What Happens to Your Pension if You Remarry? (UK Guide)

If you’re widowed or divorced and thinking about remarrying or entering a civil partnership, one question can have a big financial impact: what will happen to your pension? For some people, remarriage makes no difference at all. For others, it can mean losing a survivor’s pension from a late spouse, losing the right to inherit part of a late spouse’s State Pension, or losing the right to claim a share of an ex-spouse’s pension. In some cases, simply living with a new partner can have the same effect.

This guide explains, in plain English, how remarriage and new relationships can affect different types of pension in the UK: your own State Pension, inherited State Pension, bereavement benefits, public sector survivor pensions, private and workplace pensions, pensions after divorce, and what a new spouse might be entitled to from your pension. It ends with a checklist of questions to ask before you remarry.

Pension rules are complex and depend on your specific scheme and dates. This guide gives general information, not financial advice. Before making decisions, check with your pension scheme and speak to a regulated financial adviser.

Your own State Pension

Your own State Pension is based on your own National Insurance record. Getting married or entering a civil partnership doesn’t reduce it. The same is true if you live with a partner without marrying.

The exception is where your State Pension includes amounts inherited from a late spouse or based on a partner’s record. These are covered below.

Inheriting from a late spouse’s State Pension

If your husband, wife or civil partner has died, you may be able to inherit part of their State Pension, depending on when they reached State Pension age and when you married. Under the new State Pension (for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016), inheritance is limited, but it can include:

• part of a late spouse’s Additional State Pension, in some circumstances where you married before 6 April 2016;
• half of a late spouse’s “protected payment”, in some circumstances where you married before 6 April 2016;
• some or all of any extra State Pension or lump sum from a late spouse who was deferring their State Pension, in some circumstances.

People who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, under the old basic State Pension system, may have been able to use a late spouse’s National Insurance record to increase their basic State Pension, and to inherit Additional State Pension.

The remarriage rule

This is the crucial point: according to government guidance, you won’t be able to inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.

If you remarry after you reach State Pension age, you can usually keep inherited amounts.

So if you’re approaching State Pension age and could inherit from a late spouse, the timing of a remarriage matters. Check your position with the Pension Service or use the government’s online State Pension forecast before making a decision.

Living together without marrying

The State Pension inheritance rule refers to remarrying or forming a civil partnership. If you’re unsure how living with a partner might affect any State Pension or benefit you receive, check with the Pension Service.

Bereavement benefits

Bereavement Support Payment

Bereavement Support Payment is a benefit for people whose husband, wife, civil partner or cohabiting partner died, and who were under State Pension age at the time. It’s paid as a lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly payments.

According to guidance from the charity WAY (Widowed and Young), remarrying or forming a new civil partnership doesn’t affect a Bereavement Support Payment you’re already receiving. Payments continue for their full term.

Widowed Parent’s Allowance

Widowed Parent’s Allowance was replaced by Bereavement Support Payment for deaths from April 2017, but some people still receive it. It has different rules, and remarriage or living with a new partner can affect it. If you receive it, check with the Bereavement Service before remarrying or moving in with someone.

Survivor pensions from a late spouse’s workplace scheme

If your late spouse was a member of a workplace pension scheme, you may be receiving a survivor’s pension (sometimes called a widow’s, widower’s or dependant’s pension). Whether it continues if you remarry depends entirely on the scheme’s rules, and often on when your spouse was a member.

Why the rules vary

Historically, many schemes stopped survivor pensions if the survivor remarried, and some also stopped them if the survivor lived with a new partner. Over time, many schemes have changed so that survivor pensions are paid for life. But changes were often made from a particular date, or only for members with service after a certain date, so two widowed people in the same scheme can be treated differently.

Public service schemes: some examples

Rules in public service schemes are complex, and you should always check with your scheme administrator. Government information on survivor benefits describes rules such as these:

• NHS Pension Scheme (1995 section): survivor pensions cease on remarriage or cohabitation where the member’s last day of service was before 1 April 2008; otherwise they’re payable for life.
• Teachers’ Pension Scheme (older arrangements): survivor pensions cease on remarriage or cohabitation, except where the member had service on or after 1 January 2007, in which case they’re payable for life.
• Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 75): from 1 April 2015, survivors became entitled to keep their pension for life if they remarry, cohabit or form a civil partnership after that date.
• Police Pension Scheme 1987 (England and Wales): from 1 April 2015, survivors of officers who died on duty keep their pension for life if they remarry or cohabit. Other survivors under the 1987 scheme may still lose their pension on remarriage or cohabitation. Scotland has made its own changes for survivors of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
• Older sections of other schemes, such as some civil service and firefighters’ arrangements, have historically stopped survivor pensions on remarriage or cohabitation.
• Newer public service schemes introduced from 2015 generally pay survivor pensions for life.

