{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-insurance-act-1965/section-37",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-insurance-act-1965/section-37.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1965/51",
  "legislation_title": "National Insurance Act 1965",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-insurance-act-1965",
  "path": "section/37",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "37",
  "heading": "Special provisions as to graduated retirement benefit for widows and widowers.",
  "text": "(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and to Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations , where a person, having paid graduated contributions as an insured person, dies leaving a widow, widower , surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner and the survivor—\n(a) has attained pensionable age at the time of the death; or\n(b) remains that person's widow, widower , surviving same sex spouse or surviving civil partner (as the case may be) when attaining pensionable age,\nthen section 36 of this Act shall apply as if the increase in the weekly rate of the retirement pension of the widow, 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 or civil partner (any amount including ½p being rounded to the next whole penny above) ....\n(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the weekly rate of the deceased spouse’s or 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 not become entitled to graduated retirement benefit, that addition shall be computed as if he or she had ... become entitled to graduated retirement benefit immediately before his or her death.\n(3) 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:\nProvided that, if the termination of the marriage or civil partnership by death occurred after he or she attained pensionable age, he or she shall for the purposes of this subsection be treated as not having attained pensionable age until the date of that termination.\n(4) A person’s right to graduated retirement benefit by virtue of this section in respect of a spouse he or she marries , 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 or 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 or civil partners.\n(5) 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.",
  "extent": "E+W+S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Act repealed with saving by Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1975 (c. 18), s. 2, Sch. 1 Pt. 1, Sch. 3 para. 7; and ss. 36, 37, 118(1) continued in force (with modifications) by S.I. 1978/393, regs. 2, 3, Schs. 1, 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) inserted (6.4.2005) by The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/454), reg. 2(3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) substituted (6.4.2010) by virtue of The Social Security (State Pension and National Insurance Credits) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2206), reg. 4(2) (with reg. 4(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) inserted (E.W.) (with effect in accordance with reg. 2(1) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Married Same Sex Couples) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/76), regs. 1(1), 2(1); and inserted (S.) (16.12.2014) (S.) by The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3229), art. 1(2), Sch. 5 para. 5(1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(a)(ii)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(a)(ii)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(1) omitted (6.4.2010) by virtue of The Social Security (State Pension and National Insurance Credits) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2206), reg. 4(3) (with reg. 4(4))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(2) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Word in s. 37(2) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) substituted (1.10.1989) by S.I. 1989/1642, regs. 1, 5(2)(b)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Word in s. 37(2) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) repealed (1.10.1989) by S.I. 1989/1642, regs. 1, 5(2)(b)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(3) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(4) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(d)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F13",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(4) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(d)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F14",
      "text": "Words in s. 37(4) (as continued in force by S.I. 1978/393, Sch. 1) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3078), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(4)(d)(iii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Ss. 36, 37: power to amend conferred by Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5), s. 150(11)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 37: power to extend conferred (1.7.1992) by Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4), ss. 62(1)(b), 177(4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C3",
      "text": "S. 37(1) modified (13.3.2014) by The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Married Same Sex Couples) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/76), regs. 1(1), 2(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C4",
      "text": "S. 37(1) modified (16.12.2014) by The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3229), art. 1(2), Sch. 5 para. 5(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C5",
      "text": "S. 37(1): sums amended (coming into force in accordance with arts. 1(4)(5), 7 of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/148), arts. 1(3)(c), 11(4)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1965/51/section/37",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:57:32.033442+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}