Operational Guidelines: Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension

BREXIT impacts

Ireland / United Kingdom Social Security arrangements from 1 January 2021.

The European Union and the United Kingdom agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement which contains a Protocol on Social Security to take effect from 1 January 2021. The Protocol provides for a wide range of social security issues into the future. On the 31 December 2020, the Convention on Social Security agreed between Ireland and the United Kingdom was commenced. Together these Agreements ensure, that all existing social security arrangements for Irish & UK citizens are maintained into the future. Ireland as an EU Member State, will extend on a unilateral basis the advantages of the Convention to Union citizens, as required.

For Brexit-related information see:

• www.gov.ie/brexit

For information on social welfare entitlements see:

• Brexit Information
• FAQs on DFA about Brexit

Description of Scheme

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is a social insurance based payment made to a widow, widower, surviving civil partner or surviving qualified cohabitant on the death of a spouse or partner.

It is not means-tested so entitlement is not affected by other income a person may have such as earnings, savings or an occupational pension.

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension was known as Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension up to 21/07/2025.

The pension was introduced for widows on 1 January 1936, extended to widowers on 28 October 1994, extended to surviving civil partners on 1 January 2011 and extended to surviving qualified co-habitants from 22 January 2024.

For the purpose of this document, any reference to ‘pension’ means a Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension, unless otherwise stated.

If a person's spouse or partner died as a result of an accident at work or from an occupational disease there is a separate pension payable. This is a Death Benefit which is payable at a higher rate than the Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension. However, both are not paid at the same time. See separate guideline “Occupational Injuries Benefit – Death Benefit” for more information

Legislation

The legislative provisions relating to Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension are contained in

• Chapter 18 of Part 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 as amended,
• Chapter 10 of Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007, (Statutory Instrument 142 of 2007), as amended.

Appendix 1 lists the main legislative provisions, where relevant, in more detail.

• The principal EU legislation governing social security for migrant workers is Regulation (EC) 883/04. Chapter 5 of this Regulation contains the provisions for old age and survivor’s pensions.
• This Regulation is accompanied by implementing Regulation (EC) 987/09, which covers the practical implementation of Regulation (EC) 883/04, dealing with such matters as competent national authorities, administrative formalities, etc.

The legislation governing Ireland’s Bilateral Agreements is listed in Appendix 3.

Administration

The pension is administered by Social Welfare Services, College Road, Sligo F91 T284.

Qualifying conditions in Summary

A person must

- be a bereaved partner, that is a widow, a widower a surviving civil partner or a surviving qualified cohabitant and

- have been living with the deceased person in the 2 years before their death, and

- not be cohabiting with another person as a couple, and

- satisfy certain social insurance contribution conditions

Bereaved Partner condition

‘Bereaved partner’ means a widow, a widower, a surviving civil partner or a surviving qualified cohabitant.

Where a person has been married, registered as a civil partner or has been a qualified cohabitant more than once, the condition of being bereaved partner relates only to the last spouse, civil partner, or qualified cohabitant, whichever is the last, of the bereaved partner.

A person shall not be considered a bereaved partner if the couple lived apart for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of death of the deceased.

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is not payable while a person cohabits i.e. lives with someone as a couple. See “Cohabitation” for more information.

Qualified Cohabitant

Since 21 July 2025, surviving Qualified Cohabitants are eligible for Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.

A person can only qualify for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension based on being a surviving qualified cohabitant from 22 January 2024 or the date of death of their deceased partner whichever is the later.

A qualified cohabitant is one of 2 adults (whether of the same or the opposite sex) who lived together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who, immediately before the time that relationship ended, whether through death or otherwise, was living with the other adult as a couple for a continuous period of–

• 2 years or more, in the case where there are one or more children of the relationship, or
• 5 years or more, in any other case.

In determining whether or not a person is a qualified cohabitant, the Minister shall take into account all the circumstances of the relationship in question and in particular shall have regard to the following:

• the duration of the relationship;
• the basis on which the couple lived together;
• the degree of financial dependence of either adult on the other and any agreements in respect of their finances including whether in relation to that relationship;
• the degree and nature of any financial arrangements between the adults including any joint purchase of an estate or interest in land or joint acquisition of personal property;
• whether there are one or more dependent children;
• any payment by this Department and the conditions in relation to the payment
• the degree to which the adults present themselves to others as a couple.
• whether one of the adults cares for and supports the children of the other.

Qualified Cohabitant Important Dates

Below are details on important dates for qualified cohabitants to note:

Where the death that occured before the 22 January 2024

Claims in relation to a deceased partner where the death occurred before 22 January 2024 are eligible for Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension from 22 January 2024.

