I might be the only person who didn’t already know this but I thought I’d mention it in case I’m not.
A few people had asked me if my state pension increased when my husband died and I’d said no it hadn’t, to be honest as I get full state pension in my own right I didn’t see why it would. Then I met up with two friends and one of them asked me the same question and said her friend has received an increase and was a similar age to me.
I was thinking about it a few days later and decided to find out. I phoned the bereavement team at the DWP and they were really helpful. To cut a long story short, within a few weeks I had a letter to confirm I will receive an additional £122 every four weeks plus £500 in arrears. It’s been really helpful as my income was more than halved when John died - it feels like he’s still supporting me even though he’s no longer here. I hope this might help someone.
I only retired at Christmas and like you I was pleasantly surprised to inherit part of my husbands pension. Because he had been in SERPs it increased my pension to almost the same as I had earned while working.
Yes, I think he was still looking after me from his heavenly place.
Debbie
Thank you for posting this information about state pension, i wasnt aware of this. I thought i was only entitled to my full state pension, so havent bothered to enquire,but thanks to you i will now look into it. My husband of 50yrs passed away in April. Thank you x
I got an unsolicited letter from the DWP saying I was not entitled to any extra pension. I had not actually contacted them, presumably they are part of the “Tell Us Once” system. It said they had checked mine and my husband’s records.
I have no idea who gets an increase and who does not. I always paid a full stamp.