The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005

Amendment of the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations 1978

2.—(1) The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations 1978(1) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (c) of regulation 2 (application of sections 150 and 155 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992)(2), for “widows and widowers” substitute “widows, widowers and surviving civil partners”.

(3) In paragraph (2) of regulation 3 (continuation in force of sections 36, 37 and 118(1) of the 1965 Act)—

(a) omit “and” at the end of sub-paragraph (b); and

(b) at the end of sub-paragraph (c), add—

“; and

(d) to extend section 37 of the 1965 Act (increase of women’s retirement pension by reference to her late husband’s graduated retirement benefit) to civil partners and surviving civil partners”.

(4) In Schedule 1 (sections 36 and 37 of the National Insurance Act 1965 as continued in force by these Regulations) in section 37 (inherited graduated retirement benefit)—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) in paragraph (b), after “time of her death” insert—

“; or

(c) where a person, having paid graduated contributions as an insured person, dies on or after 5th December 2005 leaving a surviving civil partner, and they have both attained pensionable age at the time of his or her death,”; and

(ii) in the full-out words—

(aa) for “widow or widower” substitute “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”; and

(bb) after “former spouse” insert “or civil partner”;

(b) in subsection (2), after “spouse's” (in each place) insert “or civil partner's”;

(c) in subsection (3), after “marriage” insert “or civil partnership”; and

(d) in subsection (4)—

(i) after “marries” insert “, or as the case may be, a civil partner he or she forms a civil partnership with,”;

(ii) after “married” insert “or who has formed a civil partnership more than once or who has been both married and a civil partner”; and

(iii) after “spouses” insert “or civil partners”.

(5) In paragraph 3 (graduated retirement benefit of persons who have been married more than once) of Schedule 3 (regulations 2 and 3 as modified by these Regulations)—

(a) after “who has been married more than once” insert “or has formed more than one civil partnership or who has been both married and a civil partner”; and

(b) after “spouse” insert (in each place) “or civil partner”.

(1)

S.I.1978/393. The relevant amending instrument is S.I.2005/454. Sections 36 and 37 of the National Insurance Act 1965 (c. 51) (“the 1965 Act”) were repealed by the Social Security Act 1975 (c. 38) with effect from 6th April 1975 but are continued in force by virtue of those Regulations which were made under Schedule 3 to the Social Security Act (Consequential Provisions) Act 1975 (c. 18) (now the Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1992 (c. 6)).

(2)

Regulation 2 was substituted by S.I.1995/2606.