Survivor's Pensions
Changes to survivor benefits for same sex spouses and civil partners
A change to the LGPS regulations on 10 January 2019 altered the way that some civil partner and same sex survivor benefits are calculated so that they are provided with benefits equal to those that would be left to the widow of a male member of the pension scheme.
These changes were backdated to the date the civil partnerships and same sex marriages were introduced - this is 5 December 2005 for civil partnerships and 13 March 2014 for same sex marriages. This means that where a member of the LGPS has died leaving a surviving civil partner or a same sex spouse, the survivor's pension in payment will need to be reviewed and any additional amounts paid, where applicable.
All relevant cases were reviewed and surviving pensioner members were contacted during the 2019 / 20 year to inform them whether they were affected by these changes.
The changes were automatically taken into account in survivor benefits paid to civil partners and same sex spouses.