Death Grants

xVikkix

Hi everyone

I've got a query about death grants which I was hoping somebody might have some advice about.

So, for a bit of context: My uncle died fairly suddenly in August (he had recently been diagnosed with cancer but it was a shock that it happened so quickly). He had put down my mum as next of kin at the hospital when he had first begun his treatment and she was generally regarded as his closest relative at this time. He has a son, but they rarely spoke until my uncle was diagnosed.

On 20th October, my mum received a letter from the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to notify her that she may be entitled to some money from his death grant. She sent off the appropriate forms and a couple of weeks later received a phonecall to tell her that she would be receiving half of the death grant, along with my uncles son. After a very brief conversation, she told me afterwards that the man on the phone had said "seven and a half" but hadn't made it quite clear what this referred to specifically. She was surprised at the time that she would be receiving any money so hadn't thought to query it. We just assumed that with that kind of expression, we were looking at thousands of pounds. My uncle had been working as head caretaker at a private school for years and we assumed that this could be right.

Today we finally received a letter to notify us how much my mum would be getting. To our dismay the amount was £327.37 including interest. My mum is very upset at this as she feels we were led to believe the amount was a lot more and she was counting on the money a little as times aren't easy at the moment. We're also very confused as to how the amount is worked out as the website says a death grant is 3 times is his pay and we haven't been given a detailed breakdown of the calculation.

So, I'd like to know if anyone has had any experience of death grants, what they think about the situation and if they think there's anything i could/should do going forward? My aim was to write to them and ask how they worked out the amount and comment on their lack of clarity within their correspondence. I'm not sure if we can do any more than that.

Any advice would be greatful!

g6jns_2

xVikkix wrote: »

Hi everyone

I've got a query about death grants which I was hoping somebody might have some advice about.

So, for a bit of context: My uncle died fairly suddenly in August (he had recently been diagnosed with cancer but it was a shock that it happened so quickly). He had put down my mum as next of kin at the hospital when he had first begun his treatment and she was generally regarded as his closest relative at this time. He has a son, but they rarely spoke until my uncle was diagnosed.

On 20th October, my mum received a letter from the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to notify her that she may be entitled to some money from his death grant. She sent off the appropriate forms and a couple of weeks later received a phonecall to tell her that she would be receiving half of the death grant, along with my uncles son. After a very brief conversation, she told me afterwards that the man on the phone had said "seven and a half" but hadn't made it quite clear what this referred to specifically. She was surprised at the time that she would be receiving any money so hadn't thought to query it. We just assumed that with that kind of expression, we were looking at thousands of pounds. My uncle had been working as head caretaker at a private school for years and we assumed that this could be right.

Today we finally received a letter to notify us how much my mum would be getting. To our dismay the amount was £327.37 including interest. My mum is very upset at this as she feels we were led to believe the amount was a lot more and she was counting on the money a little as times aren't easy at the moment. We're also very confused as to how the amount is worked out as the website says a death grant is 3 times is his pay and we haven't been given a detailed breakdown of the calculation.

So, I'd like to know if anyone has had any experience of death grants, what they think about the situation and if they think there's anything i could/should do going forward? My aim was to write to them and ask how they worked out the amount and comment on their lack of clarity within their correspondence. I'm not sure if we can do any more than that.

Any advice would be greatful!

Sorry to hear of your loss. There are no standard rules as each scene is different. I would write a polite letter setting out your concern and ask for an explanation of how the sum was calculated.

RAS

http://www.wypf.org.uk/Member/Active/AboutYourPension/DeathBenefits/DeathBenefits.aspx#1

The death grant is three times annual salary. Is it possible that he left something to someone other than his relatives?

ASk for a copy of the nomination form.

Robin9

Did he die while still employed or as a pensioner ,?

xVikkix

Thanks for your replies.

RAS - not likely, the WYPF told us that my mum and his son would be the only beneficiaries

Robin9 - he was still employed yes, worked hard all his life and never quite got there which is sad

Robin9

I think your that because Uncle's job when he retired was at a private school his salary is not relevant to the WYPS payment. That was associated with whatever was paid into WYPS - I presume he was employed in state education at some time and his pension would have been frozen