19.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in section 139(1) (amended by section 16(a) of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008):

(a) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (e):

“(e) widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension and guardian’s payment (non-contributory),”,

and

(b) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (f):

“(f) widowed or surviving civil partner grant (paid by virtue of one-parent family payment or State pension (non-contributory) under this Part),”.

(2) The Principal Act is amended in section 142—

(a) in subsection (1)(a)(ii), by substituting the following clause for clause (IA) (inserted by section 20 of the Act of 2007):

“(IA) widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension or surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension, but has ceased to be entitled to that pension by virtue of no longer being regarded as a widow, widower or surviving civil partner within the meaning of section 162(1), or”,

and

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) In subsection (3), ‘couple’ means—

(a) a married couple who are living together,

(b) both civil partners of a civil partnership who are living together, or

(c) both cohabitants.”.

(3) The Principal Act is amended in section 144—

(a) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “couple”:

“ ‘couple’ means—

(a) a married couple who are living together,

(b) both civil partners of the same civil partnership who are living together, or

(c) both cohabitants.”,

and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) In this section—

(a) a reference to a civil partner is a reference to each civil partner of a couple in relation to the other, and

(b) a reference to a cohabitant is a reference to each cohabitant in relation to the other.”.

(4) Section 149 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(c), by inserting the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iia) being a civil partner who is not living with the other civil partner of the civil partnership and who has not engaged in remunerative employment or self-employment at any time in the preceding period that may be prescribed, or”,

(b) in subsection (2)(a), by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c)(iia) and subject to section 3(10), a civil partner who is not living with his or her civil partner shall continue to be regarded as such where the civil partnership has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State.”,

and

(c) in subsection (2), by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) Pre-retirement allowance shall, subject to this Chapter, continue to be payable to a person to whom subsection (1)(c)(ii) or subsection (1)(c)(iia) applies, unless that person marries, remarries, enters into a civil partnership or a new civil partnership or is a cohabitant.”.

(5) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 152 (amended by section 37 of and Schedule 7 to the Act of 2006) by inserting the following definition:

“ ‘civil partner’ includes a civil partner whose civil partnership has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State;”,

and

(b) in section 161 (amended by section 20 of the Act of 2006) by inserting the following definition:

“ ‘civil partner’ includes a civil partner whose civil partnership has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State;”.

(6) The Principal Act is amended in section 162 (amended by section 17 of and Schedule 3 to the Act of 2006)—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting the following definition for the definition of “pension”:

“ ‘pension’ means—

(a) a widow’s (non-contributory) pension in the case of a widow,

(b) a widower’s (non-contributory) pension in the case of a widower, and

(c) a surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension in the case of a surviving civil partner;”,

and

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by deleting “and” after “Schedule 3,”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), by inserting “or entered into a civil partnership” after “a widow who has remarried”,

(iii) in paragraph (b), by inserting “or entered into a civil partnership” after “a widower who has remarried”,

(iv) in paragraph (b), by substituting “wife, and” for “wife.”, and

(v) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) a surviving civil partner who has entered into a new civil partnership or has married shall not be regarded as the surviving civil partner of his or her former civil partner.”.

(7) The Principal Act is amended in section 163 (amended by section 21 of the Act of 2006) by substituting the following subsections for subsections (1) and (2):

“(1) Subject to this Act, a pension shall be payable to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner who has not attained pensionable age.

(2) A pension payable to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner shall, subject to this Chapter, continue to be payable unless the beneficiary marries or remarries or enters into a civil partnership or a new civil partnership and in that case the pension shall cease as and from the beneficiary’s marriage or remarriage or entry into a civil partnership or a new civil partnership.”.

(8) The Principal Act is amended by—

(a) substituting the following section for section 166:

“Disqualifications.

166.— A widow, widower or surviving civil partner, as the case may be, shall not, if and so long as he or she is a cohabitant, be entitled to and shall be disqualified for receiving payment of pension.”,

and

(b) inserting the following section after section 167:

“Avoidance of double pensions in relation to surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension.

167A.— Where a surviving civil partner would, but for this section, be entitled to both a surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension and a pension under this Chapter, the latter pension shall not be payable except insofar as is provided by regulations under section 247.”.

(9) Section 196(2) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) where—

(i) a husband and wife,

(ii) both civil partners of a civil partnership, or

(iii) both cohabitants,

are members of the same household, their needs and means shall be aggregated and shall be regarded as the needs and means of the claimant;”.

(10) The Principal Act is amended in section 217 (amended by section 4 of and Schedule 1 to the Act of 2006) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) In this section ‘couple’ means—

(a) a married couple who are living together,

(b) both civil partners of a civil partnership who are living together, or

(c) both cohabitants.”.