Beware State Pension shock when partner dies

Muscle750

This is why the state pension is for better or worse a complete joke only look at what other countries are paying their retirees. You pay in all your working life and drop a week after you retire and the government rub their hands together.......................Still someones got to foot the Gold plate Civil service pensions

Mojisola

Muscle750 wrote: »

This is why the state pension is for better or worse a complete joke only look at what other countries are paying their retirees. You pay in all your working life and drop a week after you retire and the government rub their hands together.......................Still someones got to foot the Gold plate Civil service pensions

Someone's got to fund the state pension of those who live to 100.

borkid

I never expected to get any of my OH state pension if he dies before me. Why should I?

Muscle750

Mojisola wrote: »

Someone's got to fund the state pension of those who live to 100.

And someones got to fund the nice gold plate pensions that the majority of Public sector workers take at 55. with very little or no loss many infact are better financially better off than if they carry on working

Rolandtheroadie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_PELzAwR_I

For richer or poorer.

DairyQueen

I have some sympathy with the OP. There has been little media attention paid to how changes in the SP impact widow/ers and divorcees. For example, under the old system, my mother paid the reduced 'married woman's' NI contribution but her pension will be topped-up to my father's amount if he dies first. He (on the other hand) will receive zero extra because of her reduced contribution.

Fair enough. His full NI contributions then entitled his widow to receive his pension under the old system whilst she chose to pay less at the cost of zero survivor's pension for him.

However, it's still not widely understood that 'widows/widowers' pension no longer exists within the scope of nSP. It's also not widely understood that household income could reduce by 50% on the first death, and there is no question that the marginal cost of a second adult in a household is paltry.

One of the things that I have noted on the pensions board is that that the vast majority of posters are within a couple (including me). Retired couples will have much greater income, relative to expenses, than singles. Widow/ers will likely inherit 50% of any DB pension but their spouse's SP will die with them. This means that widow/ers could experience an immediate 50% drop in household income on the death of their spouse, and singles will always be (say) 50% worse off income-wise than a couple, but household expenses for a single are very unlikely to be only 50% of those of a couple.

Yes OP, I understand your shock, Widow/ers will indeed face a major problem if household expenses rely on 100% of both pension/s (from whatever source).

I should add that I have no beef with the ditching of the historic SP premise that (in particular) a wife is dependent on her spouse. I do, however, have a problem with the media's focus on 'retired coupledom' at the expense of information relevant to singles/widows/divorcees. Retired couples will be a LOT better off for all kinds off reasons - including all of the advantageous pension arrangements than can be exploited by couples tax-wise.

GunJack

Muscle750 wrote: »

And someones got to fund the nice gold plate pensions that the majority of Public sector workers take at 55. with very little or no loss many infact are better financially better off than if they carry on working

Oh, come on...not this ill-informed rubbish again :cool:

GunJack

DairyQueen wrote: »

Retired couples will be a LOT better off for all kinds off reasons - including all of the advantageous pension arrangements than can be exploited by couples tax-wise.

Like what, exactly?? Not much that can be done with mine, 1xDB (FS), 1xDB (CARE) and State...none of which transfer-able to Mrs.G-J when I pop off, only survivor's pensions from the DBs.... no tax-faffing to be done there (apart from (possibly) an extra £1k personal allowance from her to me - whoop-whoop, £200 a year less tax!! Whooppee!!)

marlot

Muscle750 wrote: »

And someones got to fund the nice gold plate pensions that the majority of Public sector workers take at 55. with very little or no loss many infact are better financially better off than if they carry on working

I seem to recall you didn't seem to mind your wife taking her local government pension!

My civil service pension doesn't pay out until 67.

Muscle750

Well known undisputed that Public sector pensions are on average worth five times more than the Private sector and its us idiots in the Private sector helping to pay for them.