Prison Officer Survivor Pension: 37.5%, Partners and Children

In shortThe surviving adult's pension is the long-term income part of a family's protection, paid for life; we describe alpha, the section nearly every serving officer is in.

The survivor pension, called a surviving adult’s pension in the regulations, is paid to the person left behind when a member of alpha dies. It is paid for life under regulation 107(3).

It is part of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), which covers HMPPS staff in England and Wales and Scottish Prison Service staff and is administered by Capita since 1 December 2025.

The rules are in regulations 100 to 120 of the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations 2014, which we opened on 3 October 2026.

It is separate from the lump sum death benefit, which is paid at the scheme manager’s discretion (see our guide to death in service benefits), and from any benefits under the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme, which apply if the death was from a work injury (see the injury benefits guide).

• The surviving adult’s pension is the long-term income part of a family’s protection and is worth understanding well before it is needed.
• We describe alpha here, because that is the section nearly every serving officer is now in. Officers who built service in the older sections before 2015 or 2022 may be affected differently, and Northern Ireland Prison Service officers are in the separate NICS scheme. Where we could not confirm a detail we say so.
• For ill-health pensioners see our ill-health retirement guide, for the lump sum a retiring officer may take see the pension lump sum guide, and for the wider series visit the pensions hub.

In shortA spouse or civil partner at the date of death, or a surviving partner who satisfies the scheme manager on three conditions; an ex-spouse does not qualify.

Regulation 100 defines the surviving adult as the member’s surviving spouse, surviving civil partner or surviving partner.

A surviving spouse is a person who was married to the member at the date of death, and a surviving civil partner is a person who was in a civil partnership with the member at the date of death.

An ex-spouse therefore does not qualify, because they are no longer married to the member at death.

Evidence matters

The scheme manager must be satisfied. The regulation does not list documents, so what follows is our suggestion of what a claim would normally rely on, not an official list. If you have not married, it is sensible to gather these documents while you are both well.

• Shared address evidence: tenancy, mortgage, council tax, utility bills, electoral roll entries.
• Financial interdependence: joint accounts, shared outgoings, one paying the other’s costs, joint debts or savings.
• Public statements of the relationship: insurance policies, wills, medical records or pension nominations naming each other.
• Evidence that neither was prevented from marrying: for example, that neither was married to someone else or in another civil partnership.
• A short written account of the relationship if there is no paper trail, supported by third-party statements.

In shortThe percentage is 37.5% in every case, but the base pension differs, and a retirement lump sum does not reduce it.

The percentage is 37.5% in every case, but the base differs. Dependants’ pensions are not reduced by early retirement of the member, according to the 2019 GAD note on early retirement factors, because the reduction applies only to the member’s own pension.

The pension is not reduced because the member took a tax-free lump sum when they retired: regulation 108 says the dependant’s lower tier and upper tier pensions are calculated without subtracting the commutation amount. This is a significant protection for the survivor.

Pensioner member

Regulation 108 sets the dependant’s earned pension at 37.5% of the full retirement earned pension in the member’s account at death, and 37.5% of any added pension. For an ill-health pensioner at lower tier, it is 37.5% of the lower tier pension calculated without subtracting any lump sum the member took.

Upper tier ill-health

The top-up counted is capped by a formula in regulation 108 that limits the enhancement to a notional rate (in broad terms, up to ten years of prospective service and never more than the accrued pension). Take Capita’s written calculation if the member was on an upper tier pension.

Deferred member

Regulation 109 gives 37.5% of the provisional deferred earned pension in their account, plus 37.5% of any deferred added pension.

Active member

With at least 12 months’ continuous pensionable service, regulation 110 gives 37.5% of the pension that would have been specified if they had retired on the day of death, with an enhancement of up to ten years’ extra build-up, as explained in the death in service guide.

Increases

Alpha pensions are revalued and increased, so the figure rises over time; the public service pensions increase for April 2026 was 3.8%, pro rata for pensions in payment less than a year.

In shortIf the survivor is more than 12 years younger, the pension is reduced by the lower of 50% and 2.5 x (N minus 12)%, reaching the maximum at 32 years; children's pensions are not reduced.

Regulation 111 applies if the surviving adult’s pension is payable to someone who is more than 12 years younger than the member.

The annual rate is reduced by the lower of two amounts: 50% of the pension worked out under regulation 108, 109 or 110, and 2.5 x (N minus 12)% of that pension, where N is the number of whole years by which the survivor is younger than the member.

The reduction grows by 2.5 percentage points for each year of difference above 12 and stops at 50%, which is reached when the age difference is 32 years.

• The rule does not reduce a child’s pension, because regulation 115 says the child’s pension is based on the adult’s pension disregarding any reduction under regulation 111.
• It also only reduces the pension by a proportion: an age difference of 13 years gives a reduction of 2.5%, which is small.
• The rule applies equally to spouses, civil partners and partners.

In shortThe 12-month rule and the six-month rule can stop or reduce a survivor pension; take advice if either is about to matter.

Several conditions can stop or reduce a survivor pension.

The 12-month rule

For active members, a member who dies before completing 12 months’ continuous pensionable service does not give rise to a surviving adult’s pension under these provisions, although a lump sum death benefit may still be payable. Continuous pensionable service can include earlier PCSPS service for members who transitioned to alpha. If you think this rule is about to matter, for example because a new joiner has a serious illness, take advice.

The six-month rule

Allows the scheme manager to withhold a pension from a spouse or civil partner where the marriage or civil partnership was formed less than six months before the member’s death. It is a power, not an automatic bar, and it is subject to regulation 120, which protects any guaranteed minimum pension rights a surviving spouse or civil partner has. If a marriage is recent and the member is seriously ill, take advice because the rule bites on the date of marriage, not the date of the relationship.

