An eligible cohabiting partner is a partner you are living with who, at the date of your death, has met all the following conditions for a continuous period of at least two years:
- you and your cohabiting partner are, and have been, free to marry each other or enter into a civil partnership with each other, and
- you and your cohabiting partner have been living together as if you were a married couple, or civil partners, and
- neither you nor your cohabiting partner has been living with someone else as if you/they were a married couple or civil partners, and
- either your cohabiting partner is, and has been, financially dependent on you or you are, and have been, financially interdependent on each other.
Your partner is financially dependent on you if you have the highest income. Financially interdependent means that you rely on your joint finances to support your standard of living. It doesn’t mean that you need to be contributing equally. For example, if your partner’s income is a lot more than yours, he or she may pay the mortgage and most of the bills, and you may pay for the weekly shopping.
A survivor’s pension would be paid to your cohabiting partner if:
- all the above criteria apply at the date of your death, and
- your cohabiting partner satisfies the Fund that the above conditions had been met for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before your death.
On your death, the Fund will require evidence that the conditions for a cohabiting partner's pension are met.
A pension will only be paid to your eligible cohabiting partner if you paid into the LGPS after 31 March 2008.