Death in service
Death in service payments can be paid in the event of the death of a contributing scheme member.
Members can nominate who they would prefer to receive benefits.
On this page
What is a death in service benefit?
If you die in service while contributing to your workplace pension scheme, then your dependants and/or estate will receive the benefits as set out in the rules or regulations of your scheme.
You can find how the benefits would be calculated and the level of cover by checking your scheme online or getting a copy of the scheme booklet checking that it is up to date.
There are usually three types of benefit paid on death in service:
A death in service lump sum
The amount paid under death in service varies and is commonly a multiple of your pensionable pay at death (many schemes will not take into account reductions in pensionable pay that may have occurred because of your ill health before death). For example, it is three times pensionable pay in the Local Government Pension Scheme and twice pensionable pay in the NHS Pension Scheme.
Spouses/partners pensions
In addition to a death in service payment it’s also common for pension schemes to pay out a survivor’s pension, usually to a spouse, co-habiting partner, civil partner. The proportion of the member’s pension paid out as a survivor pension varies between schemes.
In the LGPS and the NHSPS the member’s pension is notionally increased by basing it on ill-health retirement at the date of death and it is a proportion of that pension that is then payable as a survivor’s pension.
Children’s pensions
Many schemes provide eligible children’s pensions in addition to survivor’s pensions, including the NHSPS and LGPS. Children’s pensions in public service schemes are usually payable to age 18 or until age 23 if in full time/vocational training.
Many employers in the private sector offer flexible benefits which are not necessarily linked to membership of the pension scheme and life assurance is frequently one of these. Depending on where you work and your employer’s benefit package you may be able to purchase additional life assurance if you wish to.
How death in service payments are paid
It is usual for the scheme manager, trustees or insurance company to have discretion, to pay the death in service lump sum to who the member has nominated to receive it – if they have completed an expression of wish form.
The scheme can also pay the personal representatives or any person appearing to be a relative or dependant of the member if a form has not been completed or circumstances have changed, eg the nominee has predeceased the member.
If you want to nominate someone, you should always take care in ensuring that your nominations are up to date.
External advice and support
Frequently asked questions
If so, the cost of insuring death in service payments is generally pretty low, so it’s relatively rare for an employer to look to withdraw these but if your employer proposes to make detrimental changes to your terms and conditions you should contact your UNISON branch and ask them to start talks with your employer.
If many employees oppose the cuts, the employer is more likely to back down before moving to the next step, as there may be other ways they can achieve the savings they are looking to make.
Legal disclaimer
The information contained within this article is not a complete or final statement of the law and is based on the laws of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
While UNISON has sought to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date, it is not responsible and will not be held liable for any inaccuracies and their consequences, including any loss arising from relying on this information. If you are a UNISON member with a legal problem, please contact your branch or region as soon as possible for advice, or for non-employment matters call UNISONdirect.