Child Accesses Mothers Pension After Her Death

Neutrino22

xylophone said:

Apropos of the OP's question in his latest post, I seem to recall another relatively recent thread where it appeared that the adult offspring of a deceased person had not been nominated to receive death benefits they knew would be payable but could not obtain any details of the beneficiaries from the  Administrators because of data protection/privacy regulations.

Yes. I received a reply today, where they were not able to give me the details of the third party beneficiary. Details of the reply are in a separate post in this thread below. :-)

Neutrino22

Thank you guys and girls for your wonderful help. I have received a reply from the LGPS.

I can confirm the late Mrs ***** ***** had a deferred record with [Local Area] Pension fund for service periods (09/12/1996- 30/11/2004)

The beneficiary to whom the death grant is paid is at the absolute discretion of [Local Area] Pension Fund. I can confirm an expression of wish form was completed by Mrs ***** before her passing, and the death grant has been paid out in accordance with her wishes.

In regard to [child's] pension, I am still awaiting further guidance on how the payments can be made.

xylophone

I can confirm the late Mrs ***** ***** had a deferred record with [Local Area] Pension fund for service periods (09/12/1996- 30/11/2004)
The beneficiary to whom the death grant is paid is at the absolute discretion of [Local Area] Pension Fund. I can confirm an expression of wish form was completed by Mrs ***** before her passing, and the death grant has been paid out in accordance with her wishes.

From the information you provided in your earlier posts and the guidance I cited in my post here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80607006/#Comment_80607006

it did seem very possible that a  death grant nomination had been made in respect of a person other than you and your son.

One assumes (see guidance above) that the Trustees had regard to all the circumstances (possibly including a letter of wishes from your late wife) and the scheme rules and made their decision accordingly.

Judging from the post from another contributor ( referenced previously), providing details of other beneficiaries is not permitted.

Silvertabby

Neutrino22 said:

Thank you guys and girls for your wonderful help. I have received a reply from the LGPS.

I can confirm the late Mrs ***** ***** had a deferred record with [Local Area] Pension fund for service periods (09/12/1996- 30/11/2004)

The beneficiary to whom the death grant is paid is at the absolute discretion of [Local Area] Pension Fund. I can confirm an expression of wish form was completed by Mrs ***** before her passing, and the death grant has been paid out in accordance with her wishes.

In regard to [child's] pension, I am still awaiting further guidance on how the payments can be made.

That's surprising, unless your wife completed the form shortly before her death.  Had it been the form she completed when she left 20 years ago then I really would have expected the trustees to disregard it, in view of her subsequent marriage and child.

The LGPS won't tell you who they have paid the money to, due to data protections, but you may be able to wheedle out of them the date it was signed.  I take it that your wife didn't keep a copy with her pension records?

Marcon

Silvertabby said:

Neutrino22 said:

Thank you guys and girls for your wonderful help. I have received a reply from the LGPS.

I can confirm the late Mrs ***** ***** had a deferred record with [Local Area] Pension fund for service periods (09/12/1996- 30/11/2004)

The beneficiary to whom the death grant is paid is at the absolute discretion of [Local Area] Pension Fund. I can confirm an expression of wish form was completed by Mrs ***** before her passing, and the death grant has been paid out in accordance with her wishes.

In regard to [child's] pension, I am still awaiting further guidance on how the payments can be made.

That's surprising, unless your wife completed the form shortly before her death.  Had it been the form she completed when she left 20 years ago then I really would have expected the trustees to disregard it, in view of her subsequent marriage and child.

The LGPS won't tell you who they have paid the money to, due to data protections, but you may be able to wheedle out of them the date it was signed.  I take it that your wife didn't keep a copy with her pension records?

You could also ask them to confirm all the factors they took into account when reaching their decision, and what due diligence they carried out [basically did they just blindly follow a 20 year old form, or did they actually make any enquiries]. If you'd like a draft letter to send them, I'm sure Silvertabby and I can join forces to help if you would like this.

xylophone

[basically did they just blindly follow a 20 year old form, or did they actually make any enquiries].

If the procedure described in

https://www.nottspf.org.uk/members/death-grant-nomination/

viz

Nottinghamshire County Council, as administering authority of the Fund, may, at its absolute discretion, pay the death grant to, or for the benefit of, the member’s nominee, personal representatives or any person appearing to the authority to have been a relative or dependent of the member.

In making its decision, the Council is required to consider any relatives and dependents who have not been nominated, so it is important to understand that there may be circumstances in which the Council may not follow your wishes.

It would therefore be helpful to us, if you could provide some information in support of the nominations you have made.

You can nominate people or organisations, no matter what their relationship is to you and you can change or cancel your nomination at any time which can be done online or by post. Posted letters of cancellation should contain your full name and address and your signature.

In the event of your death, the Council, in exercising its discretions, could consider that your nomination is invalid, for example where a beneficiary cannot be traced or has died or where your personal circumstances have altered significantly since the date of your nomination.

In fact, it is a good idea to review your nominations regularly in case your personal circumstances have changed.

is universally followed by LGPS administrators, there wouldn't seem to be much "blind following"?

Lemon_dr1zzle

As someone who works for an LGPS fund all I can say is I am shocked 

xylophone

As someone who works for an LGPS fund all I can say is I am shocked 

Why? The link I cited above seems quite clear.

Members of the Scheme are invited to nominate their beneficiary/ (ies) and strongly advised to keep the nomination up to date.

It is stated that while every consideration will be given to the nomination, it is not binding on the  "administering authority" with whom the final decision lies.

If the procedure outlined in my previous has been followed, one must assume that there are cogent reasons for the "administering authority" to have paid the grant in accordance with the wishes of the deceased?

Marcon

@Neutrino22 - please see Private Message just sent.

Neutrino22

Just an update (and a conclusion)

The LGPS have agreed to pay my child's pension into my account. Thank you to everyone who participated in this thread, and thank you to Marocn and Silvertabby for writing the draft letters.

;-)