Pension for divorced US spouse

Might not be the correct section....I am reaching UK pension age. My ex spouse who lived in the UK with me for a good number of years now lives in the states. Would she be entitled to a pension based on my contributions - she did contribute herself for a good few years. She gets her own US pension already. Thanks

 

Might not be the correct section....I am reaching UK pension age. My ex spouse who lived in the UK with me for a good number of years now lives in the states. Would she be entitled to a pension based on my contributions - she did contribute herself for a good few years. She gets her own US pension already. Thanks

From what I recall, the UK ended the piggybacking a State Pension (using the NIC Contributions of a spouse to get a UK state pension) when all the pension changes came in for those qualifying for their pension from April 2016. Now called the New State Pension from 2016. There was quite a lot of upset about this on the Thai forums with older males hoping to marry/married to, a young female: with older male Aussies and Americans on those forums saying they hoped their government didn't stop that.

It's a minmum of 10 tax years of NIC Contributions/Credits to get part of a UK state pension. I'm not sure how it works now for those divorced who haven't remarried. She can check her entitlement to a UK state pension. https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

If your ex does qualify for a part UK State pension, the  US is one of the few countries that has a reciprocal agreement on state pensions with the UK; which means she will get the annuaul % rise on the UK State Pension.

If you live in one of the following countries and receive a UK State Pension, you will usually get an increase in your pension every year:

    Barbados
    Bermuda
    Bosnia-Herzegovina
    Gibraltar
    Guernsey
    the Isle of Man
    Israel
    Jamaica
    Jersey
    Kosovo
    Mauritius
    Montenegro
    North Macedonia
    the Philippines
    Serbia
    Turkey
    USA

The UK has social security agreements with Canada and New Zealand, but you cannot get a yearly increase in your UK State Pension if you live in either of those countries.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pensions-annual-increases-if-you-live-abroad/countries-where-we-pay-an-annual-increase-in-the-state-pension

I agree with Sirius that a wife’s UK State pension is only dependent on her own record but she should check that record because if she was not working while she had at least 1 child under school age then she will get a full year credit. We were pleasantly surprised when we checked my wife’s record, with a view to paying voluntary NI contributions. She had 2 years from her part time job between age 16 and 18 while studying for A Levels plus 6 years while we had a child under school age. (We have 2 children 18 months apart in age)

This:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/divorce-and-separation/state-pension-and-divorce-dissolution#:~:text=Your%20basic%20State%20PensionOpens,Pension%20the%20other%20person%20gets.

says:

"However, divorced couples can use their former spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions to increase their basic State Pension. This won’t reduce the amount of State Pension the other person gets." It appears there is a difference depending upon whether one reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. She did, I didn't as she's a good few years older than me.

This:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/divorce-and-separation/state-pension-and-divorce-dissolution#:~:text=Your%20basic%20State%20PensionOpens,Pension%20the%20other%20person%20gets.

says:

"However, divorced couples can use their former spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions to increase their basic State Pension. This won’t reduce the amount of State Pension the other person gets." It appears there is a difference depending upon whether one reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. She did, I didn't as she's a good few years older than me.

That sounds very promising and I would think that she definitely needs to check her record with DWP, but if she is already receiving her OAP because she was born before April 5 1953 then she can already be receiving it and I would expect that she may be pleasantly surprised, as my wife was.

...
 because if she was not working while she had at least 1 child under school age then she will get a full year credit.

The NIC Credit is from the non-working parent claiming Child Benefit. Child Benefit is a Public Fund; which meant your British Citizen wife coulds claim this money in her name and the Credits towards a State Pension. If the OP's Ex had No Recourse to Public Funds, then they couldn't put Child Benefit in her name.

She had 2 years from her part time job between age 16 and 18 while studying for A Levels plus 6 years while we had a child under school age. (We have 2 children 18 months apart in age)

I seem to recall that as children could leave school at age 16 then, those who stayed on got NIC Credits (or rather, Qualifying years)? At one time, those who went to University got qualifying years too towards their state pension: back in the days when women needed 39 years for a full State Pension and claimed that from age 60 and males needed 44 years and claimed from age 65.

This:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/divorce-and-separation/state-pension-and-divorce-dissolution#:~:text=Your%20basic%20State%20PensionOpens,Pension%20the%20other%20person%20gets.

says:

"However, divorced couples can use their former spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions to increase their basic State Pension. This won’t reduce the amount of State Pension the other person gets." It appears there is a difference depending upon whether one reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. She did, I didn't as she's a good few years older than me.

Steve Webb was the Pensions Minister when all the changes came in for the New State Pension. He wrote/writes a lot of articles.

From what he has written in this article about divorce, it is to do with the married womens stamp, when (bizarre as it may sound) they chose to pay less for their stamps (NICs) to get more in their wage packet, in return for a lower State Pension on retirement. They would then claim a higher SP based on their husband's contributions when he retired, but still not a full state pension. But some divorced before they reached their UK SP age and for those who reached UK retirement age before 6 April 2016, they could use their ex husband's QY record for when they were married, to increase her SP (as long as she didn't remarry before she reached UK SP age).

This article of his on divorce; under the old SP and the New SP; is worth a read.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3743029/I-divorced-state-pension-lose-remarry-Steve-Webb-replies.html
You can find other articles of his on the State Pension.

She should be checking her NICs record on the link I gave in my first post, to make sure it is correct. Then contact the DWP to see if she can have a: albeit small; UK State pension.

For a few short years of madness, people only needed one qualifying year for a tiny SP, before it was moved back to a minimum of 10 years for a small SP.


EDIT According this gov.uk link, the Married Womans Stamp ended for new entrants in April 1977.
https://www.gov.uk/reduced-national-insurance-married-women