Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the pension status is of women who were widowed but later remarried; and how much state pension they are entitled to relative to the level of their late husband's national insurance contributions.

A widow’s entitlement to State Pension based on her late husband’s National Insurance contributions, and the amount she may receive if entitled, depends on a number of factors. These include whether she reached State Pension age under the old or new State Pension system (and if the former, how much State Pension she is entitled to in her own right); and when her late husband reached or would have reached State Pension age.

If she has remarried prior to State Pension age, she will not be eligible for any State Pension based on her previous husband’s National Insurance contributions as she has ceased to be a widow by the time her entitlement to State Pension begins.