Where the death that occurred between 22 January 2024 and 20 July 2025

Claims in relation to a deceased partner where the death occurred between 22 January 2024 and 21 July 2025 are eligible for Bereaved Partner’s (Contributory) Pension from the date of death.

In both the above cases, a qualified cohabitant has 6 months from 21 July 2025 to make their application to get the payment backdated to the 22nd January 2024 or date of death if later.

If the application is not made within this period, then the maximum backdating of the payment will be 6 months from the date of application.

Divorce

Where the death occurred on or after 21/07/2025 a person cannot qualify for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension if they are divorced from the deceased person.

Where the death occurred before 21/07/2025, payment of the pension can be made where the couple were divorced.

However, a person who divorced their former spouse before 21 April 1997 will not qualify for pension for any period before that date. This was the date on which Social Welfare legislation was changed to ensure that a spouse would not be disadvantaged in terms of their social welfare entitlements as a result of their legal status being changed from married, separated or deserted to divorced. The relevant legislation is contained in Statutory Instrument No. 194 of 1997.

Dissolved Civil Partnership

Where the death occurred on or after 21/07/2025 a person cannot qualify for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension where the civil partnership with the deceased person has been dissolved.

Where the death occurred prior to 21/07/2025, payment of the pension can be made where the civil partnership was dissolved and the qualifying conditions are met. However, a person whose civil partnership was dissolved before 1 January 2011 will not qualify for pension for any period before that date. This was the date Civil Partnership was introduced in the State.

Annulment

Where a State annulment has occurred, the marriage or civil partnership is deemed never to have taken place. A church annulment does not affect the status of a widow or widower. However, a person shall not be considered a bereaved partner if the couple lived apart for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of death of the deceased

Separation

If the couple lived apart and were not in a committed relationship for 2 years or more, before the death, they will not qualify for the payment if the deceased person died on or after 21/07/2025.

Social insurance contribution conditions

A Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is based on the social insurance record of either the person concerned or their late spouse/partner. The two records cannot be combined when calculating entitlement. All contributions must have been made before the death of the late spouse/partner.

PRSI contribution classes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, P, N and S are reckonable for this pension. Voluntary contributions are also taken into account.

The contribution conditions to be satisfied by whichever social insurance record is being used are as follows:

• the date the deceased partner died: or
• the date of the insured person’s 66th birthday; or
• if the insured person was born on or after 1 January 1958, the date when the last qualifying or voluntary contribution was paid (if after 66th Birthday, but before the date of death)

whichever is earlier (this is called the ‘relevant date’)

and

• 39 or more paid or credited social insurance contributions in the 3 or 5 tax years before the year of the relevant date (this is called the Short Yearly Average). This gives entitlement to a maximum rate pension.

or

• 24 or more paid or credited social insurance contributions from the year of first entry into social insurance until the year of the relevant date (this is called the Long Yearly Average). The rate of pension payable in these cases depends on the yearly average.

Note: In cases where the date of death of a spouse/partner is before 27 December 2013, only 156 weeks of employment or self-employment contributions are required to satisfy condition a. above.

Additional information on reckonable contributions

Before 1953, coverage for social insurance-type benefits was provided by way of three different types of contributions which gave specific entitlement only to the benefits of the schemes under which they were paid, namely:

• Widow’s and Orphan’s Insurance, which provided cover for Contributory Widow’s and Orphan’s Pensions, and
• National Health Insurance, which provided cover for Sickness Benefit, Maternity Benefit and Disablement Benefit,
• Unemployment Insurance, which provided cover for Unemployment Benefit.

The Social Welfare Act, 1952 replaced these separate schemes with a single, co-ordinated social insurance scheme.

The following contributions are reckonable for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension:

• Social insurance contributions paid under the National Health Insurance Acts (before 1936) can be used to satisfy the 260 paid contributions condition only.
• Social insurance contributions paid and credited under the Widow's and Orphan's Pensions Act (1935 to 1952); every two contributions prior to 1953 are counted as three, and any odd contribution is counted as two.
• Most social insurance contributions paid and credited between 1953 and 1979.
• From April 1979, PRSI contributions classes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, N and S. (PRSI was introduced in April 1979 and Class S PRSI was introduced for self-employed people in April 1988)
• Voluntary Contributions can only be used to satisfy the yearly average condition.
• Credits - credited contributions are awarded by the Department in certain circumstances, generally in respect of periods of unemployment and illness and can only be used to satisfy the yearly average condition.

(Because contributions paid before 1953 under the Widows and Orphans Insurance scheme are reckonable for pension, the calculation of the yearly average is made from the year in which the insured person entered social insurance.)

See separate guidelines “PRSI – Voluntary Contributions” and “Credited Social insurance Contributions” for more information.

