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Death benefits

What happens to your pension when you die

The death benefits available from the scheme vary depending on your membership stage, length of service, if you have started receiving your pension, and for how long you have been receiving your pension.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of death benefits that may be possible:

 A lump sum death grant
A one-off payment made to your nominee, personal representative (the person responsible for your estate), a dependant, or relative. You should let us know who you would prefer for us to make payment to by completing an expression of wish form, or updating the relevant page on Engage, and keeping it up to date over time if your wishes change.

Further information on how the value of this is calculated and under what circumstances it may be payable can be found by clicking on the death grants box below. The payment is normally tax-free.

 Dependant pension(s)
A monthly pension paid to a spouse, civil partner or co-habiting partner* and, if relevant, child or children pensions. Further information on these can be found by clicking on the relevant box below.

Death Grant Lump Sum for Active Members

If you pass away while in active service as an LGPS member, a lump sum death grant equivalent to three times your annual salary at the date of death will be paid. This applies regardless of the length of LGPS membership.

If you also have deferred benefits or a pension in payment from prior LGPS membership, the lump sum death grant payable will be the higher of:

  • The total lump sum death grants from deferred benefits and/or pensions in payment.

  • Three times your annual salary at the date of death.

Where ill health led to death in service and an independent registered medical practitioner certifies that your contractual working hours were reduced during the period used to calculate your annual salary, the assumed pensionable pay will be based on what you would have earned had you not worked reduced hours.

Note: If the death grant in relation to an active member remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Death grant lump sum for a deferred member

If you have left the LGPS:

  • on or after 1 April 2008: A lump sum of five times your deferred annual pension will be paid.

  • before 1 April 2008: A lump sum of three times your deferred annual pension will be paid.

Note: If the death grant in relation to an deferred member remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Death Grant for a Pensioner

A lump sum may be payable if you die, however it will depend on when you retired and how many years pension you have received.

If you:

  Left the Scheme before 1 April 2008, a lump sum will be payable if you pass away within 5 years of taking your pension.

  Left the Scheme on or after 1 April 2008, a lump sum will be payable if you pass away within 10 years of taking your pension.

Note: A tax charge of up to 45% will apply if either of the following applies:

*If pensioner dies after reaching age 75; or

*If the death grant remains unpaid after two years,

 

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

If you have AVCs, the value of your AVC fund and any extra life cover will also be payable.

Note: If you hold a pre-2014 AVC plan and left active membership before 1 April 2008 and the death grant is paid after 2 years, than a AVC death grant must be paid to the member’s personal representatives and a tax charge of 45% will apply.

 

Who receives the Death Grant?

We have absolute discretion over who receives the lump sum death grant, but we will consider your stated wishes. It’s crucial to keep your expression of wish on your Engage account updated if your circumstances or preferences change.

The death grant may be paid to:

  • The person(s) you have nominated in your expression of wish.

  • Your personal representatives.

  • Any individual deemed to have been your relative or dependant at the time.

Note: If the death grant remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Payment of AVCs

For AVCs, discretion applies to deciding the recipient, provided contributions were made on or after 1 April 2014. If contributions ceased before 1 April 2014, the AVC lump sum will automatically be paid to your estate.

Death Grant Lump Sum for Active Members

If you pass away while in active service as an LGPS member, a lump sum death grant equivalent to three times your annual salary at the date of death will be paid. This applies regardless of the length of LGPS membership.

If you also have deferred benefits or a pension in payment from prior LGPS membership, the lump sum death grant payable will be the higher of:

  • The total lump sum death grants from deferred benefits and/or pensions in payment.

  • Three times your annual salary at the date of death.

Where ill health led to death in service and an independent registered medical practitioner certifies that your contractual working hours were reduced during the period used to calculate your annual salary, the assumed pensionable pay will be based on what you would have earned had you not worked reduced hours.

