Widow - state pension

Silvertabby

shaven76 said:

xylophone said:

When did you mum and dad reach State Pension Age ?- the rules on inheriting State Pension changed in 2016

As the OP said

they were both born in 1944 

and therefore Mother reached SPA in around 2004 and Father around 2009, the change from the old SP system to the new in 2016 is irrelevant to their circumstances.

I was just wanting to know if there was a simple yard stick as to how a widows husbands state pension could be used to top up her own state pension when she only currently receives around £325 per month 

ive read online things like 50% of dads state pension contributions can be transferred to mums state pension but then this doesn’t seem to be so straight forward 

surely some of my dads pension will be given to my mum ?

My sympathies to you both.

 There is no simple answer, I'm afraid, as there are so many variables - it's likely that your mum will have to contact DWP for a definitive answer.

In the meantime, am I right in thinking that your mum currently gets £80+ per week because she only paid the 'married woman's' stamp?  If so, then that will have already been topped up by your dad's NI contributions.

As for inheriting some of your dad's current pension, it looks like she may get (based on her age) 60% of  his additional State pension (ie, SERPS) only.

As has already been said, if this takes your mum up to less than something like £175 per week then she MAY be entitled to means tested pension credit top up.

Or did your dad have any occupational/private pensions that now pay widow's benefits?

shaven76

Silvertabby said:

shaven76 said:

xylophone said:

When did you mum and dad reach State Pension Age ?- the rules on inheriting State Pension changed in 2016

As the OP said

they were both born in 1944 

and therefore Mother reached SPA in around 2004 and Father around 2009, the change from the old SP system to the new in 2016 is irrelevant to their circumstances.

I was just wanting to know if there was a simple yard stick as to how a widows husbands state pension could be used to top up her own state pension when she only currently receives around £325 per month 

ive read online things like 50% of dads state pension contributions can be transferred to mums state pension but then this doesn’t seem to be so straight forward 

surely some of my dads pension will be given to my mum ?

My sympathies to you both.

 There is no simple answer, I'm afraid, as there are so many variables - it's likely that your mum will have to contact DWP for a definitive answer.

In the meantime, am I right in thinking that your mum currently gets £80+ per week because she only paid the 'married woman's' stamp?  If so, then that will have already been topped up by your dad's NI contributions.

As for inheriting some of your dad's current pension, it looks like she may get (based on her age) 60% of  his additional State pension (ie, SERPS) only.

As has already been said, if this takes your mum up to less than something like £175 per week then she MAY be entitled to means tested pension credit top up.

Or did your dad have any occupational/private pensions that now pay widow's benefits?

Thanks for replying 
I hope that’s correct and mum does get her pension topped up to around the £170 per week rather than her £80 per week 
my dad had a private pension and I spoke to these yesterday , she will be entitled to 50% of monthly payment which is around £400 per month 

Out of these though my mum will still have to pay a private rent of £235 a month along with all the other household bills so really hoping that her pension does get topped up from my dads state pension contributions 
 

youth_leader

I'm glad you are able to help your Mum with the admin side of widowhood, I was terrified about my finances when my husband died.  Your Mum will be eligible for 25% off her council tax now she is living alone in the house.  Have you got POA?

shaven76

youth_leader said:

I'm glad you are able to help your Mum with the admin side of widowhood, I was terrified about my finances when my husband died.  Your Mum will be eligible for 25% off her council tax now she is living alone in the house.  Have you got POA?

Unfortunately no , my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour on Monday and died Thursday the same week 

I’ve spoke to council regards council tax 

just this state pension that’s worrying me and just hope my mum can / is entitled to more than her current £80 per week as my dad worked for 50 years before he finally retired 

changing_ways

shaven76 said:

youth_leader said:

I'm glad you are able to help your Mum with the admin side of widowhood, I was terrified about my finances when my husband died.  Your Mum will be eligible for 25% off her council tax now she is living alone in the house.  Have you got POA?

