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Report your partner's death to the Pension Service. GOV.UK lists "the death of a partner who is named on your claim" as a change of circumstances to report on the existing Pension Credit claim, and the award is then reassessed on a single-person basis. It does not publish a Pension Credit bereavement run-on, so do not plan around the couple rate continuing — ask the Pension Service what will be paid and from when. Separately, apply to your council for the 25% Council Tax single person discount.
Losing a partner when you are both relying on Pension Credit or council tax support is financially as well as emotionally difficult. The good news is that there are protections in place to prevent income dropping immediately. Understanding what to claim, and when, means you will not lose out on money you are entitled to.
GOV.UK's Pension Credit guidance treats the death of a partner named on the claim as a change of circumstances to be reported on the existing claim. It does not describe a bereavement run-on for Pension Credit, and no run-on figure is asserted here because none is published. Universal Credit does have one — under regulation 37 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 the award is calculated as if the person had not died for the assessment period of the death and the following two — but that rule is specific to Universal Credit and does not carry across.
Report the death to the Pension Service as soon as you can, and ask them directly: what will my award be from now on, and from what date. Get the answer in writing.
You can notify the Pension Service by calling 0800 731 0469 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). You will need your partner's National Insurance number, date of birth, and date of death.
Important:
If your partner was the sole named claimant, the position is different again: there is no award in your name to adjust, so you will need to claim Pension Credit yourself. Do that as soon as you can. A claim can be backdated by up to three months, but no further, so delay costs money.
Pension Credit is means-tested, and the single rate is worked out differently from the couple rate. Where you were named on the claim, the death is reported as a change and the award is reassessed. Where you were not — because your partner claimed in their own name — you will need to claim yourself.
The Guarantee Credit standard minimum guarantee tops your weekly income up to £238.00 if you are single and £363.25 for a couple. Savings Credit, where it applies, is worth up to £17.96 a week for a single person and £20.10 for a couple. Your entitlement depends on your own income and capital, including State Pension, private pensions and savings.
The Pension Credit claim line is 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). To report a change on an existing claim, the Pension Service line is 0800 731 0469. You will need:
You can also claim online at gov.uk/pension-credit. GOV.UK states that an application can only be backdated by three months, so up to three months of Pension Credit can be included in a first payment if you were eligible over that period.
Moving from the couple rate to the single rate will usually reduce the weekly amount, since the standard minimum guarantee for a single person (£238.00) is lower than for a couple (£363.25). The drop is often smaller than people expect, because:
The Pension Service will carry out a fresh assessment when you make your new claim. It is worth asking them to explain exactly how your new entitlement has been calculated.
Once you are living alone, you get 25% off your council tax bill. GOV.UK puts it as: "You'll get 25% off your bill if you pay Council Tax and either you live on your own, or everyone else in your home is disregarded." It does not depend on income. It applies in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has domestic rates rather than council tax, administered by Land & Property Services, and the reliefs there are different — check nidirect rather than assuming this applies.
You must apply to your local council — it does not happen automatically. Contact the council tax department as soon as possible after your partner dies. Most councils allow you to apply online, by phone, or in writing. You will typically need to provide the date your partner died.
Councils will normally apply the discount from the date the second adult ceased to be resident, so you should not pay the full rate for a period in which you were already the only adult in the property — but the backdating rules are administered locally, so ask the council to confirm the date they have used.
If your late partner was receiving a Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Benefit in older literature), this was paid as part of a joint household claim. After their death, you will need to make a new claim for Council Tax Reduction in your own name.
Council Tax Reduction is administered by your local council, but the common assumption that every council simply invents its own rules is only half right. In England, section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 requires each billing authority to run a scheme, and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 prescribe what that scheme must contain for pensioners. Working-age support is where the local variation really sits. Wales and Scotland operate national schemes. Because the maximum reduction and how it is calculated still depend on the individual scheme and on your own income and capital, this page does not state a national figure — ask your council what your reduction would be.
Contact your local council to apply. At the same time, ask them to apply the Single Person Discount on your account.
Guarantee Credit is designed to ensure that people over State Pension age have a minimum weekly income. If your total income from all sources falls below the standard minimum guarantee — £238.00 a week for a single person, £363.25 for a couple — Pension Credit tops it up to that level.
If you are unsure whether you are receiving everything you are entitled to, contact the Pension Service and ask for a benefits check or entitlement assessment. You can also use the government's free Pension Credit calculator at gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility to get an estimate before calling.
Age UK (ageuk.org.uk) and Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk) both offer free help with checking entitlements and completing the claim.
Checklist — What to do now:
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