Rounding up: In calculating the yearly average, a fraction of a whole number consisting of one-half or more is rounded up to the nearest whole number. For example, 19.5 is rounded up to 20, 47.5 is rounded up to 48.

Self-employment social insurance contributions

In cases where a person’s self-employment social insurance contributions are being used to establish entitlement to pension, if that person did not pay at least one year’s self-employment contributions before the relevant date, then none of their self-employment contributions can be used to establish entitlement . Also, pension is not payable in respect of any period before the date on which all payable self-employment contributions are paid in full .

In cases where a person’s entitlement to pension is being established on the social insurance record of someone who started paying self-employment social insurance contributions on 6 April 1988 (the date of introduction of PRSI for the self-employed) then entitlement can be calculated based on the social insurance record from that date (even if there are employment contributions paid before that date).

Special Partial Pension

Before 1 April 1974, non-manual employees were not liable for payment of social insurance contributions where their salary was over a certain amount, called the “insurable limit”. This limit was abolished on 1 April 1974. (See below for more information.)

In cases where

the person may qualify for a partial pension if they have a yearly average of at least 5 contributions a year.

This Special Partial Pension was introduced on 14 October 1988.

The other qualifying conditions for payment of this pension are the same as for the standard rate pension, except that a partial pension is paid where the yearly average is between 5 and 23.

Insurable limit

The insurable limit in the pre-1974 era applied to non-manual workers whose annual income exceeded the following amounts:

• from 15/07/1912 - £160 a year
• from 13/06/1919 - £250 a year
• from 07/04/1947 - £500 a year
• from 05/01/1953 - £600 a year
• from 29/12/1958 - £800 a year
• from 06/09/1965 - £1,200 a year
• from 03/05/1971 - £1,600 a year
• from 01/04/1974 – insurable limit abolished (under section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 1973)

As successive Social Welfare Acts raised the insurable limit, people re-entered insurance as their earnings were below the new limit. When this happened, credits were awarded for the purpose of helping those people to qualify for short term benefits. Some of these credits are reckonable for the purpose of pension and some are not. See below for more information.

• Social Welfare Act 58 credits are reckonable for all pensions - Section 3 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act 1958
• Social Welfare Act 65 credits are not reckonable for widow’s contributory pension – Social Welfare (Crediting of Contributions) Regulations 1965 (S.I. 193 of 1965)
• Social Welfare Act 71 credits are not reckonable for widow’s contributory pension – Social Welfare (Crediting of Contributions) Regulations 1971 (S.I. 180 of 1971)
• Social Welfare Act 74 credits are not reckonable for widow’s contributory pension – Social Welfare (Crediting of Contributions) Regulations 1974 (S.I. 17 of 1974)

Payments Rates Structure

The personal standard rate of pension depends on the yearly average.

If, for the three to five years before the relevant date, the yearly average is greater than or equal to 39, the person qualifies for maximum rate pension

If, from the date of entry into social insurance, the yearly average is greater than or equal to 48, the person qualifies for maximum rate pension.

If, from the date of entry into social insurance, the yearly average is between 24 and 37, inclusive, the person qualifies for a reduced rate pension.

If, from the date of entry into social insurance, the yearly average is between 5 and 23, inclusive, the person may qualify for a special partial pension, but only if they satisfy the conditions described in “Special Partial Pension” above.

EU or Bilateral Agreement (BA) Pro-Rata Pension

This pension is based on a combination of Irish social insurance contributions and reckonable social insurance in either those countries covered by EU Regulations or other countries with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement.

The pension is paid at a pro-rata rate, based on the proportion of Irish social insurance contributions to the total number of (Irish and other) contributions paid and credited.

EU/Bilateral Legislation

The principal EU legislation governing social security for migrant workers is Regulation (EC) 883/04. Chapter 5 of this Regulation contains the provisions for old age and survivor’s pensions.

This Regulation is accompanied by implementing Regulation (EC) 987/09, which covers the practical implementation of Regulation (EC) 883/04, dealing with such matters as competent national authorities, administrative formalities, etc.

Bilateral Agreement pro-rata pensions are governed by formal agreements with the relevant countries, and the legislation is contained in Statutory Instruments.

The legislation governing Ireland’s Bilateral Agreements is listed in Appendix 3.

Social insurance contribution conditions

The Irish and foreign insurance record of either the widow, widower or surviving civil partner or their late spouse or partner may be used to satisfy the following conditions:

• a minimum of 52 weeks Irish social insurance contributions must be paid or credited, of which at least 1 must be a paid contribution

and

• 260 weeks social insurance contributions must be paid before the relevant date (This condition can be satisfied on the Irish social insurance record, the foreign social insurance record, or on a combination of both.)

and

• a yearly average of 39 or more weeks social insurance contributions paid or credited in the 3 or 5 tax years before the relevant date

or

• a yearly average of 24 or more weeks social insurance contributions paid or credited since starting work, up to the end of the tax year before the relevant date. (This condition can be satisfied on a combination of both Irish and foreign insurance contributions.)

