Will my wife inherit my state pension when I die?

I AM a recently retired GP, after 49 years of practising medicine. My wife retired from teaching languages after four months and has been on maternity leave for 41 years, bringing up me and our three children! I am now 72 and she is 64. We both receive the full basic state pension. I also receive £35 per week state second pension, as I worked part time for the tribunal service, while she receives £20 per week state second pension. If I keeled over, what would she receive in state pension?

Dr R. M., by email

Such a simple question on the surface. Yet, where the state pension is concerned, nothing is ever simple.

This gives me an opportunity to highlight the huge changes that have taken place to widows’ benefits.

I took your question to Malcolm McLean, senior consultant with actuaries Barnett Waddingham. he says both yours and your wife’s date of births are key to your pension benefits.

Women who started receiving their state pension on or before April 5, 2016 fall under the old regime. If their husband dies before them, they will receive an increase in their basic state pension up to the level of his basic state pension — plus at least 50 pc of any additional state pension paid to him such as the state second pension (S2P) or Serps.

In the case of S2P, which ran from 2002 to 2016, the proportion is exactly 50 pc.

however for Serps — which provided state pension top-ups from 1978 to 2002 — the amount depends on the man’s date of birth.

The key birth dates are as follows: October 5, 1937, or before — 100 pc; October 6, 1937, to October 5, 1941 — 90 pc; October 6, 1941, to October 5, 1943 — 70 pc; October 6, 1943, to October 5, 1945 — 60 pc; October 6, 1945, and after — 50 pc.

If you only built up S2P, your wife would get 50 pc of this. however, if you built up some Serps, your wife would get 60 pc of this as you were born in February 1945.

All of this applies only to women who hit state pension age before April 6, 2016. You confirmed that your wife’s state pension started a week before the rules changed, so she is entitled to widow’s benefits.

Those who come under the new system generally have to rely solely on their own National Insurance record.

Anyone who is unsure where they stand should get in touch with the Pensions Service via

or on 0800 731 7898. There is a limit on the amount of additional state pension any one individual can receive.

That limit is £167.26p a week and embraces both SERPS and S2P whether derived from their own record of earnings or inherited after the death of a partner.

I AM treasurer of our local parish, a voluntary position held since 1996. Like many churches we are registered as a charity.

We had three other signatories on our account who have moved away. We informed our bank, Barclays, each time. It seems no notifications were registered. We have pleaded with them to remove these signatories.

On May 3 we received mandate change documentation which we handed over to our local bank with the assurance that nothing could go wrong. We have heard nothing since.

V. C., East Sussex

BARCLAYS says it received notification that you wished to remove three signatories in December 2014.

however it needed a mandate change to be completed and signed by the chairperson and two councillors.

Barclays said it informed you of this, but when it didn’t hear anything after 60 days the case was terminated. The next mandate change was received in May this year, but again, not all of the councillors signed the necessary forms.

Barclays feels it has done all it can to support you and to resolve this issue — but I don’t agree. You hand- delivered the documents to your local branch, so why on earth didn’t somebody go through them and make sure they were correctly filled in?

A member of Barclays support team has now been in touch with you and will help you to sort this issue out.

ABOUT seven years ago Scottish Power installed a new smart gas meter. I began to receive email requests for meter readings. I explained the meter was in a small understairs cupboard and that I suffer from macular degeneration, which makes it difficult for me to see.

Attempts to get the meter read are driving me to distraction. A number of appointments have been made and not met. When I emailed Scottish Power and then phoned, it claimed it had no record of this.

I am at a loss to know what to do next. I would like to investigate moving to a cheaper tariff, but until I can get a meter reading this is impossible.

J. F., Wirral.

YOU wrote to me in August, I passed your letter to Scottish Power and even then it took weeks to sort out your problem.

You were added to the priority register due to your situation, which should have consisted of meter readings being taken by the provider every three months.

Your account has now been closed and a refund of £45.23 issued as you have moved to a new supplier. Scottish Power has waived its cancellation fee of £60 and you are satisfied that the issue is now closed.

As you were on its priority register Scottish Power should have had some way of overriding the emails for readings to make sure that those in similar situations do not receive such requests.