False declarations and adjustments

Benefits paid on the basis of false declarations can be stopped and recovered under regulation 117, and the scheme manager can adjust child pensions if later facts show who was eligible (regulation 118). Where a member dies after reaching 75, regulation 119 allows the scheme manager to adjust a benefit so it meets the tax definition of a dependants’ scheme pension.

Convictions

Benefits can be withheld from a beneficiary convicted of unlawfully killing the member, and forfeiture rules apply after certain convictions of the member. For the member’s conduct, see our guide to misconduct and your pension.

In shortAn eligible child gets 80% of the adult pension, shared if there are several, or 4/3 of it if there is no surviving adult, without any age-gap reduction.

An eligible child (regulation 113) is a natural child of the member (born, or whose mother was pregnant, at the date of death), an adopted child, or another child or young person whom the scheme manager considers was financially dependent on the member at death. In each case they must meet one of three conditions.

The amount is a share of the adult pension. If an adult pension is payable and one child is eligible, the child’s pension is 80% of the adult pension. For two or more children, each receives the appropriate fraction of 80%.

If there is no surviving adult, the child’s pension is the adult amount multiplied by 4/3, again shared.

Condition A

Under 18.

Condition B

In full-time education or vocational training and under 23.

Condition C

The scheme manager’s opinion that they cannot engage in gainful employment because of physical or mental impairment, and either they are under 23 or the scheme medical adviser expects the impairment to be permanent and they depended on the member.

• A person who is under 19 when they stop full-time education is treated as being in education until the next of several set dates (the second Monday in January, the second Monday after Easter Monday, the second Monday in September, starting full-time work, or their 19th birthday).
• A person under 22 at the date of death who has paused education for up to 15 months is treated as still in education, but no pension is paid during the gap period.
• Pensions for children under 18 are normally paid to the surviving adult if the child is in their care, or to the child’s guardian.
• Children’s pensions are payable from the day after death. They are based on the adult amount without the age-gap reduction.
• Our illustrative £5,625 adult pension gives a single child £4,500, or a pair of children £2,250 each, if an adult is also being paid.

In shortA former spouse is not a surviving spouse; a divorce changes who your survivor benefits would go to, but not automatically.

After a divorce or the end of a civil partnership, the former spouse or civil partner is not a surviving spouse or civil partner under regulation 100 because they were not married to the member at death. They do not receive a survivor pension from the member’s remaining pension.

If a pension sharing order has been made, the ex-spouse instead has their own pension credit, which is converted into benefits in their name; the CSPS divorce page states that a pension credit member does not receive dependant benefits, though a death benefit of 25% of the pension credit value is payable if they die before their benefits become payable.

• A divorce changes who your survivor benefits would go to, but it does not change them automatically. A new partner or new spouse can become a surviving adult if they meet the conditions.
• A nomination for the lump sum that names the former spouse is invalid at death, so update it. See our guide to pension and divorce for how sharing, earmarking and offsetting work.

In shortA survivor pension is not automatic: tell the employer and Capita, provide evidence, and expect delays.

A survivor pension is not automatic: someone must tell the employer and the pension administrator and provide evidence. The pension is payable from the day after the member’s death under regulation 116, but payment can lag behind while claims are processed.

Capita took over from MyCSP on 1 December 2025, and union reports described service delays in 2026, so allow time and keep a record of every contact. Ask for payments to be backdated to the correct date.

Ask the employer who is dealing with the case and ask Capita for a written calculation. Check that the base pension, the percentage, any age-gap reduction and any child’s pension have been applied correctly, using the figures in this guide.

1. Notify the employer and ask them to notify the pension administrator (Capita). Provide the death certificate.
2. Provide proof of the relationship: the marriage or civil partnership certificate, or, for partners, evidence of cohabitation, exclusivity, commitment and financial dependence or interdependence.
3. Provide your birth certificate (so the age difference can be checked) and evidence of identity and bank details.
4. Provide birth certificates for children, proof of full-time education or training for children aged 18 to 22, and any medical evidence for children with impairments.
5. Ask for a written statement of the pension and its start date, and for it to be reviewed by your representative or an adviser if the member’s pension was complex.
6. Diary the date for payments to start and chase if not received. Keep every letter.

In shortRemedy-period service in a legacy section may carry different survivor percentages; Scotland follows the same scheme, Northern Ireland has its own.

Officers who have remedy-period service (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022) in a legacy section may be entitled to legacy benefits for that period, including different survivor percentages. The GAD table shows 50% for classic and 37.5% for premium and nuvos, while classic plus is not stated.

Under the Remediable Service Regulations 2023, active and deferred members choose between legacy and alpha benefits when they come to retire, and a death before choice has its own rules, which we have not extracted.

Ask Capita for a remediable service statement; the pension age guide explains the ages that apply. Our McCloud remedy guide explains the choice.

Scotland

Scottish Prison Service officers are in the same Civil Service Pension Scheme, so these rules apply, and SPS is the employer who will start the claim.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Prison Service officers are in the NICS scheme, administered by the Department of Finance, with their own guides and forms. The NICS alpha guide was used here to cross-check wording, but do not rely on GB procedures if you are in Northern Ireland.

Pre-Fresh Start officers

Those in post on 30 September 1987 (31 October 1987 in Scotland) have special rules in the 1972 Section of the legacy scheme, but few if any remain in service and the death benefits for that group have not been checked here. If you are in that group, ask Capita directly. For the wider scheme, see our civil service pension guide.