65. I don't know whether that also applies to a widow when the husband had not been drawing his pension anyway. If your mother's pension is £100 a week that sounds pretty much as if she's already getting the full pension.

Alex1976

Mum is drawing a pension as a single person because they only married last December and that is the full amount for a single person. Also dad was not old enough to draw his pension.

I don't know what the full amount is for a married couple but know dad had made all his contributions.

Seems a bit unfair for him to pay NI all his life and mum not benefit at all only because she has done the same.

anmarj

sounds like she has got a full basic pension ie £97.65 (that is the max anyone can get), but she may inherit a % of his addtional pension(s) somebody has asked a similar questions and it has a good couple of links on it

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3138524

the one at the bottom is the most relevant

Alex1976

Thats good that she might inherit some of his additional pension but will she inherit any of his basic state pension which would have been the full amount.

anmarj

Alex1976 wrote: »

Thats good that she might inherit some of his additional pension but will she inherit any of his basic state pension which would have been the full amount.

only if her basic state pension is below the £97.65 and only up to £97.65, if she is already getting the max then she cannot inherit any more of that element