Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to amend the State Pension Regulations 2015 to allow deferred pension entitlement accrued by individuals not (a) married and (b) in a civil partnership to be considered part of their estate upon death.

The Government has no plans to amend the State Pension Regulations 2015.

These regulations make transitional provisions enabling a person in the new State Pension system to inherit a deferral payment where their deceased spouse or civil partner had deferred an old State Pension.

Apart from transitional rules, it is no longer possible for a spouse or civil partner to inherit or derive State Pension entitlement from their partner, under the new State Pension system, introduced in 2016.

If an individual is not married or in a civil partnership, it is possible for an arrears payment to made to the deceased's estate under Regulation 30 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987. A maximum of three months arrears of State Pension may be awarded which may include arrears of extra State Pension accrued by the deferral.