Pensions and the deceased

samtoby

My father died in 2010 in what were dire circumstances. He was 55. There were limited belongings provided to me as most were unsalvageable. 

The coroner dealt with his body and he has a full inquest so the coroner registered the death. 

My dad was a very troubled man through his whole life but he did work. He was eccentric, extremely clever but a loner and moved home a lot to travel and work all over the UK and Ireland. Work was one thing he did manage well. 

Anyway - I have had contact from the Coroner who said they keep
getting letters asking for a next of kin for him and subsequently this was a pension fund. And now another has come up 8 years later. 

Is there anyway without any work history or addresses to be able to reach out to any further pensions in one go? 

 I’m finding it quite triggering coming back to this time and I would really like to bring it to a close somehow. 

xylophone

Anyway - I have had contact from the Coroner who said they keep

getting letters asking for a next of kin for him and subsequently this was a pension fund. And now another has come up 8 years later. 

Have you asked the coroner for the contact details of the pension provider?

You might also try a SAR to HMRC for details of your late father's employment/NI history

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-subject-access-request

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/what-to-do-about-someones-pension-when-theyve-died#:~:text=You need to contact the,how to claim that pension.&text=If you can't find,Tracing Service can help you.

It's very understandable that you should find this distressing but the way to bring closure is to find out the facts.

And remember that regardless of his troubles, he was your father and would have wished you/your family to benefit from anything that was left behind.

Best wishes for your researches and for a peaceful new year.

samtoby

Thank you so much. I have had copies of the letters now so yes. One pension came up 2012 another 2022 and now another 2023. 

I will do the SAR I think Dublin is EU so I’ll need to find out a different way to do that. 

I have spoken to the 2022 contact pension but it’s very complicated as I didn’t have a national insurance number for him which I now have so this new one is easier. 

I went through probate for the estate in the first instance but I don’t know if it would be too old now and would have to go through again. 

Marcon

samtoby said:

My father died in 2010 in what were dire circumstances. He was 55. There were limited belongings provided to me as most were unsalvageable. 

The coroner dealt with his body and he has a full inquest so the coroner registered the death. 

My dad was a very troubled man through his whole life but he did work. He was eccentric, extremely clever but a loner and moved home a lot to travel and work all over the UK and Ireland. Work was one thing he did manage well. 

Anyway - I have had contact from the Coroner who said they keep
getting letters asking for a next of kin for him and subsequently this was a pension fund. And now another has come up 8 years later. 

Is there anyway without any work history or addresses to be able to reach out to any further pensions in one go? 

 I’m finding it quite triggering coming back to this time and I would really like to bring it to a close somehow. 

xylophone said:

Anyway - I have had contact from the Coroner who said they keep

getting letters asking for a next of kin for him and subsequently this was a pension fund. And now another has come up 8 years later. 

Have you asked the coroner for the contact details of the pension provider?

You might also try a SAR to HMRC for details of your late father's employment/NI history

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-subject-access-request

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/what-to-do-about-someones-pension-when-theyve-died#:~:text=You need to contact the,how to claim that pension.&text=If you can't find,Tracing Service can help you.

It's very understandable that you should find this distressing but the way to bring closure is to find out the facts.

And remember that regardless of his troubles, he was your father and would have wished you/your family to benefit from anything that was left behind.

Best wishes for your researches and for a peaceful new year.

You can't make a Subject Access Request in respect of a dead person. To quote the Information Commissioner:
According to data protection laws, personal data is information which relates to living people. Therefore, a person can’t make a subject access request to get information about someone who has died.

For a much simpler and less distressing approach, try Gretel.co.uk (yes, it's real, despite the odd name).

Marcon

samtoby said:

Thank you so much. I have had copies of the letters now so yes. One pension came up 2012 another 2022 and now another 2023. 

I will do the SAR I think Dublin is EU so I’ll need to find out a different way to do that. 

I have spoken to the 2022 contact pension but it’s very complicated as I didn’t have a national insurance number for him which I now have so this new one is easier. 

I went through probate for the estate in the first instance but I don’t know if it would be too old now and would have to go through again. 

SAR - you can't do that. Please see my post above.

Probate - if it has already been granted, it doesn't matter how old the grant is.

xylophone

SAR - you can't do that. Please see my post above.

You can't make a Subject Access Request in respect of a dead person.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-subject-access-requestGuidance

Make a subject access request to HMRC

• English
• Cymraeg

Find out how to ask for access to personal data that HMRC holds about you, or someone who has died.

Ask for information about someone who has died

You can apply to get the information of someone who’s died to settle National Insurance or Income Tax if you’re legally allowed to do so on behalf of their estate.

As the OP dealt with probate (sp presumably the Administrator of her late father's estate), and as the information above would be available, I would have thought it worth contacting HMRC and explaining the particular circumstances.

samtoby

I have contacted HMRC and they have advised that they will send me a record of his NI records / work history and then I can then contact. 

The pension fund in the UK have said the pension element came about through him contracting out but I wasn't really sure about what this is. I wanted to know if there was something to claim or whether it will all be taken in fee's etc.

The other part is something about holiday stamps but again not really sure. 

I wish someone could stop talking in riddles!

xylophone

The pension fund in the UK have said the pension element came about through him contracting out but I wasn't really sure about what this is. I wanted to know if there was something to claim or whether it will all be taken in fee's etc.

It was possible to contract out of Additional State Pension through an occupational pension or  through a personal pension.

https://techzone.abrdn.com/public/pensions/Tech-guide-contracting-out

If your late father was a member of an occupational Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, on his death it is virtually certain that there would have been a widow's pension and possibly a pension for certain dependents.

If he was contracted out into a personal pension, then on death, his beneficiaries could benefit from his pension.

The Trustees/Administrators would be trying to establish if there are any eligible persons to whom any benefit could be paid.

I would strongly  suggest that you  get all your paperwork together and contact Trustees/Administrators as appropriate.

xylophone

The other part is something about holiday stamps but again not really sure. 

Did he ever have anything to do with the construction industry?  B&CE pension?

See

https://bandce.co.uk/products-services/financial-services/lump-sum-retirement-benefit-lsrb/

How it worked

It ran from 1982 to 2001, where employers contributed through the stamping of holiday cards towards a lump sum payment at 65 years of age. There was also the option to make ‘additional voluntary contributions’ (AVCs) to build up extra benefits.

and

https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/sections/news/retirement-stamp-cash-goes-begging-04-12-1997/

jamesd

samtoby said:

The pension fund in the UK have said the pension element came about through him contracting out but I wasn't really sure about what this is. I wanted to know if there was something to claim or whether it will all be taken in fee's etc.

There won't be any significant charges.

Likely £1,000 to £2,000 in the pot now for each year he was contracting out. A rebate lump sum was paid into the pension by HMRC for each year he contracted out of the income-related addition to the state pension for that year. It was usually a good choice to make, more so in death before state pension age situations.

samtoby

He was a crane operator and worked in construction wherever there was work. He spent a lot of time in Ayr and Belfast, the pension in Ireland is a construction related one. People’s pension is the other, the People’s pension have advised there are two section to his pot and one was these stamps so looking between the lines I think your conclusions are correct!