What Happened to my husband's State Pension?

Darkeyes_3

I lost my husband a year ago last May. I received a bereavement allowance for 52 weeks and was informed as I was not of pensionable age (now 60) I was not entitled to my husband's pension. I made an enquired with Money Wise and this is the response I received:

" I forwarded your question on to the Pensions Advisory Service. This is their response:
The benefit you have been receiving is known as bereavement allowance. It is only paid for a period of 52 weeks from the date your husband died. Whether you are entitled to any further benefits will depend on your personal circumstances and the level of your income.
Your state pension won’t be paid until you claim it after reaching your state pension age. This will be when you are 66 years old. As your state pension age is after 6 April 2016 you will be entitled to what is known as the ‘new state pension’. This is normally only based on your own National Insurance record.
Under the old system it was possible to use your late husband’s National Insurance record instead of your own if you did not have a full National Insurance record and using his record gave you a higher pension.
However, to make sure you are no worse off as a result of the changes to how the state pension is worked out, a calculation is done to check your entitlement under the old system as at 5 April 2016 and compare that figure against what your entitlement would have been had the new state scheme criteria been in place. The higher amount becomes your ‘foundation amount’ and the state pension eventually payable to you cannot be lower than this. "

My husband paid into the Pension pot ever since he started working in 1957. Took early retirement when he was 60. passed away at 72. I can't remember at exactly what age he started receiving the State Pension but what happens now to all the payments he made during all his working life? He was under the impression I would be okay I would be entitled to his State Pension. Have we got this wrong? Does the State Pension die with him because I am not of pensionable age?

My husband was my chauffeur; I have no transport now he's gone - I don't drive and can't get a bus pass although people in Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland can. And people in London can travel for free in the London area. Again we thought I would be entitled to free public transport when i reached 60. I have also lost the Winter fuel allowance he received.

Any advice?
Many thanks for reading my rant.

HappyMJ

Darkeyes wrote: »

I lost my husband a year ago last May. I received a bereavement allowance for 52 weeks and was informed as I was not of pensionable age (now 60) I was not entitled to my husband's pension. I made an enquired with Money Wise and this is the response I received:

" I forwarded your question on to the Pensions Advisory Service. This is their response:
The benefit you have been receiving is known as bereavement allowance. It is only paid for a period of 52 weeks from the date your husband died. Whether you are entitled to any further benefits will depend on your personal circumstances and the level of your income.
Your state pension won’t be paid until you claim it after reaching your state pension age. This will be when you are 66 years old. As your state pension age is after 6 April 2016 you will be entitled to what is known as the ‘new state pension’. This is normally only based on your own National Insurance record.
Under the old system it was possible to use your late husband’s National Insurance record instead of your own if you did not have a full National Insurance record and using his record gave you a higher pension.
However, to make sure you are no worse off as a result of the changes to how the state pension is worked out, a calculation is done to check your entitlement under the old system as at 5 April 2016 and compare that figure against what your entitlement would have been had the new state scheme criteria been in place. The higher amount becomes your ‘foundation amount’ and the state pension eventually payable to you cannot be lower than this. "

My husband paid into the Pension pot ever since he started working in 1957. Took early retirement when he was 60. passed away at 72. I can't remember at exactly what age he started receiving the State Pension but what happens now to all the payments he made during all his working life? He was under the impression I would be okay I would be entitled to his State Pension. Have we got this wrong? Does the State Pension die with him because I am not of pensionable age?

My husband was my chauffeur; I have no transport now he's gone - I don't drive and can't get a bus pass although people in Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland can. And people in London can travel for free in the London area. Again we thought I would be entitled to free public transport when i reached 60. I have also lost the Winter fuel allowance he received.

Any advice?
Many thanks for reading my rant.

State pension dies with him.

You're entitled to claim job seekers allowance if you're looking for work and you have less than £16,000 cash/assets excluding the family home.

