Pension beneficiary

julieob

Please can some on advise if a private pension can be used towards the deceased estate .  I am a named beneficiary from an ex partner and I have been informed by pension company that they are allowed to do so. 

Albermarle

A pension pot that is left when someone dies is not included in their estate and can not be distributed as part of a will .
This is because a pension is not legally owned by the individual but by the trustees of the pension scheme and they will normally distribute it to who has been named previously as a beneficiary . However they have some discretion , especially if no one has been named and/or there are special circumstances.

dunstonh

As mentioned above, pensions are not part of the estate and not subject to the Will (caveats apply in rare cases).

However, the pension trustees can overrule a nomination of beneficiary if they believe it is out of date.   e.g. the expression of wish nominated an ex-partner and was never updated after the split and the pension holder had a new partner/spouse when they died.   If the pensionholder had completed a new Will after the split, they will usually ask for a copy to get an idea of what the pension holder wanted.  They dont have to follow it but it helps them in their decision making.  It still wont form part of the estate or be paid to the estate but just be information.

torrence

Does all the above apply to a SIPP too? The OP asks about a "private pension", is that different to a pesonal pension?

Albermarle

In fact there is no legal definition of a 'private pension' although many posters use the expression for any pension not connected with their employer or ex employer.
So it could be a SIPP, or a personal pension , a stakeholder or in fact a workplace pension as long as it was a DC one .
The points about wills, beneficiaries are the same for all.

squirrelpie

julieob said:

Please can some on advise if a private pension can be used towards the deceased estate .  I am a named beneficiary from an ex partner and I have been informed by pension company that they are allowed to do so. 

As others have said, pensions are not part of the estate and are not governed by wills. When you say you are a beneficiary, do you mean a beneficiary of the will or that you were named in an expression of wish related to the pension?

Brynsam

dunstonh said:

As mentioned above, pensions are not part of the estate and not subject to the Will (caveats apply in rare cases).

However, the pension trustees can overrule a nomination of beneficiary if they believe it is out of date.   e.g. the expression of wish nominated an ex-partner and was never updated after the split and the pension holder had a new partner/spouse when they died.   If the pensionholder had completed a new Will after the split, they will usually ask for a copy to get an idea of what the pension holder wanted.  They dont have to follow it but it helps them in their decision making.  It still wont form part of the estate or be paid to the estate but just be information.

Just to clarify - it could be paid to the estate, especially if the member has requested this. Provided payment is made at the discretion of the trustees/managers, it will not be subject to IHT.