Certain benefits may be payable when you die as a pensioner of the Scheme. This may include a lump sum death benefit, dependant and child pensions, and a bereavement grant. Your representative or next of kin can let us know by using the Report a death form. Barnett Waddingham, the Scheme administrator, will then start the process of paying any death benefits.

Lump sum

A lump sum is paid if you die within five years of receiving your first pension payment. It will be the amount that you would have been paid as a pension over the remaining years up to that five-year mark.

To make sure any lump sum that may be due is paid to the right person, please let us know who you’d like to nominate by completing an expression of wish. You can nominate one person to receive the whole amount, or more than one person and tell us what percentage you’d like each person to receive.

You can complete your expression of wish via Clarity from BW.

A dependant’s pension

A dependant’s pension is automatically paid to your spouse or civil partner for the rest of their life. If you’re not married or in a civil partnership and you left service after 1 October 1987, you can nominate:

a partner
an aged parent
a disabled child who isn’t able to support themselves financially.

In the event of your death, the people you have nominated will need to provide evidence of their financial dependency or interdependency. You can complete your dependant nomination via Clarity from BW.

Bereavement grant

This is a one-off payment of £1,000, payable on the death of a pensioner who retired from active service, to help towards immediate funeral expenses. It’s paid by the Trustee, which means there isn’t any liability for Inheritance Tax.

If it’s needed to cover funeral costs, the Trustee will pay it directly to the funeral director. If funeral expenses are already provided for, the benefit will be paid to a beneficiary or beneficiaries chosen by the Trustee.

When we write to your next of kin, we’ll include a bereavement grant form.

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