Section 37 Special provisions as to graduated retirement benefit for widows and widowers.F1C1C2

Subject to the provisions of this section F2and to Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations F3, where a person, having paid graduated contributions as an insured person, dies leaving a widow, widower F4, surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner and the survivor—

then section 36 of this Act shall apply as if the increase in the weekly rate of the retirement pension of the F5widow, widower , surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner, as the case may be, provided for by subsection (1) thereof were the amount there specified by reference to his or her graduated contributions with the addition of one-half of the weekly rate of the graduated retirement benefit of his or her former spouse F6or civil partner (any amount including ½p being rounded to the next whole penny above) F7....

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the weekly rate of the deceased spouse’s F8or civil partner's graduated retirement benefit shall (whether or not he or she was receiving or entitled to receive any such benefit) be taken to have been the weekly rate appropriate to the amount of graduated contributions paid by him or her (determined as if any orders which have come into force under section 124 of the Act (increases in rates of benefit) since the date of the deceased spouse’s or civil partner's death had come into force before that date), excluding any addition under section 37(1) of this Act, but including any addition under section 36(4) thereof (and for the purpose of calculating the addition under section 36(4), taking into account any addition under section 37(1)); and where at his or her death he or she had attained pensionable age but had F9not become entitled to graduated retirement benefit, that addition shall be computed as if he or she had F10... become entitled to graduated retirement benefit immediately before his or her death.

A person’s right to graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section shall be brought into account under section 36(4) of this Act in determining the graduated retirement benefit payable to him or her under the said section 36:

A person’s right to graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section in respect of a spouse he or she marries F12, or as the case may be, a civil partner he or she forms a civil partnership with, after attaining pensionable age shall be subject to such additional conditions as may be prescribed; and except as may be provided by regulations a person more than once married F13or who has formed a civil partnership more than once or who has been both married and a civil partner shall not be entitled for the same period to any graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section in respect of more than one of his or her spouses F14or civil partners.

Regulations may provided that where a woman is entitled to graduated retirement benefit and to a widowed mother’s allowance the graduated retirement benefit shall be an increase in the weekly rate of that allowance; and where the benefit is such an increase, section 36(7) of this Act shall not apply.