These rules have changed over time and may change again. The only way to be sure is to ask the scheme directly and get the answer in writing.

Private and other workplace schemes

Private sector defined benefit (final salary) schemes each have their own rules. Some older schemes still stop survivor pensions on remarriage, while many pay for life. Check the scheme booklet or ask the administrator.

If you’ve inherited money from a late spouse’s defined contribution pension, for example as an inherited drawdown fund or an annuity, remarrying usually doesn’t affect it. It’s yours.

What “cohabitation” means

Some schemes stop or suspend survivor pensions if you live with a new partner “as if married”. Schemes may have their own definitions, and may ask you to declare changes in your circumstances. If your scheme has a cohabitation rule, check exactly what it means before a partner moves in. Some widowed people choose to live apart together partly for this reason. Our guide to living apart together after 50 covers this option.

Always tell the scheme about changes

If your scheme’s rules say a survivor pension stops on remarriage or cohabitation, you must tell them. If you don’t, you may have to repay any overpayments.

Pensions after divorce

If you’re divorced or divorcing, remarriage can affect your ability to claim a share of your ex-spouse’s pension.

The remarriage trap (England and Wales)

In England and Wales, if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you’ve applied to the court for a financial order, you generally lose the right to apply for most financial orders against your former spouse, including pension sharing orders. This is sometimes called the “remarriage trap”.

The key is that an application must be made before remarriage. It’s common for a financial application to be included at the start of divorce proceedings, but if yours wasn’t, speak to a family law solicitor before remarrying.

Spousal maintenance

In England and Wales, court-ordered spousal maintenance usually ends automatically if the person receiving it remarries. Living with a new partner doesn’t end it automatically, but it can be grounds for the paying spouse to ask the court to vary it. Our guide to dating before your divorce is final covers this.

Pension sharing orders already made

If you already have a pension sharing order, and the pension share has been transferred to you, it’s yours. Remarrying doesn’t affect it.

Scotland

Scottish divorce law is different, including how pensions are valued and shared. Speak to a Scottish family law solicitor.

What your new spouse may be entitled to from your pension

Remarriage doesn’t just affect pensions you receive. It can also change who benefits from your pension when you die.

Defined benefit (final salary) pensions

Many defined benefit schemes pay a survivor’s pension to a spouse or civil partner. Some also pay to an unmarried partner, if certain conditions are met, such as living together for a minimum period and being financially interdependent. Check your scheme’s rules.

Some schemes have rules about marriages that take place after you retire, or after you start receiving your pension. For example, a scheme may pay a reduced survivor’s pension, or none at all, to a spouse you married after retirement. If providing for a new spouse matters to you, check this before you marry.

Defined contribution pensions

With defined contribution pensions, such as personal pensions and most modern workplace pensions, you can usually nominate who you’d like to receive any remaining fund when you die, using an “expression of wish” or nomination form. The scheme usually has discretion, but will normally follow your wishes. After remarriage, review this form. You might want to split benefits between your new spouse and your children.

Your will

Pensions often pass outside your will, but your will is still important. In England and Wales, marriage revokes an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. Our guide to protecting your children’s inheritance in a new relationship explains how to plan for a new spouse and children.

Inheritance Tax

Pension funds have historically been outside your estate for Inheritance Tax. The government has announced that most unused pension funds and death benefits will be brought into the scope of Inheritance Tax from April 2027. Assets passing to a spouse or civil partner are generally exempt from Inheritance Tax. Check the current rules with a financial adviser, as this is a significant change.

Means-tested benefits

If you receive means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, marrying or living with a partner usually means your entitlement is assessed on your combined income and savings. This can reduce or end payments, even if you keep finances separate. Check with Citizens Advice or Age UK before remarrying or moving in together.

