Your partner’s National Insurance record and your State Pension: Information based on your answers

Your State Pension will normally be based on your own National Insurance contributions only.

Your State Pension may be worked out in a different way if 1 of the following applied before 1977:

you paid National Insurance contributions at a reduced rate
you chose not to pay Class 2 contributions if you were self-employed

This is also known as the married women’s reduced rate election (also known as the Married Woman’s Stamp).

Your State Pension may be higher if the reduced rate election applies to you.

The reduced rate election must have applied to you at some point within the 35 years before you reached State Pension age (not including the year you reach State Pension age). These must be tax years.

Example

You’ll reach State Pension age on 6 March 2025. This is in the tax year 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025.

You got married in 1975 and chose to pay National Insurance contributions at a reduced rate.

Your State Pension will be worked out differently if your reduced rate election still applied to you in 1989.

What you may get if you have a reduced rate election

You won’t need to have the usual minimum of 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get a State Pension.

You’ll get a pension of about £169.50 a week plus any Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit you built up before 6 April 2016.

£169.50 is the maximum rate of basic State Pension a widowed person who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 can get through their spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance record.

You’ll get this when you’re widowed or when you claim your State Pension, if later.

You’ll get more if your State Pension is higher under your own National Insurance contributions.

If you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age

You’ll get a pension of about £101.55 a week plus any Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit you built up before 6 April 2016.

You’ll get this when either you or your new spouse or civil partner reach State Pension age, whichever is later.

If your new spouse or civil partner reaches State Pension age after you, you’ll get your State Pension based on your own National Insurance contributions until they reach State Pension age.

£101.55 is the maximum rate of basic State Pension a married person or civil partner who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 can get through their spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance record.

If your State Pension is higher under your own National Insurance contributions, you’ll get that instead.

Inheriting State Pension

You may be able to inherit some of your late spouse or civil partner’s State Pension. What you get depends on when they reached or would have reached State Pension age and when your marriage or civil partnership began.

You won’t be able to inherit any of your late spouse or civil partner’s State Pension if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.

Your spouse or civil partner died under State Pension age before 6 April 2016

You may be able to inherit a portion of their Additional State Pension and half their Graduated Retirement Benefit. This was the earnings-related State Pension people could build up between 1961 and 1975.

Your spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016

You may be able to inherit a portion of their Additional State Pension and State Pension top up.

You may also be able to inherit half their Graduated Retirement Benefit. This was the earnings-related State Pension people could build up between 1961 and 1975

You must have been married or in a civil partnership with your partner before 6 April 2016.

You may also be able to inherit a portion of your late spouse or civil partner’s deferral payment if they had deferred claiming their State Pension - the date of your marriage doesn’t affect this.

Your spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age or died under State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016

You may be able to inherit half of their Protected Payment.

You must have been married or in a civil partnership with your partner before 6 April 2016.

If you remarry or form a new civil partnership after State Pension age

You’ll keep any State Pension you inherited from your previous spouse or civil partner if you remarry or form a new civil partnership after you reach State Pension age.

Other benefits you might get

You might be eligible for a Bereavement Support Payment if you haven’t yet reached State Pension age and your partner died on or after 6 April 2017.

If your spouse or civil partner died before 6 April 2017, you may be eligible for Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Bereavement Allowance.

Increase your retirement income

You might be able to increase your State Pension amount if:

you’re eligible for National Insurance credits
you make voluntary National Insurance contributions
you choose to defer your State Pension

You can also contribute to workplace pension and personal or private pensions.

Contact the Pension Service for help and advice.