Adult survivors can include spouses, civil partners and nominated partners who are not civil partners (see ‘nominated partners’, below, for more information).
Under the 2015 Scheme all adult survivor pensions are payable for life, irrespective of whether the survivor remarries or forms a new partnership.
If the adult survivor is also a member of the 2015 Scheme he/she is still entitled to payment of an adult survivor’s benefit.
Spouses and civil partners
Your spouse or civil partner is entitled to a pension from the 2015 Scheme if you die whilst receiving a pension or with an entitlement to receive a deferred pension when you reach your SPA.
The pension payable generally is 50% of your pension entitlement at the date of your death.
If you die whilst an active member, and have at least two years’ qualifying service, your spouse or civil partner is entitled to a pension when you die.
The pension payable is 50% of the ill-health pension that you would have received if you had been permanently medically unfit for regular employment at the time of your death.
Example
A full time member dies at age 35. Prior to death, s/he earned £42,000 per year, had a civil partner and an accrued pension of £10,000 after 11 years of service which formed his/her built up pension.
The death in service pension is calculated as per the enhanced upper tier ill-health retirement pension and is equal to £42,000/55.3 x 60 – 35/2 = £9,494 per year. (see Enhanced upper-tier ill-health pension).
The member’s notional pension is, therefore, £19,494 per year (= £9,494 +£10,000). The civil partner is entitled to receive 50% of the member’s notional pension and will be paid £9,747 per year.
If your spouse or civil partner is more than 12 years younger than you, his or her pension will be reduced to reflect the age difference. This reduction will be 2.5% for every year by which your spouse or civil partner is more than 12 years younger than you, up to a maximum reduction of 50%.
If you marry or form a civil partnership within the six months prior to the date of your death, then the Police Pension Authority has discretion to withhold payment of the pension payable to your spouse or civil partner.
Nominated partners
A nominated partner is someone with whom you have a long term relationship but to whom you are not married nor with whom you have formed a civil partnership.
If you have a partner who is neither your spouse nor your civil partner, it may be possible for a survivor’s pension to be paid to them for life on the same basis as if s/he had been your spouse or civil partner, subject to qualifying criteria.
To help with this decision you and your partner may wish to complete and return a joint declaration form confirming the following:
- you have lived together for a period during which your partner has been financially dependent on you, or both of you have been financially interdependent
- the relationship is an exclusive, committed long-term relationship
- you are free to marry each other (or form a civil partnership with each other)
- you agree to inform the Police Pension Authority if the relationship ends
Before any benefits may be paid to your partner upon your death, they must confirm the first 3 statements were valid at the time of your death and that at the time of your death you had cohabited for at least 2 years.
We may also ask for supporting information to confirm financial dependency, such as confirmation of shared household spending or joint bank accounts.
A period of cohabitation of at least two years is expected for a pension to be paid to a declared partner, but the Peninsula Pensions may exercise discretion to pay a pension to a declared partner in a shorter relationship.
In exercising discretion, we must be satisfied that you and your partner were living together in an exclusive, committed, long-term relationship, and that your partner was financially dependent on you or you were financially interdependent.
The decision of Peninsula Pensions on these matters is final.
As with spouses and civil partners, if your partner is more than 12 years younger than you, their pension will be reduced to reflect the age difference.
This reduction will be 2.5% for every year or part of a year by which they are more than 12 years younger than you, up to a maximum reduction of 50%.
You are encouraged to complete a declaration form with your partner as soon as you consider that your cohabiting relationship is exclusive, committed and for the longterm.
It is your responsibility to revoke the declaration if the relationship ends.