Life Events

Marriage and civil partnership

If you marry or enter a civil partnership your spouse / civil partner ("spouse") becomes eligible for 50% of your pension in the event of your death. We call this the dependant's pension. If your spouse survives you, this will be paid to your spouse for the rest of their life.

The Trustees will need to see proof of your marriage or partnership in the form of a certificate before these benefits can be put into payment. Your spouse will require a bank account and a National Insurance Number to receive their dependant's pension.

Children

Your first child becomes eligible for 25% of your pension in the event of your death. This is payable until the child reaches age 18 if they are not in full-time education, or age 21 if they are in full-time education. The Trustees will need to see proof of the age of your child in the form of a birth certificate before these benefits can be put into payment.

Formal proof of full-time education will also be needed from the education establishment your child is studying with, if applicable.

A second child increases the amount payable to 50% of your pension. Subsequent children do not increase the amount payable any further. The amount payable is split equally between all eligible children. The amount may be paid to a parent, guardian or responsible adult on the child's behalf.

Divorce

If you divorce or dissolve a civil partnership, a court may order that you must give up some of your pension to your ex-spouse. This is often expressed by the court as a percentage of your benefits, or less often as a fixed amount.

The Trustees will need to see various formal documents associated with the divorce, including:

• a copy of the Decree Absolute, in the case of divorce,
• a copy of the Final Order of dissolution, in the case of ending a civil partnership,
• and a copy of the Court Order regarding your money and property.

We will use the Court Order to calculate:

• how much of your pension you must give up,
• the lump sum of money to be paid to your ex-spouse's pension arrangement,
• and the administration costs to be paid by you and your ex-spouse.

Your ex-spouse must have a registered pension arrangement to receive the lump sum payout. If they do not have one, they will need to first set one up.

Arranging this payment creates administration costs for the Scheme that must be paid for by yourself and/or your ex-spouse. The Court Order will generally state who must pay the costs.

The Court Order is legally binding on the Scheme. We are legally obliged to pay the amount ordered. If administration costs are not paid in a timely fashion, we may be forced to make an additional deduction from your pension and/or your ex-spouse's payout.

Ill-health early retirement

Subject to the Trustees taking independent medical advice from a qualified medical practitioner and being satisfied that your physical or mental incapacity is serious enough:-

1. to prevent you from following your normal occupation,
2. and to seriously impair your earning ability,
3. and that you are unlikely to recover,

then the Trustees may pay your Pension before the minimum age allowed by legislation, which is currently 55*.

If you have received a terminal diagnosis from a qualified medical practitioner, your pension could instead be commuted for a serious ill-health lump sum equivalent to a CETV, so please contact us at any time if you think you might qualify for either a pension or lump sum.

*The government is changing this age. From 6th April 2028, you must be at least 57 before you can take any pension benefits.

Death benefit before retirement

In the event of your death before you start taking your benefits, if your spouse or partner survives you they are entitled to receive 50% of the pension you were entitled to at the date of death.

An income of 25% of your pension is payable to each dependent child up to a maximum of 50% for two or more children.

The pension payable is a proportion of whichever pension you qualify for and is higher at the date of your death. So if you qualify for the Final Salary Pension and this is higher, your dependant's pension is a proportion of the Final Salary Pension. Otherwise, it is a proportion of the Money Purchase Pension.

Find out more about the two different types of pension in our guide: Pensions and lump sums.

Death benefit after retirement

Once your pension is in payment, it continues to be paid for the rest of your life.

When you die, if your spouse or partner survives you they are entitled to receive 50% of the income you were entitled to at the date you retired, increased by the same rate of annual pension increases that has been applied to your income since you retired.

This income is calculated regardless of any pension commencement lump sum you took on retirement.

Note that, if you took a tax-free cash lump sum at retirement in exchange for a reduction in your monthly income, your spouse’s starting pension could actually work out as more than 50% of the pension income you were receiving at your death.

If you die within five years after retiring, your beneficiaries will also receive the balance of the first five years of income that would have been paid to you, paid as a lump sum benefit. This is known as the five year guarantee. This sum can be paid to any person (whether financially related to you or not), any organisation or charity you have nominated).

Death benefit nomination

When you die, the Trustees of the Scheme will consider any person on your death benefit nomination form to decide who is to receive your dependant's pension, so it is important that you keep your nomination form up to date to make your intentions clear, even after you have retired.

The Trustees may ask to see proof that your nominated dependants were financially interdependent with you in order to make this decision. 

The Trustees have complete discretion over what benefits to pay and to whom they are paid. They are not legally obliged to act in accordance with your nomination.

In this way, any death benefit paid to your beneficiaries may be legitimately excluded under HM Revenue & Customs Inheritance Tax rules.