Dad's Civil Service Pension

mary79

Hi, I really need some advice, my dad passed away and his only asset was his Civil Service Pension which he had paid into for over 30 years. He took early retirement on health grounds when he was 58 and passed away when he was 61. I was his nominated beneficiary and dad always stated that there would be a payout to pay for his funeral.






Well talking to the Civil Service Pensions is a disaster! they never answer the phone, wont acknowledge emails and wont reply to registered letters. They truly are a nightmare, when I did manage to contact them after over an hour on the phone they state there was no money to come out of the pension that dad was due nothing and there was no widows pension (I wasn't expecting this dad divorced before he passed away) I can find no paperwork that states I am not due a lump sum every statement just says payment due on death and even when dad was writing to them in 2011 he was saying there was a lump sum due to me on death and they never questioned or denied this. What can I do to try and get this money? It hardly seems fair that dads pension was valued at over £150,000 in 2010 and that he only received the pension for a few years and a very small lump sum for all the money he paid in does this make sense?

molerat

There may be something paid out under the 5 year rule - the pension is guaranteed for 5 years so an early death should result in the remainder being paid out - but there will be no other payment to non dependants, that is how the system works, those that die early cross subsidise those that live a long time. The big problem seems to be that MyCSP are hopeless at all levels !

Death after you retire
We may pay a death benefit lump sum if you die within five years of retiring. We work it out as the difference (if any) between five times your annual pension on the date you died and the total pension and lump sum payments you have already received. We will pay it to your nominee or your personal representative.
Example:
Your annual pension is £7,500 and the lump sum is £22,500. You die 11 months after retiring. We work out the lump sum in two parts. We work out the maximum benefit first and the benefits you have already received are taken from this.
Maximum benefit: 5 x £7,500 = £37,500
Less the benefits you have already received: £6,875 (11 months’ pension) +22,500 = £29,375
Lump sum to pay: £37,500 - £29,375 = £8,125
If, however, you choose to take a higher lump sum on retirement, it will impact on this death after retirement guarantee. The higher lump sum will reduce (or cancel out) any potential lump sum payment on death within 2 years of retirement

p00hsticks

I'm assuming as he had 30 years service he was in the classic scheme ? If this is the case then according to page 16 (edit - sorry, it's page 14) of the scheme guide below, as he died within 5 years of claiming his pension the estate might be entitled to a lump sum, but I think it will depend on whether he took a lump sum at the time he started to take his pension...

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/94747/classic-scheme-guide2.pdf

safestored4

I am a retired Civil Service pensioner. The Cabinet Office issued us all with an up to date set of notes about the scheme in April last year.

This contains a paragraph headed "Lump Sum Death Benefits" in which the guidance is somewhat different to that mentioned above.

The paragraph begins "We may pay a lump sum if you die within 2 years (5 years if you are a member of classic plus or premium) of your pension first being paid."

Assuming that this is correct then you need to determine which pension scheme your father was a member of. If he was a member of the classic scheme then nothing further would appear to be payable.

The classic plus and premium pension schemes were introduced in 2002 and members of the classic scheme could opt to stay in this or to transfer over to one of these. If your father transferred over then a lump sum would appear to be due.

Did he retain any of the paperwork which would have been issued to him over the years about the pension scheme changes which might indicate the position?

greenglide

and his only asset was his Civil Service Pension which he had paid into for over 30 years.

Was the civil service pension scheme effectively "frew" as the contributions were the same as the savings in being contracted out?

safestored4

The civil service classic pension scheme was notionally free but for a 1.5% contribution for widows pensions. I say notionally because I was always told that pay rises were reduced to reflect the relatively generous pension arrangements.