Countries covered by EU Regulations are:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• Romania

Countries covered by Bilateral Agreements are:

• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• Japan
• Korea
• New Zealand
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)
• United States of America

Appendix 3 lists the legislation governing these Bilateral Agreements.

Ireland also has a Social Security Understanding with Québec which came into effect on 1 October 1994.

Making an application for an EU or Bilateral Agreement Pro-Rata Pension

A person should normally make a claim for pension in the country where they are living. A person living in Ireland should apply to the Department of Social Protection. If the person declares the deceased was insured* in any of the countries listed above, a claim for pension in that country is made by the Department on the person’s behalf.

* Note: in certain countries, residence alone provides cover for social insurance.

Date of claim

Under the Bilateral Agreements with the following countries, the date of claim in the country of residence is taken as the date of claim for pension purposes:

• Austria
• Australia (only for claims under the Agreement which ran to 31 December 2005)
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)

In all other cases considered under Bilateral Agreements, the date of claim is determined according to the provisions of the individual Agreement.

Appendix 4 contains the relevant text from each Bilateral Agreement.

Calculation of entitlement

The rate of pension is calculated as follows:

Step 1:

The notional pension is calculated. Notional pension is that which would be payable if all social insurance contributions, both Irish and non-Irish, were treated as Irish contributions. The Irish and non-Irish reckonable contributions are added together and the total is then divided by the number of years to get the yearly average number of contributions.

Step 2:

The following formula is used to calculate the rate of pension:

Allowances

Under EU Regulations, the over age 80 and over age 66 increases are paid at a pro-rata rate. Under Bi-Lateral Agreements the over age 66 increase is paid at a pro-rata rate but over age 80 increase is paid at full rate on an administrative basis. All other allowances (qualified child increase, living alone allowance and fuel allowance) are payable at the standard rate. Qualified child increase is payable in one country only - see below for more information.

When and how do I claim Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension

Subject to the criteria detailed above, a person may automatically qualify for a Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension if their late spouse or partner was getting State Pension (Contributory), which included an increase for a dependent partner (or would have included an increase but for the fact that they were getting State Pension (Non-Contributory), Blind Pension or Carer's Allowance). There is no automatic qualification if the late partner was getting a mixed insurance pro-rata, EU/Bilateral Agreement pro-rata or Pre-53 pension.

Otherwise a person must apply to the Department for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension. The claim should be made within three months of date of entitlement, that is, the date their late spouse or partner died. A failure to claim on time may result in loss of pension payment.

Claims in relation to a qualified cohabitant who died before 21 July 2025 can be backdated to 22 January 2024 or date of death, whichever is the later. However, the claim must be made before 22 January 2026. See Qualified Cohabitant Important Dates

To apply, please complete an application form (BPP1), which can be downloaded from www.gov.ie. Application forms are also available in Intreo Centres or Citizens Information Centres. Please send completed application, along with necessary supporting documentation to:

It is an offence for a person to knowingly make a false or misleading statement or to provide documents or information which they know to be false in some respect for the purpose of obtaining or establishing entitlement to pension, or pension at a higher rate.

A person found guilty of such an offence could be liable to a substantial fine or a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months or both. Any overpayment of pension would also be repayable to the Department.

A person may, depending on financial circumstances, claim Supplementary Welfare Allowance while awaiting a decision on their pension entitlement. See separate guideline "SWA Guidelines" for details of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme.

Certificates or Documents needed with your application

Evidence of births, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths which occurred in the State is available to the Department and such certificates are not required.

Where the birth, marriage, civil partnership or death occurred outside the State, the person must provide the relevant certificates as evidence. If these are not immediately available, they can be provided afterwards, but this may delay the processing of the application.

A person applying for pension based on being a surviving qualified cohabitant is required to provide documentary evidence to support their application. This could include:

• joint bank/financial account
• joint rental agreement
• joint mortgage/purchase agreement
• property registered in joint names
• joint utility bill e.g. electricity, telephone

or any other documentary evidence to support that you and the deceased were a couple.

Late Claims

A claim for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension should be made within three months of date of entitlement, that is, the date their late spouse or partner died. A failure to claim on time may result in loss of pension payment.

A person is disqualified from receiving payment for any period more than 6 months before the date on which the claim is made. This limit also applies to any claim for an increase in payment or allowance.

See also Qualified Cohabitant Important dates.

Decisions

Your application for pension will be decided by a Deciding Officer appointed by the Minister under Section 299 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005.

