Inherited Pension?....

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fififoofoo
fififoofoo Posts: 141 Forumite
in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning
Had a letter from a company called Pheonix saying they were sorry to hear of my fathers death and to contact them with details of his probate certificate etc so they could deal with his pension. After calling them I learnt that he had taken out a pension in 1978, and I can only presume that as he has not claimed it, that's why they were eager to track him down. My eldery mother knew nothing about this pension and I am dealing with it on her behalf. I am wondering what the implications are of this pension fund. Will my mother (his next of kin) have to buy an annuity with it? or will she just inherit any monies due and what tax implications there will be. I am a bit clueless on this subject but wondered if anyone has any experience of this type of matter. Any information you may have would be good.
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  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,830 Forumite
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    I'm suprised one of our experts has not been on here to help, but hey, the night is young.

    Phoenix is a big company so you/your mum needs to contact them.
    I think that it depends on how big the pension pot is as to whether she can take the whole lot, If the pot is £18k or less then she would be able to take the lot.

    There will be choices for her to make ie lump sum and a smaller pension or just a pension

    She really needs to talk to someone about this.

    And to point out also that she does not have to take the pension with Phoenix, she could put it on the open market and get quotes from other companies.
    Miy pot was with phoenix and I had major problems with them, enough to go to the FOS which I'm still waiting for a result.
    The best pension my adviser found for me was Just Retirement. It can make a huge difference. My pension was about £40 a month more with Just Retirement. So she really needs to get professional help.

    I dont know much about all this but am quite happy to be corrected by anyone who comes along who knows more than I do.

    Tax wise, all her income would be added together and if she had income of over £7475 (if she is under 65) per year she would pay 20% tax on the excess.

    Hope Ive helped.
    A lump sum is not taxable.
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • RichandJ
    RichandJ Posts: 1,087 Forumite
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    What McKneff said.

    I was typing a reply along his lines and was just proofreading it when the iPhone crashed so came on the pc instead. D*amn Apple.

    One other thing to be aware of is whether the policy has guaranteed annuity rates (GARs) - they can be quite valuable in these days of generally low returns so whilst the open market option is an option, check what Phoenix are offering first.

    Send them everything they ask for, should make it easier for them to calc any benefits.
    It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees. As well, the cars are all passing me, bright lights are flashing me.

    Johnny Was. Once.

    Why did he think "systolic" ?
  • datostar
    datostar Posts: 1,288 Forumite
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    For what it's worth, Phoenix took on 'run-off' business from other providers - Life Association of Scotland Ltd. and Alba Life to my knowledge from just dealing with my late father's estate. There might be other other companies (Pearl??) so if there's anything at all relating to insurance/pension/annuity in another company name it may have ended up with Phoenix.
  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,830 Forumite
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    Keep copies of everything and do everything in writing making a paper trail
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • fififoofoo
    fififoofoo Posts: 141 Forumite
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    Thanks for your advice so far - just waiting to hear from them after sending all the details. I shall keep you posted....
  • RichandJ
    RichandJ Posts: 1,087 Forumite
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    fififoofoo wrote: »
    Thanks for your advice so far - just waiting to hear from them after sending all the details. I shall keep you posted....

    It's always nice to hear whether any opinion on here has actually helped someone.
    It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees. As well, the cars are all passing me, bright lights are flashing me.

    Johnny Was. Once.

    Why did he think "systolic" ?
  • bilbo51
    bilbo51 Posts: 519 Forumite
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    Just as a matter of interest can anyone say how Phoenix would have heard of OP's father's passing? It seems that OP was unaware of the policy...
  • RichandJ
    RichandJ Posts: 1,087 Forumite
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    bilbo51 wrote: »
    Just as a matter of interest can anyone say how Phoenix would have heard of OP's father's passing? It seems that OP was unaware of the policy...

    OP's father may have reached/passed normal retirement date for the policy and Phoenix may have done a DWP trace, only to be informed of the death, which would then trigger the letter to the survivor.

    Alternatively the policy may have been used to contract out of SERPS (the 1978 start date is a big clue on this) and they may have received a GMP death notice from HMRC, again triggering writing to spouse.
    It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, it only takes one match to burn a thousand trees. As well, the cars are all passing me, bright lights are flashing me.

    Johnny Was. Once.

    Why did he think "systolic" ?
  • fififoofoo
    fififoofoo Posts: 141 Forumite
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    RichandJ wrote: »
    OP's father may have reached/passed normal retirement date for the policy and Phoenix may have done a DWP trace, only to be informed of the death, which would then trigger the letter to the survivor.

    Alternatively the policy may have been used to contract out of SERPS (the 1978 start date is a big clue on this) and they may have received a GMP death notice from HMRC, again triggering writing to spouse.

    - that's what I thought -or he would have turned 70 in January and if he hadn't claimed his pension this might have triggered someone to find me. Although I can't figure out why they didn't trace my mother first?! still waiting for a follow up letter to drop through the door though.....
  • anmarj
    anmarj Posts: 1,819 Forumite
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    wondering if they used this service

    http://www.dwp.gov.uk/other-specialists/bulk-letter-forwarding-service/

    just found this while looking for something else
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