What happens to your State Pension when you die For every year you earn above the personal allowance, your state pension payments go up - but what happens if the unexpected suddenly happens? If you're married or in a civil partnership and your partner dies, your pension may get a boost (Image: Matt Cardy/Getty Images) Never miss another story from Coventry and Warwickshire by subscribing to our free email updatesInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.