Deciding Officers are independent in the exercise of their role. In arriving at their decision, Deciding Officers are bound by the legal provisions in the Social Welfare Acts and Regulations, and are expected to be familiar with the relevant operational guidelines, for example, “Decision Making and Natural Justice”.

When a decision is made on your claim, a written notification of the decision will be issued to you. If the claim is disallowed, or allowed at a reduced rate of payment, a full explanation of the basis for the decision will be given, along with the right to appeal the decision.

If you consider that the decision you receive is incorrect, or you require clarification in relation to it, please contact the Deciding Officer immediately. It is also open to you to forward to the Deciding Officer any further documentary evidence that you think is relevant and s/he will then review the decision.

Any certificates or documents which have been submitted in support of the claim are returned with the letter, if not already returned earlier.

Revised Decisions

Any decision of a Deciding Officer may be revised by a Deciding Officer if new information or evidence comes to light or if the original Deciding Officer made a mistake in relation to the law or facts of the case. A person has the right of appeal against a revised decision.

See “Decision Making and Natural Justice” and “Revised Decisions and Their Date of Effect” for more information.

Appeals

If you are not satisfied with the decision of a Deciding Officer (either before or after seeking a review) you can appeal directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, setting out fully the grounds of their appeal.

The easiest and quickest way to make your appeal is online through Make an Appeal on MyWelfare once you have a verified MyGovID account.

For additional information on how to make an appeal including how lodge an online appeal see gov.ie - Social Welfare Appeals Office (www.gov.ie)

Your appeal should be submitted within 60 days of the date of the decision letter. However, if you first seek a review by the Deciding Officer, you have 60 days from the completion of that review in which to make your appeal.

Procedures following Award

Payment day

A Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is payable weekly in advance. The payment date is Friday, irrespective of which day of the week a person's spouse/partner dies.

See “Payment Related Issues” for more information.

Payment methods

People living in the Republic of Ireland can have their pension paid by one of the following methods:

• Directly into your financial institution account. This is known as EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer); or
• At a chosen post office by Electronic Information Transfer (EIT) using your Public Services Card.

A person may change their payment method, Post Office, financial institution or account by writing to the Department, or this can be done online through MyWelfare

In general, people living outside the Republic of Ireland are paid only by Electronic Fund Transfer into an account. If that account is in an institution in the Republic of Ireland, they are paid weekly, as described above. Otherwise they are paid every four weeks (one week in advance and three weeks in arrears).

Duration of payment

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is paid for the lifetime of the pensioner, provided they do not cohabit with another person as a couple, marry or enter into a new civil partnership. Allowances are paid as long as the person continues to satisfy the relevant qualifying conditions.

Where a qualified child dies, payment of an increase in respect of that child continues for a period of 6 weeks after death.

Co-habitation, Marriage or Registration of new Civil Partnership

Where a person in receipt of pension cohabits, remarries or enters into a new civil partnership, they are no longer entitled to the pension and must notify the department immediately.

Where a person has been married, registered as a civil partner or has been a qualified cohabitant more than once, the condition of being bereaved partner relates only to the last spouse, civil partner, or qualified cohabitant, whichever is the last, of the bereaved partner.

Other allowances that maybe payable to you

If you qualify for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension, the pension will be made up of a personal rate for yourself. You may also be entitled to one or more of the following allowances or benefits:

Child Support Payment

An increase in pension is payable in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with you, A child is regarded as a qualified child up to age 18, or, if they are in full-time education by day at any university, college, school or other educational establishment, up to the end of the academic year in which the qualified child reaches age 22.

Payment of this increase automatically stops when the child turns 18. It can only be paid past the age of 18 when the child remains in full-time education and the necessary documentary evidence is provided by the person receiving the pension. In such cases, the increase can be paid at most up to the date the child ceases full-time education or age 22, whichever is the earliest. If a child reaches the age of 22 during the academic year, the increase is paid to the end of that academic year.

The Department may, in the case of qualified children aged 18 or over, suspend payment of this increase over the summer and issue a form to be completed and stamped by the educational institution concerned, affirming that the child remains in full-time education, before re-instating the increase from the date of suspension.

If a person is getting a pension from both Ireland and one or more of the EU or Bilateral Agreement countries listed above, an increase for qualified child is paid by one country only. It is normally paid by the country where the person receiving the pension lives.

Over 66 Allowance

An additional allowance is payable on reaching age 66 - there is no need to apply for this allowance as it is paid automatically.

Over 80 Allowance

An additional allowance is payable on reaching age 80 - there is no need to apply for this allowance as it is paid automatically.

Living Alone Increase

A living alone increase is a weekly payment which is paid to people who are aged 66 or over and living alone or mainly alone. See “Living Alone Increase” for more information.

