You may be entitled to War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension if your wife, husband or civil partner died as a result of their service in Her Majesty’s (HM) Armed Forces or during a time of war.
They must have served before 6 April 2005, but you may be eligible if they died of an illness or injury later.
Eligibility
One of the following must apply. Your husband, wife or civil partner:
died as result of their service in HM Armed Forces before 6 April 2005
was a civil defence volunteer or a civilian and their death was a result of the 1939 to 1945 war
was a merchant seaman, a member of the naval auxiliary services, or a coastguard and their death was a result of an injury or disease they got during a war or because they were a prisoner of war
died as a result of their service as a member of the Polish Forces under British command during the 1939 to 1945 war, or in the Polish Resettlement Forces
was getting a War Pensions Constant Attendance Allowance at the time of their death, or would have been had they not been in hospital
was getting a War Disablement Pension at the 80% rate or higher and was getting Unemployability Supplement
You may be entitled to a pension if you lived with a partner as husband and wife or as civil partners.
Illness, injury and death on or after 6 April 2005
If your partner was injured, developed an illness or died as a result of service on or after 6 April 2005, you can claim through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
See also:
For further information on war widow(er) pension see GOV.UK's website.