NHS Lump sum on death benefit to minor

Marcon

Eristhison said:

One concern is inflation, next order of interest is growth but the situation is a little more tricky because I am not the guardian of the child. But am the executor of the will. The guardian - divorced partner - has a track record of financial negligence. So one of my goals is to try and keep this money safeguarded.

The fact you're the executor of the will doesn't help, since the payment from the NHS is outside the estate. The guardian is the party who should be making the arrangement - and the NHS should be corresponding with them and I'm a bit surprised they are corresponding with you.

Eristhison said:

My brother worked for the NHS and passed away earlier this year. He has nominated his minor child as death benefit nominee. 

NHS Pensions is asking for a bank account number to receive the funds that is solely in the minor's name. They have rejected our proposal of a bare trust. 

When you say 'our', does that mean you and the guardian? If so, that sounds as if you are at least in contact with the guardian and pulling together. If not, I think you do need to have a chat with the guardian and offer some concrete suggestions for where the funds might go. Make it easy for them to tick the box and you increase the chances of the guardian doing something sensible. I do hope so. Losing your brother is bad enough without this worry on top.

Eristhison

Thanks for all the information. It has been helpful to get a neutral perspective in all of this.

As far as I can tell, going through the records, there is no CTF for the minor. But it is definitely a good idea to get the guardian to verify. Thanks

xylophone said:

Otherwise, your only option would be to  write to the Trustees of the NHS Scheme expressing your reservations about the payment of the money to the surviving parent?

Does anyone have any further information on how likely this is to succeed? Should it be through solicitors? So far I have been in correspondence with an NHS Pension who is simply parroting back the written information available on the web. The solicitor we are consulting seems to think there is a way (expensive) to convince the NHS that our reservations should be considered.

The fact you're the executor of the will doesn't help, since the payment from the NHS is outside the estate. The guardian is the party who should be making the arrangement - and the NHS should be corresponding with them and I'm a bit surprised they are corresponding with you.

This is my understanding as well. So far we have not involved the guardian in these matters, but it might be that we have to. I wanted to explore all options before doing that and present her with a water tight argument. The NHS is talking to me because the guardian had left the country and the child has been under my care. 

you could get a kids account that can't be accessed till 18 - my Mum set up one for my daughter with the Harpenden BS. 

 I really like the idea of an account that nobody can touch till the minor turns 16/18. This will be transparent to the NHS and safe from frivolous litigation. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be grateful. So far I have called MetroBank, Starling, Nationwide and Lloyds and had no luck

MallyGirl

Unfortunately these locked in accounts don't seem to exist any more and the ISA at 9k a year is the only option. JISAs only used to allow £1800 a year so it was worth offering a different product 

Sorry for raising your hopes

xylophone

there is no CTF for the minor. 

Have you tried this?

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/types-of-savings/child-trust-funds#:~:text=You can find out where,don't know the provider.&text=This tells HMRC to check,fill in the online form.

xylophone

The NHS is talking to me because the guardian had left the country and the child has been under my care. 

Does this not work in your favour when asking the Trustees of the NHS Scheme to consider  your reservations?

You could consider asking your solicitor to write to the Trustees of the Scheme?