Fuel Allowance

Fuel Allowance helps with the cost of heating your home during the winter months. You need to satisfy a means test and meet all other conditions to qualify. Only one Fuel Allowance is payable per household. You can apply online at www.mywelfare.ie.

See “Fuel Allowance Scheme” for more information.

Increase for living on a Specified Island

This is payable if a pensioner is age 66 or over and ordinarily resident on one of a list of specified islands off the coast of Ireland (It is paid automatically - there is no need to apply)

See “Increase for Living on a Specified Island” for more information

Telephone support allowance

This is payable at a weekly rate of €2.50 to those in receipt of the Living alone increase and the Fuel allowance. It is paid automatically, there is no need to apply.

Other payment or benefits that maybe payable to you

Please see Appendix 2 for a list of other payments or benefits that you may qualify for.

Online Services

A range of services are now available on www.MyWelfare.ie. These include applying for State Pension, Fuel Allowance or Household Benefits or updating your address or payment method.

All you need is a verified MyGovID account. You can set up a verified MyGovID account if you have a Public Services Card, an email address, and a verified phone number with the Department. Go to www.MyGovID.ie and follow the steps.

Payment Related Matters

Further information on matters relating to payment are available in the operational guidelines on Payment-Related Issues.

Change of circumstances - need to notify the Department

When a person is awarded a pension, they are sent a letter which includes a list of the circumstances which could affect their continuing entitlement to the pension and asks them to advise the Department of any changes in these circumstances. The onus is on the recipient of the payment to notify the Department immediately of any relevant changes in circumstances.

The Bereaved Partner’s Pension Section, must be notified as quickly as possible if any of the changes set out below occur as they may affect your entitlement to pension. Remember to quote your PPS number whenever you contact us.

• Cohabitation with another person
• Marriage or registration of a Civil Partnership
• Change of address
• Change of Post Office
• Death of the person or a qualified child
• Person or a qualified child leaves the State
• Change in household composition including the birth of an additional child
• Participation in a Community Employment scheme
• Receipt of a Training Allowance from SOLAS (formerly FÁS)
• A qualified child no longer living with or being maintained by the person
• A qualified child who reaches 18 years (or between 18 and 22) and is not continuing in full-time education
• Imprisonment or detention of a qualified child

Failure to notify the Department of any of the above events may result in overpayment of pension and any overpayment may be recovered by the Department either by way of lump sum repayment or deductions from pension payment. See “Overpayment Recovery” for more information.

Will my claim be reviewed?

The department may carry out a review of any person’s pension at any time.

A review is carried out when the Department is notified of any change in circumstances which may affect entitlement. This review may involve a visit from a Social Welfare Inspector and/or direct correspondence or phone contact with the person.

Periodic reviews are also initiated by the Department to confirm the correct payment is being made to the correct person and that the qualifying conditions for receipt of Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension continue to be fulfilled.

The department does this by issuing a letter to selected customers. The recipient is asked to complete the certificate, notify any changes which have occurred and sign a declaration that they will notify the Department of any future change in their circumstances which may affect payment. There is an onus on all customers of the Department to assist with this process when requested.

Suspension, revocation, reduction of payment

Where, despite the efforts of a Deciding Officer, including written communication to the person, it is not possible to establish the facts of a case as a result of failure on the part of the person to provide evidence or information, payment of the pension, increase or allowance may be suspended until the relevant evidence or information has been provided by the person or a person acting on their behalf.

Payment of pension or any increase or allowance on pension will be stopped if the person no longer satisfies the qualifying conditions.

In cases where a Deciding Officer proposes to decide that a person is no longer entitled to pension or an associated increase and where that proposed decision is based on evidence of which the person is not aware, the Deciding Officer may write a letter to the person, outlining the reasons for their proposed decision and giving them an opportunity to respond to the letter and, if they wish, provide other evidence. This letter is called a Natural Justice Letter.

The person is given 21 days in which to reply to a Natural Justice Letter. The Deciding Officer will re-examine the case if the person provides new evidence or information.

If no new evidence or information is provided or if the evidence or information provided is considered by the Deciding Officer to have no material bearing on the case, the Deciding Officer will make a decision revoking the pension, increase or allowance. The person has the right of appeal against this decision.

The process outlined in the paragraphs above does not apply where the decision to reduce or revoke pension or an associated increase is based on information provided by the person or a person acting on their behalf.

See “Decision Making and Natural Justice” and “Revised Decisions and Their Date of Effect” for more information

If an overpayment of pension has occurred it may be recovered by the Department. See “Overpayment Recovery” for more information.

Credits

Credited contributions are awarded by the Department in certain circumstances, generally in respect of periods of unemployment and illness.

