Death in retirement

Lump sum death payment 

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

If you left or retired before 1 April 2009 a lump sum will be payable if you die before you have taken a full five years' pension.

If you left or retired on or after 1 April 2009 a lump sum will be payable if you die before you have taken ten years' full pension.

If you die on or after age 75, no lump sum can be paid.

Survivor's pension 

When you die, we may be able to pay a pension to your husband/wife or your civil partner or your cohabiting partner and your dependent children. The amount of pension is based on how long you were in the Scheme, your pay when you retired, and any dependants you leave.

If you left employment on or after 1 April 1998, any survivor's pension will be payable for life to your husband/wife or your civil partner or your cohabiting partner even if they remarry.

If you left employment before 1 April 1998, payment of any survivor's pension would be stopped if your husband, wife or civil partner were to remarry. 

Important Note: 

If you got married after you retired, not all your membership may count towards a pension for your husband or wife, civil partner or cohabiting partner.

The amount of a survivor's pension depends on a number of factors - please contact us for the details applicable to your circumstances.

What happens when I die?

What should the person who is looking after my affairs do?

When you die it is important that whoever is looking after your affairs lets us know as soon as possible. We can then stop your pension and put in place any new pensions which are due. This will help us make sure we don't make any overpayments and have to claim back money.

In the event of your death we will require whoever is looking after your affairs to contact us and to give us the following information:

• Your name, address and date of death
• Your payroll reference number and National Insurance number, these can be found on a recent pay slip or your P60
• The name and address of your next of kin
• The name and address of the person looking after your affairs if they are not your next of kin
• Sight of the death certificate

Alternatively, you can make use of the government's "Tell Us Once" service which allows you to report a death to most government organisations in one go. The Registrar will give you details about this. 

Who will get my benefits?

Lump sum death grant

You can let us know your wishes by filling in an Expression of Wish form (see HelpHub) or by updating it on My Pension Online.

We make the final decision on whom to pay the lump sum to. Before we make any decision we will consider any wishes you have expressed, but are not bound by this.

If you get married, form a registered civil partnership or your marriage or partnership ceases after making a nomination, you must confirm or change the nomination. If Lothian Pension Fund has been unable to pay the death grant to the nominees within two years of your death, it will be paid to your executors.

If you make a nomination of a child under the age of 16 and a death grant is to be paid whilst the child is under 16, in these circumstances if the grant is over £5,000 it will be paid via the Accountant of Court and not direct to the child or relative. The Accountant of Court ensures that all funds and property managed or supervised is invested  prudently and administered properly until the child reaches age 16.

Survivor's pensions

Survivor's pensions are payable to your husband/wife or your civil partner or cohabiting partner.

If you would like benefits to be paid to a cohabiting partner they will need to meet certain conditions.

Children's pensions

Children's pensions are payable to any eligible dependent children you may have when you die.

Please contact us if you want to know more.