Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 123

Chapter 18 Interpretation

Section 123 defines key terms used throughout the chapter governing the bereaved partner's (contributory) pension, including who qualifies as a bereaved partner and the conditions under which separated spouses or civil partners may be excluded from entitlement.

• "Bereaved partner" covers widows, widowers, surviving civil partners and surviving qualified cohabitants, with the "pension" meaning the bereaved partner's (contributory) pension payable in respect of a deceased partner.
• Where someone has been married or in a civil partnership more than once, only the most recent spouse or civil partner is relevant for pension purposes, and persons whose marriage or civil partnership was dissolved (with the dissolution recognised in Ireland) are excluded from being treated as a widow, widower or surviving civil partner.
• "Relevant time" is the critical date for assessing whether contribution conditions are met, determined differently depending on whose insurance record is being used, whether the claimant or the deceased had reached pensionable age, and whether the person was born on or after 1 January 1958 and paid contributions after pensionable age.
• For deaths occurring on or after the passing of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025, a spouse or civil partner who had lived apart from the deceased and was not in an intimate and committed relationship for at least 2 years before the death will not be considered a bereaved partner.