Credited contributions are not awarded to recipients of Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension for periods for which persons are widows, widowers, surviving civil partners or qualified cohabitant alone. However, where a person was in receipt of another Social Welfare benefit, which entitles them to credited contributions, immediately before qualifying for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension, they may continue to receive credits, provided they continue to satisfy the conditions of entitlement to the other benefit i.e. by providing evidence of continuing illness or unemployment.

See “Credited Social insurance Contributions” for more information.

Multiple Payments

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is not payable at the same time as other social welfare payments, with the following exceptions:

(i) Child Benefit

(ii) Guardian's Payment (Contributory) or Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)

(iii) Half the personal rate of one of the following payments:

If a reduced rate pension is in payment, they may also receive one of the payments listed at iii) above, as long as their total payment does not exceed the sum of the maximum rate of pension plus half the personal rate of the relevant benefit or allowance.

(iv) Working Family Payment - the pension is assessed as means

(v) Blind Pension

(vi) Disablement Benefit (personal rate)

(vii) Community Employment (CE) Scheme –only where person commenced before 16 January 2012 and has continuous service (i.e. no single break in excess of 12 months) on the CE Scheme since that date.

• A person who was receiving Invalidity Pension before 1 February 2012 and who also satisfies the qualifying conditions for Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension, may receive, instead of Invalidity Pension, half the relevant personal rate of Illness Benefit at the same time as the pension, for no longer than 390 days. If they were receiving Household Benefits when they were on Invalidity Pension, they can keep these benefits.
• From 1 February 2012 where reduced rate Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is paid, a reduced rate Illness Benefit they may also be paid, the combined amount of both payments is not greater than the rate of Illness Benefit to which they are entitled.
• Where a person is in receipt of Back to Work Allowance and their spouse or partner dies, personal rate Back to Work Allowance and Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension are payable at the same time.

Community Employment Scheme

Any person who is employed on a Community Employment scheme is disqualified from receiving Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension. See “Multiple Payments” above for more information.

State Pension (Contributory)

The maximum rate of Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension and State Pension Contributory is the same. If a person is on a reduced rate of Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension and has a social insurance record and is paying Class A,E,H,S contributions, they may qualify for State Pension (Contributory) at age 66, at a higher rate than Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension.

Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is not paid at the same time as State Pension (Contributory).

PRSI Liability

A person in receipt of Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension who continues in employment after age 66, may pay PRSI until they either claim their State Pension (Contributory) or reach age 70, whichever is earlier.

Where to get more information

To get more detailed information on any of the Department’s schemes and services, including how to apply:

• Visit our website www.gov.ie/dsp
• Visit your local Intreo Office
• Visit your local Citizens Information Centre or the Citizens Information website.

The main legislative provisions relating to Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension are contained in

Chapter 18 of Part 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 as amended, (Sections 123 to 129) and in

Chapter 10 of Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007, (Statutory Instrument 142 of 2007), as amended, (Articles 79-82).

In this Appendix, any reference to “Section” means a Section of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 as amended and any reference to “Article” means an Article of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007, as amended, unless otherwise stated.

All Acts and Statutory Instruments listed in this Appendix can be viewed online at www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended

Section 123

defines the following terms for the purpose of this pension

• Bereaved partner
• Deceased partner
• Civil partner
• Pension
• Relevant time
• Spouse
• Widow
• Widower
• Yearly average

Section 123A

- defines Qualified Cohabitant (for the purpose of this pension)

Section 124A

• specifies the qualifying conditions for pension
• specifies that an application based on being a surviving qualified cohabitant shall be entitled to a pension from 22 January 2024 or the date of death, whichever is the later.
• excludes those who cohabit
• disqualifies those who marry or re-marry, or who enter or re-enter into a civil partnership, or who become or again become a qualified co-habitant.
• provides a “saver” for those already in receipt of widow’s widower’s or surviving civil partners and who were divorced or had their civil partnership dissolved, where the death occurred prior to the passing of the 2025 legislation (21/07/2025).
• provides a “saver” for those already in receipt of widow’s widower’s or surviving civil partners and who married, re-married or entered into a civil partnership and who are subsequently bereaved for a second time, where the death occurred prior to the passing of the 2025 legislation (21/07/2025).