Note: If the death grant in relation to an active member remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Death grant lump sum for a deferred member

If you have left the LGPS:

  • on or after 1 April 2008: A lump sum of five times your deferred annual pension will be paid.

  • before 1 April 2008: A lump sum of three times your deferred annual pension will be paid.

Note: If the death grant in relation to an deferred member remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Death Grant for a Pensioner

A lump sum may be payable if you die, however it will depend on when you retired and how many years pension you have received.

If you:

  Left the Scheme before 1 April 2008, a lump sum will be payable if you pass away within 5 years of taking your pension.

  Left the Scheme on or after 1 April 2008, a lump sum will be payable if you pass away within 10 years of taking your pension.

Note: A tax charge of up to 45% will apply if either of the following applies:

*If pensioner dies after reaching age 75; or

*If the death grant remains unpaid after two years,

 

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

If you have AVCs, the value of your AVC fund and any extra life cover will also be payable.

Note: If you hold a pre-2014 AVC plan and left active membership before 1 April 2008 and the death grant is paid after 2 years, than a AVC death grant must be paid to the member’s personal representatives and a tax charge of 45% will apply.

 

Who receives the Death Grant?

We have absolute discretion over who receives the lump sum death grant, but we will consider your stated wishes. It’s crucial to keep your expression of wish on your Engage account updated if your circumstances or preferences change.

The death grant may be paid to:

  • The person(s) you have nominated in your expression of wish.

  • Your personal representatives.

  • Any individual deemed to have been your relative or dependant at the time.

Note: If the death grant remains unpaid after two years, a tax charge of up to 45% will apply. 

 

Payment of AVCs

For AVCs, discretion applies to deciding the recipient, provided contributions were made on or after 1 April 2014. If contributions ceased before 1 April 2014, the AVC lump sum will automatically be paid to your estate.

If you were to die as a member of the LGPS, an ongoing pension is provided for your spouse, registered civil partner or, subject to certain qualifying conditions, your eligible cohabiting partner (if you were a member of the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008).

This pension is payable immediately after your death for the rest of their life and will increase every year in line with the cost of living. The pension benefits payable are generally calculated as below:

For any spouse or civil partner

a). Relationship status (spouse, civil partner) began before leaving active status: 

  Death whilst paying in (active member) Death when no longer paying in (deferred member)
Your membership from 1 April 2014 1/160th of the pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account plus, an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death to your Normal Pension Age. 1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account.
Your membership up to 31 March 2014 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership up to 31 March 2014. 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership up to 31 March 2014.

b). If you marry or enter into an opposite sex civil partnership after leaving the LGPS:

  • the survivor's pension paid is as above but based on your membership after 5 April 1978 only.

 

For any eligible cohabiting partner

  Death whilst paying in (active member) Death when no longer paying in (deferred member)
Your membership from 1 April 2014 1/160th of the pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account plus, an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death to your Normal Pension Age. 1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account.
Your membership up to 31 March 2014 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership from 6 April 1988 up to 31 March 2014, plus any membership before 6 April 1988 if you elected to pay additional contributions to make it count*. 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership from 6 April 1988 up to 31 March 2014, plus any membership before 6 April 1988 if you elected to pay additional contributions to make it count*.


* An election to pay additional contributions to make membership before 6 April 1988 count towards the calculation of cohabiting partner's pension must have been made before 1 April 2014.

If you were to die as a member of the LGPS, an ongoing pension is provided for your spouse, registered civil partner or, subject to certain qualifying conditions, your eligible cohabiting partner (if you were a member of the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008).

This pension is payable immediately after your death for the rest of their life and will increase every year in line with the cost of living. The pension benefits payable are generally calculated as below:

For any spouse or civil partner

a). Relationship status (spouse, civil partner) began before leaving active status: 

  Death whilst paying in (active member) Death when no longer paying in (deferred member)
Your membership from 1 April 2014 1/160th of the pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account plus, an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death to your Normal Pension Age. 1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account.
Your membership up to 31 March 2014 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership up to 31 March 2014. 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership up to 31 March 2014.

b). If you marry or enter into an opposite sex civil partnership after leaving the LGPS:

  • the survivor's pension paid is as above but based on your membership after 5 April 1978 only.

