What happens to your State Pension when you die: the payments end, DWP has to be told, and a husband, wife or civil partner may inherit part of it.

Your own State Pension stops with you. A surviving husband, wife or civil partner may be paid extra on top of their own pension, depending on the rules that applied to each of you. The Pension Service is the free route for those questions, and Pension Wise, from MoneyHelper, offers free guidance on a UK-based defined contribution pension.

A death leaves a great deal to sort out. Few people know the pension rules in the first weeks after a loss. Questions about a widow's or widower's own pensions suit an FCA-authorised adviser after a bereavement like this; the form on this page, sent by any relative, sets up that free call.

Does the State Pension stop when you die?

Yes, the payments end on death, which is why the first job after a death is to tell DWP. When a death is reported through the government's Tell Us Once service, DWP is told "to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension". Until that happens a payment may still arrive, and the overpayments section below covers what follows.

The State Pension is built on the person's own National Insurance record. What a partner may receive after the death is a share of certain extra amounts, or an increase to their own pension, set out further down. To see why the answer depends on when the person reached State Pension age, the new State Pension compared with the basic one explains the split.

How to report a death to DWP

Tell Us Once lets you report a death to most government organisations, DWP included, in one go. A registrar explains Tell Us Once when the death is registered and either completes it with you or gives you a reference number to use online or by phone. GOV.UK says you "must use the service within 28 days of getting your unique reference number". You will be asked whether the person was getting any benefits or State Pension, and for the details of whoever is dealing with their estate.

Tell Us Once covers England, Scotland and Wales. It cannot be used if the person was living in Northern Ireland, or living abroad permanently, when they died.

Without a reference number, you contact the DWP Bereavement Service, which cancels the person's benefits and entitlements, "including their State Pension". The number is 0800 151 2012, open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. If the person was living abroad, contact the International Pension Centre instead. The page on telling DWP about a death goes through the steps.

Private pensions are separate. Tell Us Once reaches some public sector schemes, but personal and workplace pensions are for you to contact, and the sooner you do, the less likely you are to face a repayment. Pension death benefits covers what those schemes may pay.

The last payment and money paid after death

Two questions arise at this point: which day the final payment runs to, and what happens when a payment lands after the death. Both turn on timing. DWP's staff guide says an overpayment "can occur if notification of a person's death did not arrive in time to stop a payment going into their account", and that such payments can be recovered. How the final instalment is worked out is something the Bereavement Service explains when you call, and when the household's income is clearer, a bereaved partner's own pensions merit some time with an FCA-authorised adviser once DWP has written; the form on this page sorts out that conversation, free.

If money has already been paid, the questions of who repays, from which account, and what an executor should say to DWP are set out in what happens when a pension is paid after death.

What a surviving spouse or civil partner may inherit under the basic State Pension rules

The basic State Pension belongs to people whose pension age arrived before 6 April 2016. For them GOV.UK says a survivor "may be able to inherit some of your spouse or civil partner's State Pension when they die", and the Pension Service is the place to check what can be claimed. Three things can be involved:

  • an increase to the survivor's basic State Pension, using the late partner's qualifying years, when the survivor does not already get the full amount;
  • part of the late partner's Additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit, with the amount based on their National Insurance contributions;
  • extra State Pension or a lump sum, if the partner deferred. The survivor can usually claim either, provided they have not remarried or formed a new civil partnership; after a deferral of less than 12 months, only the extra pension is available.

The dates, percentages and limits for the additional part are worked through in inheriting additional State Pension from a spouse. The deferred part is in what happens to a deferred State Pension on death, and the cash option itself in State Pension lump sums.