Unfortunately no , my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour on Monday and died Thursday the same week 

I’ve spoke to council regards council tax 

just this state pension that’s worrying me and just hope my mum can / is entitled to more than her current £80 per week as my dad worked for 50 years before he finally retired 

Honestly, rather than having it prey on both your minds a quick call to the Pension Service  0800 731 0469 will let her know where she stands. They are usually very helpful. If your mother is not up to speaking to them you can do so if she authorises this at the start of the call. She will need things like date of marriage and NI numbers.

With the occupational pension she may not be entitled to pension credit but can get help from local council with rent if income and capital are low enough.

xylophone

I was just wanting to know if there was a simple yard stick as to how a widows husbands state pension could be used to top up her own state pension when she only currently receives around £325 per month 

Did you pick up and read the link in my previous?

1. Widows

   A widow may be entitled to:

• a Category A pension based on her own National Insurance contribution record;or

• a Category A pension based on her own record and by substituting her late husband’s record of qualifying years for either:

  – all the tax years in her working life up to the end of the tax year in which she was widowed; or

  – all the tax years in her working life from the beginning of the one in which she married up to the end of the tax year in which she was widowed; or

• a combination of Category A and Category B pensions based on her own contribution record (Category A) and the Category B pension based on her late husband’s contribution record.

  See page 44 for details of Category B pension entitlement. When a widow claims her State Pension, we will check which option will give her the best basic State Pension.

  See page 30 for details of additional State Pension and page 56 for Graduated Retirement Benefit that she may inherit from her late husband.

Silvertabby

shaven76 said:

Silvertabby said:

shaven76 said:

xylophone said:

When did you mum and dad reach State Pension Age ?- the rules on inheriting State Pension changed in 2016

As the OP said

they were both born in 1944 

and therefore Mother reached SPA in around 2004 and Father around 2009, the change from the old SP system to the new in 2016 is irrelevant to their circumstances.

I was just wanting to know if there was a simple yard stick as to how a widows husbands state pension could be used to top up her own state pension when she only currently receives around £325 per month 

ive read online things like 50% of dads state pension contributions can be transferred to mums state pension but then this doesn’t seem to be so straight forward 

surely some of my dads pension will be given to my mum ?

My sympathies to you both.

 There is no simple answer, I'm afraid, as there are so many variables - it's likely that your mum will have to contact DWP for a definitive answer.

In the meantime, am I right in thinking that your mum currently gets £80+ per week because she only paid the 'married woman's' stamp?  If so, then that will have already been topped up by your dad's NI contributions.

As for inheriting some of your dad's current pension, it looks like she may get (based on her age) 60% of  his additional State pension (ie, SERPS) only.

As has already been said, if this takes your mum up to less than something like £175 per week then she MAY be entitled to means tested pension credit top up.

Or did your dad have any occupational/private pensions that now pay widow's benefits?

Thanks for replying 
I hope that’s correct and mum does get her pension topped up to around the £170 per week rather than her £80 per week 
my dad had a private pension and I spoke to these yesterday , she will be entitled to 50% of monthly payment which is around £400 per month 

Out of these though my mum will still have to pay a private rent of £235 a month along with all the other household bills so really hoping that her pension does get topped up from my dads state pension contributions 
 

She really does need to speak to DWP, as her situation isn't straightforward.

Her widow's pension from your dad's private scheme almost certainly means that she won't be entitled to pension credit.  Also, if your dad's pension was contracted out (of additional State pension) then her 60% of inherited SERPS may not be very much.

xylophone

mum only gets around £320 a month 

This was a rough figure and she is actually receiving £82.45 a week, (£329.80 every four weeks)?

This is a Cat B pension (lower rate, based on your late father's contributions).

Your father was receiving a full basic state pension (Cat A) and possibly some additional state pension (Grad/SERPS/S2P) - if you look at the DWP statement he would have received earlier this year (around March) it will show you the full breakdown.

See the link  which is the DWP Guide for 2008/9 when your father became eligible for SP.

Now that your father has died, your mother needs to contact DWP so that they can calculate her new entitlement taking into account your father's record.