How long is a widow's pension paid for?

How long a widow's pension is paid depends on the type: Bereavement Support Payment stops after 18 months, but a survivor's pension from a scheme is often for life.

People use "widow's pension" for several different payments, and each has its own end point. Dates matter after a death, and an FCA-authorised adviser can map out when each survivor payment ends. Anyone widowed can ask for that ring-back, at no cost, with the form on this page.

Is a widow's pension paid for life?

Sometimes, but not always. The State's bereavement payment is short, extra State Pension is added to your own, and a survivor's pension from a workplace scheme depends on that scheme's rules.

• Bereavement Support Payment: time-limited, covered next.
• Extra State Pension from your late husband, wife or civil partner: paid alongside your State Pension, if you qualify.
• A survivor's or dependant's pension from a workplace scheme: often for life, though some schemes end it in certain cases.
• Children's pensions: stop at an age set by the scheme.

GOV.UK says Bereavement Support Payment replaced Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow's Pension), so a payment called that after a recent death is one of these. How to apply for each is in how to claim a widow's pension.

How many months does Bereavement Support Payment last?

Up to 18 monthly payments, following a one-off payment. GOV.UK's maximum is £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350 at the higher rate, which is tied to Child Benefit or pregnancy, or £2,500 plus 18 of £100 at the lower rate.

The number you actually receive can be lower. DWP says that "You must claim within 3 months of your partner’s death to get the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments", and a later claim means only some of the monthly payments. Eligibility also requires that you were below State Pension age at the date of the death, and a payment run that would carry past your State Pension age can be cut short, so you may get fewer. After 21 months you usually cannot get any payments at all.

It is not means-tested, so savings and earnings do not shorten it. Tax on it is covered in is a widow's pension taxable, and the effect on other benefits in is a widow's pension means-tested. Someone who has already reached State Pension age cannot claim it, which is where the next section comes in.

What happens to State Pension a widow inherits?

GOV.UK says an inherited Additional State Pension or protected payment "will be paid with your State Pension", so it arrives as part of that payment rather than as a separate benefit. What you can inherit depends on the rules in force when you and your spouse reached State Pension age.

On the new State Pension, a widowed person might inherit an extra payment, for instance half of a protected payment where the marriage or partnership started before 6 April 2016, provided your partner's State Pension age and death both fell on or after that date. On the older basic State Pension, anyone at pension age before that date may inherit part of a spouse's pension, and DWP says to ask the Pension Service what can be claimed.

The condition to know about is remarriage. For the new State Pension, GOV.UK says "You will not be able to inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age." What happens to a widow's pension if you remarry deals with that in full, and inheriting additional State Pension covers the older extra pension. Which of these applies to your own dates and record is something an adviser can untangle when they ring you after you ask via the enquiry form, at no charge.

How long does a workplace pension pay a survivor?

In many defined benefit schemes the pension for a spouse or partner is paid for the rest of their life, but each scheme sets its own terms, and some have stopped it on remarriage or living with a new partner. The three below show the range.

• Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): on the scheme's member website, the pension for a surviving spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner is a share of the member's, and "will be paid for the rest of their life".
• NHS Pension Scheme: NHS Pensions' survivors guide says that if membership is extended to or beyond 1 April 2008, an adult dependant's pension is "payable for life regardless of whether the recipient remarries, forms a civil partnership or lives with someone else as a spouse or partner". For membership ended before that date it will normally end in those cases, though it may be reinstated if losing it causes severe financial hardship.
• Civil Service nuvos section: once a husband, wife or civil partner is receiving a pension, it "will continue for the rest of their life" and rises each April with the cost of living. In the classic plus section, the portion built on service before 1 October 2002 stops on remarriage or moving in with a partner, and may be restored if that relationship ends.

A pension from a section or period that predates these rules can therefore be different from a newer one in the same scheme. The scheme's own death benefit booklet, or a letter from the administrator, is the document that settles it for your situation; what happens to a workplace pension on death and final salary pensions explain the wider picture. The scheme-specific pages for the LGPS, NHS and Civil Service go further.

Until what age are children's pensions paid?

Usually to 18 or 23, depending on the scheme and whether the child is still in education. MoneyHelper describes a dependant's pension as "a percentage of your promised pension paid as income to your partner or children up to age 23".

The exact cut-off differs. In the NHS scheme, for membership extended to or beyond 1 April 2008, a children's pension may be paid to a dependent child under age 23, or older if a permanent infirmity they had when the member died leaves them unable to earn a living. The Civil Service nuvos guide says pensions are paid to age 18 or, potentially, to age 23 if the child stays in full-time education or vocational training. For when a child can be named to receive other pension money, see can a child be a beneficiary of a pension.

What happens to a private pension or annuity after a death?

A personal pension or annuity rarely works like a widow's pension at all. With a lifetime annuity, MoneyHelper says the income "usually stops and won’t pass to anyone else, unless you chose certain options when you set up the annuity", such as a guarantee period or a joint-life basis where the beneficiary keeps receiving a proportion of the income. Where the pension is a pot, the beneficiary usually chooses between taking it out and converting it to income, so how long it lasts depends on what they do with it. How pension death benefits work sets out the options, and pension annuities explains the product.

If a private pension was set up by someone close to you and you cannot tell what was chosen, ask the provider for the policy terms. Keep the policy terms or scheme letter to hand, since an adviser will want them when the enquiry form leads to a ring-back.

Common questions on how long widow's pensions last

Do I lose a widow's pension if I move abroad?

That depends on which payment it is, and rules differ for State and scheme payments. Widow's pension while living abroad covers it.

Does a widow's pension stop when I reach State Pension age?

DWP says Bereavement Support Payment can be paid in fewer monthly instalments when State Pension age is close to the date of the death. A workplace survivor's pension is not set by your age, but by the scheme.

Can I work and keep it?

Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested, so earnings do not reduce it. See claiming and working.

Is it the same for a widower?

For Bereavement Support Payment, yes: GOV.UK's rules refer to a partner, whether married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting. An unmarried couple also needs a Child Benefit claim or entitlement for a child in the home, or a pregnancy, at the date of the death.

Who can tell me exactly how long mine will be paid?

The payer: DWP for the State payments and the scheme's administrator for a workplace pension. Ask them to confirm it in writing.