If your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits are subject to a Pension Sharing Order and you
- remarry
- enter into a new civil partnership, or
- have an eligible cohabiting partner
any spouse's, civil partner's or eligible cohabiting partner's pension payable following your death will also be reduced.
If you remarry or enter into a new civil partnership and then divorce or dissolve your civil partnership again, your remaining pension rights can be subject to further division, although a Pension Sharing Order cannot be issued if an Earmarking Order has already been issued against your LGPS pension rights.
Similarly, an Earmarking Order cannot be issued if your pension benefits are already subject to a Pension Sharing Order in respect of the marriage/civil partnership.
View further information in Pension sharing order and Earmarking Order.
Eligible cohabiting partner
A cohabiting partner is someone you are living with as if you are married or in a civil partnership. On your death your cohabiting partner is automatically entitled to a survivor's pension as long as your relationship meets certain conditions laid down by the Local Government Pension Section (LGPS). The conditions are that for a period of at least 2 years at the date of your death you must:
- both have been free to marry or enter into a civil partnership
- both have lived together as husband and wife or civil partners
- have been financially interdependent on each other or your partner has been financially dependent on you
- both have not been living with someone else as if you were husband, wife or civil partners.