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ROYAL LONDON HAS OBTAINED FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) DATA REVEALING HOW SURVIVING SPOUSES ARE BOOSTING THEIR STATE PENSION ENTITLEMENTS THROUGH INHERITANCE. 05:25, 12 Mar 2025 State
pensioners who are on the State Pension are seeing themselves landing £20,000 PER YEAR - thanks to an inheritance loophole. Royal London has obtained Freedom of Information (FOI) data
revealing how surviving spouses are boosting their State Pension entitlements through inheritance. Some widows and widowers are doubling their money to more than £22,000 annually. Royal
London is urging pensioners to check their entitlements in case they are missing out. Surviving spouses and civil partners can potentially inherit at least 50% of certain State Pension
benefits up to a current maximum of £11,356 (£218.39 per week) for the 2024/25 tax year. This is in addition to any State Pension they are entitled to in their own right. READ MORE: DWP
FACES NEW DEMAND FOR ANSWERS OVER WASPI COMPENSATION REFUSAL As a result of the inheritance, some pensioners are currently receiving an enhanced State Pension of up to £22,858 a year. A
freedom of information (FOI) request by Royal London has revealed that in the tax year 2023/24 over two million pensioners (2,027,440) received a payment from an inherited State Earnings
Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). Article continues below According to the figures, 541,760 pensioners were receiving more than £5,000 a year in inherited SERPS payments, including 17,460 who
received in excess of £10,000. Royal London’s consumer finance specialist Sarah Pennells commented: “This data shows how much of a difference inheriting a SERPS pension from your husband,
wife or civil partner can make. The worry is that, while more than two million people are claiming inherited SERPS, others could be missing out. “Understanding the rules is key to boosting
your retirement income. For the Additional State Pension, generally 50% can be inherited by your husband or wife, although the rules are slightly different for people who reach State Pension
age after April 2016. However, a higher percentage can be passed on if the man was born before 6 October 1945 and the woman born before 6 July 1950. “However, the rules also say that you
can’t inherit any additional State Pension from your husband, if they remarried or formed a civil partnership before they reached State Pension age. Article continues below “As we continue
to adapt to the new system introduced in 2016, which focuses on individual entitlements, understanding the legacy of SERPS and its relevance for thousands of retirees remains crucial."