Bereavement allowance would have given you one year of National Insurance contributions and if you had been claiming Child Benefit if you had children you would quite a few more years.

You can check online to see how many years you have earned which will help you make a choice as to what to do next.

edinburgher

So sorry for your loss, some information here: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/inheriting-or-increasing-state-pension-from-a-spouse-or-civil-partner. It does sound as though you will be unable to claim any of his pension unless there is something obvious that the PAS have missed.

xylophone

See the information concerning state pension above.

Are you receiving a widow's pension from his private pension/occupational pension?

Have you checked to see whether there were any insurance policies which should have paid out on your husband's death?

missbiggles1

NICs aren't a pension pot, they paid the pensions and other benefits to the people who were claiming when he was working, just as his pension (and yours in the future) will come out of the contributions being paid by today's workers.

cte1111

Your own state pension may be topped up by your husband's contributions. If there are years where he paid NI contributions and you did not, then that year will be added to your years towards the state pension. However I think your pension will still start at the same age, 66? So you may well receive more than you would have done based on your own NI contributions alone, but your state pension age will stay the same.

You may be entitled to other benefits until your state pension starts. Try one of the benefits calculators here:
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

jem16

cte1111 wrote: »

Your own state pension may be topped up by your husband's contributions. If there are years where he paid NI contributions and you did not, then that year will be added to your years towards the state pension. However I think your pension will still start at the same age, 66? So you may well receive more than you would have done based on your own NI contributions alone, but your state pension age will stay the same.

I don't think that is correct. From April 2016 you can only use your own NI record and not that of a spouse. The only exception under transitional arrangements is for those who paid the Married Woman's reduced rate.

The OP will be able to claim any SERPS/S2P that her husband had built up and this would be added to any pension she is due in her own right.

To the OP - have you got a forecast of what you will be entitled to using your own contributions?

xylophone

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181235/derived-inherited-entitlement.pdf

See Scenario 2 page 12

"a. Dependant reaches State Pension age in single tier
b. Contributor reaches State Pension age OR dies in the
current system"

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS19_State_Pension_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true may be of interest to the OP.

cte1111

jem16 wrote: »

I don't think that is correct. From April 2016 you can only use your own NI record and not that of a spouse. The only exception under transitional arrangements is for those who paid the Married Woman's reduced rate.

The OP will be able to claim any SERPS/S2P that her husband had built up and this would be added to any pension she is due in her own right.

To the OP - have you got a forecast of what you will be entitled to using your own contributions?

I think this is still correct, in that the OP's base calculation of her entitlement on the old pension scheme will be upgraded to include her late husband's contributions for years that she did not contribute, if any. Either way, the OP cannot receive her pension until her own pension date, despite the fact that her late husband was receiving his own state pension before he died.

I agree that the OP would be well advised to ask for a state pension calculation but in the meantime, to look at what other benefits she might be entitled to.

atush

I am sorry for your loss and situation.

But yoou did make an error in waiting until your bereavement period had passed to ask these important questions, as the 12 months would have given you a period of adjustment to see your true situation and make changes.

Such as moving house to where there is public transport if you dont drive, perhaps looking for part time work, investigate whatever benefits you may be eligible for. At least have gone to CAB and get some help, which I suggest you do immediately

jem16

cte1111 wrote: »

I think this is still correct, in that the OP's base calculation of her entitlement on the old pension scheme will be upgraded to include her late husband's contributions for years that she did not contribute, if any.

Unfortunately it won't as the first rule for anyone reaching state pension age after April 2016 is that only your own contributions count. Many women are going to lose out with this change.

From xylophone's link;


"Derived pension entitlement:
37.Individuals in the scenario above, where the Dependant reaches SPa in single tier but the Contributor reaches SPa or dies in the current system, will not be able to derive entitlement to Category A or B basic pensions (but see also pages 17-20, which discuss women with a current or past reduced-rate election)."

The only exception to this is with regards to the Married Woman's reduced rate as it mentions.

Additional pension can be inherited.