Situations where remarriage is most likely to matter

Your situation	What could be affected	What to check
Widowed, under State Pension age	Right to inherit from late spouse’s State Pension	Your State Pension forecast and inheritance position
Receiving a survivor pension from a public service scheme	May stop on remarriage or cohabitation, depending on scheme and dates	Your scheme’s rules, in writing
Receiving a survivor pension from a private defined benefit scheme	May stop on remarriage, depending on scheme	Scheme booklet or administrator
Divorcing, with no financial application yet	Right to claim a share of ex-spouse’s pension	Speak to a family law solicitor before remarrying
Receiving spousal maintenance	Usually ends on remarriage	Your court order
Receiving Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits	Assessed on joint income and savings	Citizens Advice or Age UK
Retired, planning to marry	Whether your scheme will pay a survivor’s pension to a post-retirement spouse	Your scheme rules

Questions to ask before you remarry

1. Am I receiving a survivor’s pension? What do the scheme rules say about remarriage and cohabitation?
2. Am I under State Pension age, and could I inherit from a late spouse’s State Pension?
3. If I’m divorced, did I apply for a financial order before remarrying?
4. Am I receiving spousal maintenance that would end?
5. Am I receiving means-tested benefits that would change?
6. Will my scheme pay a survivor’s pension to my new spouse, including if we marry after I retire?
7. Have I updated my pension nominations and my will?
8. Would living together without marrying, or living apart together, better protect my position?
9. How would Inheritance Tax apply to my pensions and estate?
10. Have I spoken to a regulated financial adviser and, if needed, a solicitor?

Should money stop you remarrying?

For some people, the financial consequences of remarriage are significant, particularly losing a survivor’s pension from a late spouse. Some widowed people decide to live together without marrying, or to live apart together, partly for this reason. Others decide that the financial cost is worth it.

There’s no right answer. What matters is that you know the facts before you decide, and that you and your partner talk openly about them. Our guide to marriage vs living together vs living apart after 50 sets out the wider pros and cons.

The bottom line

Your own State Pension isn’t reduced if you remarry. But remarriage can affect other things: you can’t inherit from a late spouse’s State Pension if you remarry before State Pension age; some older survivor pensions stop on remarriage or cohabitation, while many newer ones pay for life; and in England and Wales, remarrying before applying for a financial order can stop you claiming a share of an ex-spouse’s pension. Remarriage also changes who may benefit from your own pension. Check your scheme’s rules in writing, review your will and nominations, and take advice before you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose my widow’s pension if I remarry?

It depends on the scheme. Some older schemes stop survivor pensions on remarriage, and sometimes on cohabitation. Many newer and reformed schemes pay for life. Ask your scheme in writing.

Does remarrying affect my State Pension?

Your own State Pension isn’t reduced. But if you remarry before State Pension age, you can’t inherit anything from a late spouse’s State Pension.

Does remarrying affect Bereavement Support Payment?

No. Remarrying doesn’t affect a Bereavement Support Payment you’re already receiving.

Can I lose my widow’s pension by living with someone?

In some schemes, yes. Some stop or suspend survivor pensions if you live with a partner as a couple. Check your scheme’s cohabitation rules.

I’m divorced. Can I still claim my ex’s pension if I remarry?

In England and Wales, generally not, unless you applied for a financial order before remarrying. Speak to a solicitor first.

Will my new spouse get my pension when I die?

It depends on your scheme. Many pay survivor pensions to spouses, but some have restrictions for marriages after retirement. Check and update your nominations.

Related guides

• Should you remarry after 50? Marriage vs living together vs living apart
• Protecting your children’s inheritance in a new relationship
• Money in later-life relationships
• Moving in or buying a home together after 50
• Can you date before your divorce is final?

Sources

• GOV.UK and nidirect, inheriting State Pension from a spouse or civil partner (including the remarriage rule).
• GOV.UK, Bereavement Support Payment; WAY (Widowed and Young), Bereavement Support Payment FAQs.
• GOV.UK, main differences in the provision of survivor benefits in public service schemes.
• Ministry of Defence, pensions for life for surviving spouses and civil partners of armed forces personnel (from 1 April 2015).
• UK Parliament (Hansard), Police Widows’ Pensions debate, 15 March 2017.
• Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 28(3).