E

Eligible child

An eligible child is:

• a natural child born before, on or within 12 months of a member’s death
• an adopted child born before or on the date of the member’s death
• a step-child or a child accepted by the deceased member as a member of the family who was dependent on the member at the date of death.

A child sponsored by the member through a registered charity isn’t an eligible child.

An eligible child must also be:

• under age 18, or
• aged under 23 and in full-time education or vocational training. We can continue to treat a child as an eligible child even if there has been a break in full-time or vocational training, or
• under age 23 and unable to engage in gainful employment because of physical or mental impairment, or
• over age 23, unable to engage in gainful employment because of permanent physical or mental impairment and the child was dependent on the member at the date of death because of that impairment. An independent registered doctor must give their opinion on whether the impairment is likely to be permanent.

Eligible cohabiting partner

An eligible cohabiting partner is a partner you’re living with who, at the date of your death, has met all of these conditions for at least two continuous 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 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 more than yours, they may pay the mortgage and most of the bills and you may pay for the weekly shopping.

When you die, a survivor’s pension would be paid to your cohabiting partner if:

• all of the above conditions were met on your date of death, and
• your cohabiting partner satisfies us that these conditions had been met for two continuous years immediately before your death.

You don’t have to nominate your cohabiting partner, but you can do so through your online pension account.

A pension will only be paid to your eligible cohabiting partner if you paid into the LGPS after 31 March 2008.

Eligible jobholder

An eligible jobholder is a worker aged between 22 and State Pension age who earns more than £10,000 per year.