Survivor's Pensions

A survivor's pension can only arise from the death of a contributing member.

Married or civil partners - In most cases, it will be paid when a contributing member dies and was married or had registered a civil partnership. The amount paid will depend on the circumstances of the individual member and the date of the marriage or civil partnership.

Cohabiting partners - If you have a cohabiting partner and have not married or registered a civil partnership, a surviving partner may not automatically receive a survivor's pension when you die. The rules on cohabiting partner's pensions vary depending on when you paid into the Scheme.

Eligible Children - There may be a pension payable to your surviving children if they are aged under 23 and in full-time education or have an impairment which, in the opinion of an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner (IRMP), is likely to be permanent and the person was dependent on you at the date of your death because of that physical or mental impairment.

Further information is available on the LGPS national member website. 

At the time of your death we would check your circumstances to determine if any survivor's pension would be payable.

A survivor's pension can only arise from the death of a former contributing member.

Married or civil partners - In most cases, it will be paid when a former contributing member dies and was married or had registered a civil partnership. The amount paid will depend on the date that the former contributing member stopped paying into the Scheme and the date of the marriage or civil partnership.

Cohabiting partners - If you have a cohabiting partner and have not married or registered a civil partnership, a surviving partner may not automatically receive a survivor's pension when you die. The rules on cohabiting partner's pensions vary depending on when you paid into the Scheme.

Ceased paying into the Scheme on or before 31 March 2008 - A cohabiting partner's pension is not payable.

Ceased paying into the Scheme after 1 April 2008 - A cohabiting partner's pension may be payable, depending on your circumstances at the time of your death.

Please note: the rules are different for Pension Credit Members, due to the nature of the benefits allocated after a Pension Sharing Order is granted through the Court system.

Eligible Children - There may be a pension payable to your surviving children if they are aged under 23 and in full-time education or have an impairment which, in the opinion of an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner (IRMP), is likely to be permanent and the person was dependent on you at the date of your death because of that physical or mental impairment.

Further information is available on the LGPS national member website. 

At the time of your death we would check your circumstances to determine if any survivor's pension would be payable.

A survivor's pension can only arise from the death of a former contributing member.

As married or civil partners - In most cases, it will be paid when a former contributing member dies and was married or had registered a civil partnership. The amount paid will depend on the date that the former contributing member stopped paying into the Scheme and the date of the marriage or civil partnership.

As cohabiting partners - If you have a cohabiting partner and have not married or registered a civil partnership, a surviving partner may not automatically receive a survivor's pension when you die. The rules on cohabiting partner's pensions vary depending on when you paid into the Scheme.

Ceased paying into the Scheme on or before 31 March 2008 - A cohabiting partner's pension is not payable.

Ceased paying into the Scheme after 1 April 2008 - A cohabiting partner's pension may be payable, depending on your circumstances at the time of your death.

Eligible Children - There may be a pension payable to your surviving children if they are aged under 23 and in full-time education or have an impairment which, in the opinion of an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner (IRMP), is likely to be permanent and the person was dependent on you at the date of your death because of that physical or mental impairment.

Further information is available on the LGPS national member website. 

At the time of your death we would check your circumstances to determine if any survivor's pension would be payable.

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.