Section 125

(1) specifies the contribution conditions for pension:

(a) 260 contributions must be paid, and

(b) specifies that yearly average must be:

(i) 39 over three or five year period, or

(ii) 48 from date of entry to relevant time,

but, where these conditions are not satisfied on the bereaved partner’s record, the deceased’s record can be used, but the two cannot be combined

(1A) allows 156 contributions to satisfy 125(1)(a) where the date of death was before 27 December 2013

(2) provides for regulations to re-define yearly average or contribution conditions

(3) provides for regulations to allow payment of pension to someone who has a yearly average of less than 39

(4) says that any such payment cannot be at maximum rate and can vary with respect to yearly average but any increase for a qualified child will be payable at the full rate

(5) provides for regulations to allow payment of pension to someone who does not have a yearly average because their pre-1974 earnings may have gone over the insurable limit

(6) states that any such payment cannot be at max rate and can vary with respect to yearly average

(7) states that where a person’s first entry into insurance is at the occupational injuries benefit rate only, then that date cannot be taken as date of entry

(8) states that where a person became a self-employed contributor on 6th April 1988, and had a previous date of entry, then the most favourable of the two dates shall be regarded as the date of entry

Section 126

provides that the weekly rate of pension is set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2

Section 127

provides that the weekly rates of the following are also set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2

• Child Support Payment
• Increase for Living Alone
• Over-80 Increase and
• Island Allowance

Section 128

(1) states that, where a person’s self-employed contributions are being used to establish entitlement, the contribution conditions specified in Section 125 shall not be satisfied unless the person has

paid self-employment contributions for at least one year before the relevant time and

all self-employment contributions payable have been paid

(2) states that pension can only be payable from the date the last self-employment contribution was paid

(3) provides that self-employment contributions for the last contribution year before the relevant time can be disregarded for the purpose of 128(1)

(4) provides that 128(2) does not apply to claims made on or before 31 December 2009

Section 129

contains “saver” provisions which refer to the lowering of pension age during the 1970s from 70 to 66. These historical provisions are similar to provisions contained in the State Pension (Contributory) primary legislation.

Section 247B

provides that any person who is employed on a Community Employment scheme is disqualified from receiving Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension. This provision was introduced by Section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011 and took effect from 16 January 2012.

Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007

Article 79

defines the following for the purpose of this pension

• Existing pensions contributor
• Pension
• Relevant contribution condition
• Relevant period

Article 80

Provides for the payment of pension at less than maximum rate. Child Support Payment, increase for living alone, Over-80 and Island Allowance are payable at standard rate, however.

Article 81

provides for the payment of the Special Partial Pension (see above).

Article 82

defines how contributions paid under the (pre-1953) Widows’ and Orphans’ Pensions Acts are treated for the purpose of calculating entitlement to this pension.

APPENDIX 2: Other Benefits That May Be Payable

A person in receipt of a Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension may be entitled to one or more of the following allowances or benefits:

Working Family Payment
This payment is payable to persons working for an employer and on low income. Certain conditions apply in relation to hours of work, duration of employment. A means test also applies and Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is assessable as means.

Household Benefits Package

The Household Benefits Package helps towards the costs of your electricity or gas bills and includes your television licence. Only one Household Benefits Package is payable per household.

A person in receipt of pension aged 66 or over should apply for Household Benefits if they believe they satisfy the qualifying conditions.

A person in receipt of pension aged 60 to 65 may qualify for these benefits if their late spouse or partner was getting any of the household benefits before they died. These are not automatically transferred (because the utility bills must first be transferred to the person’s name) so the person needs to apply for them. You can apply online at www.mywelfare.ie.

A person transferring from Invalidity Pension to Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension will keep any of the household benefits they had when they were getting Invalidity Pension.

See “Household Benefits Package” for more information.

Free Travel

People aged 66 or over and living in the State are entitled to a Free Travel pass. Where a person aged 66 or over qualifies for pension, a Free Travel Pass is issued automatically by the Department.

A person aged 60 to 65 in receipt of pension may qualify for a Free Travel Pass if their late spouse or partner held a Free Travel Pass before they died, and they were both living together permanently. In these cases, the Pass is not issued automatically and the person needs to apply.

See “Free Travel” for more information.

Carer's Allowance/Benefit

A person who is claiming a Social Welfare Payment (other than Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit) and who is providing full time care to another person may now apply for Carer's Allowance and retain their current payment in full. If they satisfy the conditions for Carer's Allowance it will be awarded at 50% of the personal rate they would qualify for if they were not in receipt of any other payment. They will also be eligible for Household Benefits and a Free Travel Pass.

If you need full-time care and attention, the person looking after you may qualify for a Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit. Carer's Allowance is a means‑tested payment, Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured persons who leave the workforce to care for a person in need of full-time care and attention. See Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit for more details.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

A person may qualify for additional payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, for example, Rent Supplement, Mortgage Interest Supplement, Diet Supplement, Exceptional Needs Payments.

After death benefits

The Department should be notified as soon as possible if a person receiving pension or a qualified child dies. Payment of an increase for a qualified child may continue for six weeks after the death of the child in certain circumstances.

All Statutory Instruments listed in this Appendix can be viewed online.

Appendix 3 – Date of claim under Bilateral Agreements

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