Cohabiting Partner's Pension

If you die and leave a nominated cohabiting partner or civil partner, he or she, as your nominated cohabiting partner or civil partner, will become entitled to part of your pension. Local Government long-term dependant nominated cohabiting partner's and civil partner's pensions no longer cease upon cohabitation with another person.

Long-term Nominated Cohabiting Partner's Pension

If you have not already done so (providing you have contributed to the LGPS at some point since 1st April 2008), you can nominate a cohabiting partner as beneficiary of any survivor's pension that may become payable in the event of your death. For a cohabiting partnership to be valid both you and your partner MUST sign a declaration confirming that you are cohabiting partners and that:

Your cohabitation had been continuous for at least 2 years at the date that the declaration is signed
You are free to marry or enter into a civil partnership at any time
You are living together as if husband and wife or civil partners
You are not living with a third person as if husband or wife or civil partners
Either your partner is financially dependent upon you or you are financially inter-dependent upon each other.
If you die before your nominated cohabiting partner he or she will become entitled to a long-term nominated cohabiting partner's pension equal to
1/160th of your final pay for each year and part-year of your membership built up since 6th April 1988 plus your prospective membership to age of 65.

Your nominated cohabiting partner's long-term pension is fully inflation proofed and payable for life.

Important Changes to Co-Habiting Partners Benefits

If you have nominated a cohabiting partner to receive a survivor's pension in the event of your death, such a pension will only be based on post-5 April 1988 membership. If you have membership before that date you now have a choice to pay additional contributions so that any period of membership before 6 April 1988 can be taken into account in the calculation of the benefit to be paid to your surviving nominated cohabiting partner. If you would like further information about this, contact the Pension Team on 0845 602 7237.

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not nominate your cohabiting partner a pension will not be paid even if the conditions detailed above are satisfied.

If you would like to nominate a cohabiting partner please follow the link to our factsheet - 'Nominating a Cohabiting Partner for a Survivor's Pension' . If you would prefer to have a copy of this factsheet forwarded to your home address please contact us on 0845 6027237.