What a surviving spouse or civil partner may inherit under the new State Pension rules

Anyone whose State Pension age came on or after 6 April 2016 is on the new State Pension, where the inheritance rules are narrower and the warning comes first: "You will not be able to inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age." Otherwise three things are possible, and GOV.UK says the first two are paid with the survivor's own State Pension:

  • part of the late partner's Additional State Pension, where the relationship began before 6 April 2016 and the partner either got to pension age before that date, or died earlier but was due to get there afterwards;
  • half of the partner's protected payment, where the relationship began before 6 April 2016 and the partner both reached State Pension age and died on or after that date (the protected payment has the detail);
  • extra State Pension or a lump sum, where the partner died while deferring or after a deferred claim, their State Pension age came before 6 April 2016, and the couple were still married or in the civil partnership at the death.

GOV.UK adds that the new State Pension is based on the survivor's own National Insurance record, though someone who paid the reduced married women's rate may be able to increase theirs if eligible. Claiming on a spouse's record covers the other side of that question while both people are alive.

If the survivor is under State Pension age: Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment is for a survivor who was under State Pension age when their partner died, provided the partner had paid enough National Insurance (a set amount in a single tax year at any point since 6 April 1975) or died because of an accident at work or a work-related disease; couples who were not married face extra conditions. GOV.UK says it is not means-tested, and it is paid as a one-off payment plus up to 18 monthly payments, with the claim usually needed within three months of the death for the full amount. It replaced Widowed Parent's Allowance, Bereavement Allowance (once called Widow's Pension) and Bereavement Payment; widow's pension in the UK explains the history, and Pension Credit on death covers that benefit.

What the family does, step by step

A typical order runs like this. Register the death, then use Tell Us Once if the registrar offers it, or ring the Bereavement Service if not. Tell the people who deal with any private or workplace pensions directly. Keep any letter from DWP about money paid after the death. Then, once the shock has eased, ask the Pension Service whether the survivor has anything to inherit, because GOV.UK points survivors to the Pension Service to check what they can claim.

GOV.UK's step-by-step guide to what to do after a death also points to bereavement help and support services, for the side of a loss that has nothing to do with forms.

Questions people ask about the State Pension and death

Can my husband or wife keep my State Pension after I die?

They cannot carry on receiving yours, but they may inherit part of certain extra amounts or get an increase to their own pension, depending on the dates. The Pension Service checks what can be claimed.

Is there a State Pension death grant?

The GOV.UK State Pension guides deal with what a husband, wife or civil partner may inherit, and Bereavement Support Payment, which starts with a one-off payment, is for a partner under State Pension age. For funeral bills, GOV.UK says a Funeral Expenses Payment may help someone who gets certain benefits and is arranging the funeral; in Scotland, Funeral Support Payment has replaced it.

What if the person died before reaching State Pension age?

It depends on the dates. Under the new State Pension rules, a survivor whose marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016 may inherit part of the Additional State Pension of a partner who died before that date but whose pension age would have come on or after it. Half a protected payment passes on only where the partner's pension age fell on or after 6 April 2016 and they died on or after that date too. A survivor who was under State Pension age at the death may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment, and the Pension Service can check the dates that apply to you.

What happens to a State Pension top up when someone dies?

GOV.UK's basic State Pension guide says that if a late husband, wife or civil partner topped up their State Pension (between 12 October 2015 and 5 April 2017), the survivor may be able to inherit some or all of it. The State Pension top up page explains the scheme, and the Pension Service can confirm what passes on.

Who do I tell if the person lived abroad?

Tell Us Once cannot be used for someone living abroad permanently, or in Northern Ireland. For a person who lived abroad, contact the International Pension Centre instead of the Bereavement Service.

Where to go next

Start with the registrar and Tell Us Once, keep every letter, and ask the Pension Service about any inheritance before assuming it does not apply. Background on the pension itself is in the UK State Pension explained. Once the Pension Service has told you what you can claim, the enquiry form here can organise a no-charge call about the rest of your retirement money, taken by an FCA-authorised adviser.

Sources: the Tell Us Once guide and the page on reporting a death without a reference number (both GOV.UK); the GOV.UK inheritance pages for the basic and the new State Pension; GOV.UK's Bereavement Support Payment pages; DWP's staff guide on recovering benefit overpayments; GOV.UK's Funeral Expenses Payment guide; and MoneyHelper's Pension Wise booking page.