Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
Table of contents Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension Rules to qualify How to apply – *All information from CitizensInformation.ie Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. This payment […]Table of contents
– *All information from CitizensInformation.ie
Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. This payment was formerly called the Widow’s/Widower’s (Contributory) Pension. Either you or your deceased spouse or civil partner must have enough social insurance contributions (PRSI).
To qualify you must, of course, be a widow, widower or surviving civil partner and you must not be cohabiting with another person.
If you are divorced and you would have been entitled to a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension had you remained married, you keep your entitlement to the Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.
If your civil partnership has been dissolved and you would have been entitled to a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension had you remained in the civil partnership, you keep your entitlement to the Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.
The pension is payable regardless of other income.
Since 27 December 2013, new applicants for Widow’s, Widow(er)’s Contributory Pension and Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension need 260 paid PRSI contributions to qualify (previously 156 contributions were required). You can read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about this pension on welfare.ie.
Rules to qualify
You may automatically qualify for a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension if your late spouse or civil partner was getting either a State Pension (Transition) or State Pension (Contributory), which included an increase for a dependent spouse or civil partner (or would have included an increase but for the fact that you were getting State Pension (Non-Contributory), Blind Pension or Carer’s Allowance).
There is no automatic qualification if your late spouse or civil partner was getting a mixed insurance pro-rata, EU/Bilateral Agreement pro-rata or Pre-53 pension. In all such cases you should apply for Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension in the normal way.
If you do not automatically qualify for a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, then either you or your late spouse or civil partner must have a certain number of PRSI contributions.
To see details of rules and pension rates, visit Citizens Information now.
How to apply
To apply fill in a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension form (pdf).
A claim for Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension may be backdated for a maximum period of 6 months. Backdating of a late claim beyond 6 months will be considered in circumstances where you failed to claim because of:
- Incorrect information being supplied by the Department or
- Your incapacity by illness or infirmity
Where to apply
Department of Social Protection
Social Welfare Services
College Road
Sligo
Ireland
Opening Hours:This office does not offer a service to personal callers. All queries must be made using the online enquiry form, by telephone or in writing.
Tel:(071) 915 7100
Locall:1890 500 000
Homepage: https://www.welfare.ie/
You can email the Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension section using the secure enquiry form. If you wish to talk to someone face-to-face about your pension entitlements, you can visit your local Citizens Information centre, social welfare local office or Intreo centre.
- For further details, visit Citizens Information today: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/death_related_benefits/widows_contrib_pension.html
*“Contains Irish Public Sector Data licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence”.