Husbands aon pension after his death

Ccallingham

Last year my husband suddenly passed away at the age of 45. We were separated but still legally married and have a daughter who has just turned 13. He was employed at saga for around 18 years and paid into a pension plan for, as far as I know, all of that time. The solicitor dealing with his probate( he had no will) got in touch with me and asked for mine and my daughters birth certificates because the pension ppl wanted them for with regards to a claim, That’s all they have told me. Does anyone know what is likely to happen in a situation like this, is there a chance our daughter could get some financial support for her future? 

If anyone could advise me I’d appreciate it, thank you

cymruchris

It would depend on the type of pension he had, who it was with, and the benefits associated with it. Nobody on the board here will be able to know the intricate details, so you'll have to wait for the solicitor to get back in touch to find out more. Depending on what plan was in place, there might be a lump sum payment to be paid out, however it's not guaranteed it would come to you or your daughter, as it would depend on whether he'd filled out an expression of wishes form to his pension provider. Did your husband have a new partner at the time of his passing?

Marcon

Ccallingham said:

Last year my husband suddenly passed away at the age of 45. We were separated but still legally married and have a daughter who has just turned 13. He was employed at saga for around 18 years and paid into a pension plan for, as far as I know, all of that time. The solicitor dealing with his probate( he had no will) got in touch with me and asked for mine and my daughters birth certificates because the pension ppl wanted them for with regards to a claim, That’s all they have told me. Does anyone know what is likely to happen in a situation like this, is there a chance our daughter could get some financial support for her future? 

If anyone could advise me I’d appreciate it, thank you

Saga's pension arrangements were a mix of defined benefit and defined contribution. If he had benefits in the DB part, and you were still legally married, it is highly likely that a spouse's pension will be payable to you and a child's pension to your daughter until she reaches (at least) 18, possibly up to age 23 if she is still in full time education. The rules of the DB scheme will stipulate what has to be done. The reference in your title to Aon suggests it might be in the DB part - they administer the Saga DB scheme.

If he had DC benefits, that's impossible to 'guess' and I'm afraid it really is a case of wait and see.

dunstonh

Does anyone know what is likely to happen in a situation like this, is there a chance our daughter could get some financial support for her future? 

Knowing the type of pension he had is key to answering that question.  Asking for both yours and your daughter's birth certificates suggests it could be a defined benefit scheme.  Although it could also be that be a defined contribution scheme where no expression of wish was completed and the administrator is trying to find out who the potential beneficiaries will be.  Or it could be that there is another beneficiary listed on an expression of wish (perhaps after you separated) and the executor is putting your position forward.

Pensions are not part of the estate and not subject to probate.

If is unclear from your post whether he was still working for SAGA or not at the time of death.  That could make a difference as well.

Albermarle

Maybe a good idea to ask the solicitor for more details of the type of scheme, and if there is any progress?

Ccallingham

Thank you everyone for your advice, I contacted the solicitor again today and the solicitor dealing with it has now moved on so I am waiting to hear from the new one. Thanks again 👍

RogerPensionGuy

Ccallingham said:

Last year my husband suddenly passed away at the age of 45. We were separated but still legally married and have a daughter who has just turned 13. He was employed at saga for around 18 years and paid into a pension plan for, as far as I know, all of that time. The solicitor dealing with his probate( he had no will) got in touch with me and asked for mine and my daughters birth certificates because the pension ppl wanted them for with regards to a claim, That’s all they have told me. Does anyone know what is likely to happen in a situation like this, is there a chance our daughter could get some financial support for her future? 

If anyone could advise me I’d appreciate it, thank you

Hello and sorry for your loss.

I am surprised its taken so long for this process to start.

Hopefully as a previous posted has mentioned, people will benefit from your husband's estate and any pensions, maybe you should consider talking to the Citizens Advice, link below.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/

I hope it all goes well, Cheers.