Life events
Back to overviewIf you need to notify us of the death of a member, please complete this form.
Divorce or civil partnership dissolution can be a confusing and distressing time. Pensions are taken into account during divorce or dissolution settlement discussions.
If you divorce, your solicitor will need to consider any benefits you and your ex may have, including benefits payable from the Scheme. If a pension sharing order is made, your Scheme benefits will be reduced accordingly. Your ex cannot become a member of the Scheme, and any benefits awarded to them must be transferred out to an approved pension arrangement in their own name.
Please ask your solicitor to contact the administration team for the necessary information before a pension sharing or earmarking order is drafted.
If you remarry, you should notify the administration team of your marital status by completing the Update details form and updating your Expression of wish form.
The administration team needs to have up-to-date contact details for you to ensure that there are no delays in paying your benefits, so please let them know if you move home.
Please use the Update details form to update your details or call the team on 03457 65 65 65.
The Scheme may provide financial benefits to your loved ones if you die while you are receiving a pension. These include a lump sum payment and dependants’ pensions.
The benefits payable from the Scheme after your death depend on your benefit scale:
- For members on the Basic and Higher scale who retired before April 1999, a spouse’s pension is payable, equal to 50% of the pension you were receiving at the date of death.
- If you retired after April 1999, your spouse or civil partner may receive a pension equal to 50% of the pension you would have been entitled to receive at the date of your death had you not converted any of your pension into a lump sum;
- No dependants’ pensions are payable for any period on the 2017 scale.
If you die within five years of your retirement, a lump sum will be payable equal to the value of the pension payments which would have been paid during the remainder of the five-year period, reduced to take account of early payment and ignoring any future pension increases.
The Scheme Trustee has discretion to decide who should get this lump sum payment. This is why it is important to complete an Expression of wish form and keep it up to date. Although the form is not binding, the Trustee will take your wishes into account when deciding who will receive a lump sum payment and will make every effort to meet your wishes where possible. By giving the Trustee discretion, it means that the lump sum does not form part of your Estate and so will not be subject to Inheritance Tax. It also means the payment isn’t delayed by probate issues while your Estate is settled.
If your spouse or civil partner who is receiving a pension under the Scheme dies, leaving one or more children under 18 years of age, a children’s pension will be payable up to the amount of the spouse’s pension at date of death. If your spouse or civil partner is more than 10 years younger than you, their pension will be reduced.
For any period where members built up benefits on the Basic and Higher scales, if you do not leave a spouse or civil partner on your death or if you are unmarried at date of death, a pension equal to the amount which would have been payable to a spouse or civil partner may be paid to any person who was financially dependent on you.