Death befor taking pension & ex wife dependant

masonj3

jamesd wrote: »

She is a potential financial dependent just because she was receiving money. But since state pension deferral could get her more than she was getting at a cost of only a couple of thousand Pounds there's no real reason for them to consider more than that. And less or nil seems likely once they have considered her current financial position.

Zurich have to seek information from her, in part because if she was to disagree with what they decided she could take them to court to try to get more. That's also why they are keeping back a bit, so they haven't fully made payment until they have the information to make a decision that they are comfortable with. Trustees having to make these decisions is something that comes as part of the way the tax benefits of pensions are delivered. Even if they make a payment it'll still be a big gain from the tax benefits overall.

Them apparently cutting the amount withheld from £48k to £20k is a sign that things are moving in the right direction.

Thank you for the last reply for some reason I have only just seen this I must have deleted a notification - I have still not heard back from them, They have still withheld just under £50k the £20k was a typo was a typo. Its almost 4 weeks since our letter was passed to complaints team x

masonj3

Hi we have received an update from the pension provider can anyone advise what They mean by checking my dad adhered to the court order - had he not ge would of been imprisionef for non payment ?? The courses could verify this or our bank statements could have been given - thank you xx

Dear Mrs Xxx

I have been asked to provide you with an update on the progress of your
complaint.

I am the complaint handler investigating the concerns you've raised, and I
am currently looking into when we will be in a position to release the
balance due from Mr Xxx's pension.

We just need to clarify with the other Mrs xx that the Court Order in
place has been adhered too, and we expect to be in a position to finalise
matters within the next 14 days.
I would like to thank you for allowing us the time to investigate this
matter for you. For information, we have up to 8 weeks to issue our final
outcome letter, and rest assured we always try whenever possible to exceed
this.

In the meantime, I am exploring the possibility of releasing more of the
fund to you, prior to the completion of my investigation.

kind regards

jamesd

With payments that low the failure to make them might have been ignored by her so it's not unreasonable for them to check. Unpaid money would be a debt of his estate to her, not really their responsibility, but understandable.

It appears that they have already eliminated the possibility of any very big payment to her and are gradually edging down the amount they think they need to keep back just in case.

masonj3

Thank you for your reply xx I think that they should seek clarification from the court rather than his ex wife and in all honesty I don't feel she should receive anything. It's crazy how just 2 years of marriage gives her so many rights - I really disagree with the pension providers actions in all of this. Thank you again for taking the time to reply x

jamesd

Nothing for her is quite likely to be the final value.

Asking her is probably a good move because she might well tell them that she expected the money to stop. Can ask the court of for bank statements if she lies about getting the money so no need to worry about that bit.

It's frustrating but they do seem to be trying to do their job quite well.

stclair

OldBeanz wrote: »

There is no reason why you cannot write to the company now acknowledging receipt of their letters and asking for a timetable for expected completion of their investigations.

It might not be that simple.

I had a 2 and half year challenge when my father died.

When they investigate they want to know people's financial positions, how much they earn if any children are involved etc.

masonj3

**Update **

Shortly after receiving the earlier mentioned letter we received another letter releasing 40K - they explained that they had nearly finished their investigations and were hoping to then release the full balance to us.

I waited until the 14 day timescale was up and contacted them again. They said that they were issuing a cheque for the full amount excluding £200.

I queried that as was told that the ex wife claimed there were maintenance arrears of £200 from when my dad was alive.

I disputed this and asked what evidence she had provided, it actually boiled down to being simply her word - I was furious. I checked the the courts who advised that she had only contacted th in recent weeks to query IF there had. Even any arrears so due to back logs they hadn't yet responded. The court said the account was clear at time of death but even if it wasn't then any arrears would of ended when my dad died. They also said this was nothing to do with a 3rd party and any disputes should be referred to the courts or to the executor of my dads estate..

I complained and explained all of this and within 24 hours they issued the cheque for the remaining balance to us.

Thank you to everyone for affected advice and support etc it was a really stressful time and I am shocked that a big company was prepared to pay out to someone just on their word without any proof. Thank goodness this situation is over - thank you all again xx

Silvertabby

I'm glad everything has finally worked out for you but, to be fair, pension fund trustees are sometimes caught between a rock and a hard place.

jamesd

Thanks for the update. Glad it was eventually resolved with the correct answer even if it took a bit more work at the end to get the last bit!

Malthusian

I wonder if they clawed back the £200 from her or whether they just paid you both £200 ex gratia (well, one of you is due it, the other is ex gratia) for the sake of a quiet life. They surely wouldn't have got her to pay it back so quickly, so either they cancelled the cheque before she cashed it, or they paid £200 a second time from their own resources.

Either way, the important thing is that you now have the money and it's no skin off your nose.

It does helpfully illustrate that paying out death benefits from a pension scheme is not subject to the same stringent laws as administrating an estate as an executor. I can see why you are livid that they simply took her word for it that she was owed maintenance, but from their perspective, they have discretion over who they pay and how much, and aren't obliged to check it with the courts. And they apparently decided that for £200 it wasn't worth checking and they'd simply pay it out and see if you objected.