Death benefit to be paid to nominee

Hamstar

How do I nominate a beneficiary for my retirement annuity policy in order to receive death benefits, after my death? This refers to a pension pool that has not been converted into an annuity or drawdown pension. The intention is to take all the death benefit of the accumulated pension plan (pot) out of my estate, so that it passes on to my daughter with inheritance tax advantage.
Do I need to write this in Trust with a Deed, or can I simply write a letter stating my wish that on my death, my retirement annuity plan policy xxx, will pay all death benefits to daughter yyy?

dunstonh

You just tell the pension provider you wish to alter your "expression of wish" and give the name and address of the beneficiary and proportion that you want to give to that person.

Be wary, retirement annuity contracts can have different death benefits to personal pensions. Some are return of fund but some are only return of premiums.

The pension pot, even without an expression of wish, is outside of the estate and not subject to inheritance tax.

Hamstar

Thanks dunstonh. I gave Eq. Life a Power of Appointment Trust (Death benefit nomination) and they rejected it because
"The Deed you provided only places the death benefit in Trust and it is not possible to partially assign benefits under a Retirement Annuity plan. In order for the Deed to be acceptable we would expect the Deed to place the whole policy under Trust with it stipulating how you wish the death benefit to be paid. With regard to the pension benefits we would expect the Deed to stipulate that these benefit the settlor. It is confirmed that in the event of a claim, the proceeds of your policies will be paid to those named on the Grant of Probate and will form part of your estate"
What on earth do they mean? Why am I expected to make reference to both live pension benefit AND death benefit in the same document? It doesn't make sense. Unlike other companies, Eq L do not provide a specimen form for my purpose, and do not appear to want to guide me on exactly what they do want to see in writing. The good news is that Eq L have confirmed that the death benefit is the value of the fund - with profit, and the bid value of the unit-linked fund, and not simply a return of premiums.