 

For any eligible cohabiting partner

  Death whilst paying in (active member) Death when no longer paying in (deferred member)
Your membership from 1 April 2014 1/160th of the pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account plus, an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death to your Normal Pension Age. 1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionable pay you received in each year plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account.
Your membership up to 31 March 2014 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership from 6 April 1988 up to 31 March 2014, plus any membership before 6 April 1988 if you elected to pay additional contributions to make it count*. 1/160th of your final pay multiplied by the period of your membership from 6 April 1988 up to 31 March 2014, plus any membership before 6 April 1988 if you elected to pay additional contributions to make it count*.


* An election to pay additional contributions to make membership before 6 April 1988 count towards the calculation of cohabiting partner's pension must have been made before 1 April 2014.

Children's Pensions for Members Who Die in Service

If you pass away while in service, pensions are payable to eligible children and are adjusted annually to reflect increases in the cost of living.

The amount of the pension is determined by the number of eligible children and whether a partner’s pension is also being paid to a spouse, civil partner, or an eligible cohabiting partner.

 

Definition of an Eligible Child

An eligible child may include:

  • A natural child born before, on, or within 12 months of your death.

  • An adopted child born before or on the date of your death.

  • A stepchild or a child whom you accepted as part of your family and who was financially dependent on you at the time of your death.

Additionally, an eligible child must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Be under 18 years old.

  • Be under 23 years old and in full-time education or vocational training. Breaks in education or training may not affect eligibility.

  • Be under 23 years old and unable to engage in gainful employment* due to a physical or mental impairment.

  • Be over 23 years old, unable to engage in gainful employment* due to a permanent physical or mental impairment, and financially dependent on you at the time of death. A medical practitioner must confirm whether the impairment is permanent.

*Gainful employment refers to paid work of at least 30 hours per week, for a minimum duration of 12 months.

 

Payment Distribution

If the pension is payable to two or more children, it will be divided equally among them.

Children's Pensions for Members Who Die in Service

If you pass away while in service, pensions are payable to eligible children and are adjusted annually to reflect increases in the cost of living.

The amount of the pension is determined by the number of eligible children and whether a partner’s pension is also being paid to a spouse, civil partner, or an eligible cohabiting partner.

 

Definition of an Eligible Child

An eligible child may include:

  • A natural child born before, on, or within 12 months of your death.

  • An adopted child born before or on the date of your death.

  • A stepchild or a child whom you accepted as part of your family and who was financially dependent on you at the time of your death.

Additionally, an eligible child must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Be under 18 years old.

  • Be under 23 years old and in full-time education or vocational training. Breaks in education or training may not affect eligibility.

  • Be under 23 years old and unable to engage in gainful employment* due to a physical or mental impairment.

  • Be over 23 years old, unable to engage in gainful employment* due to a permanent physical or mental impairment, and financially dependent on you at the time of death. A medical practitioner must confirm whether the impairment is permanent.

*Gainful employment refers to paid work of at least 30 hours per week, for a minimum duration of 12 months.

 

Payment Distribution

If the pension is payable to two or more children, it will be divided equally among them.

Under the LGPS Regulations, a co-habiting partnership is defined based on the circumstances at the date of death, as follows:

  • The member was free to marry or enter into a civil partnership with their partner (i.e. neither person were still married or in a civil partnership with someone else);
  • The couple were living together as if they were married or in a civil partnership;
  • Neither the member nor the partner was living with a third person as if they were husband and wife or as if they were civil partners; and
  • Either the partner was financially dependent on the member, or the member and partner were financially interdependent.

These conditions were all fulfilled for a continuous period of at least two years.