Private pension beneficiary

Upinthestars

Hi, 
Anyone know how long it takes for a company to decide who the beneficiary of a private pension is, they left no "expression of wish". Have been waiting 6 weeks and still nothing.
Thanks

Marcon

Upinthestars said:

Hi, 
Anyone know how long it takes for a company to decide who the beneficiary of a private pension is, they left no "expression of wish". Have been waiting 6 weeks and still nothing.
Thanks

I'm afraid it 'takes as long as it takes'. In the absence of an EOW, and assuming this isn't some sort of occupational scheme where the rules specify who would benefit from a survivor pension, enquiries need to be made and can take a considerable period of time - months rather than weeks. 

blue.peter

It depends on the facts of the case. Sometimes it can be done quickly, sometimes it takes months.

I note that you haven't said who you are in relation to the scheme member, so it's possible that the scheme might decide that you have no standing, and could therefore refuse to deal with you. You've also not said what (if any) representations you've made to the scheme.

In a former life, I used to be responsible for making the decisions for a large pension scheme. Cases never reached me before the admin team had some idea of who the potential beneficiaries were, and had gathered evidence (typically in the form of representations from the member's estate, family and so on). Sometimes everyone involved was in agreement - in which case the decision could be easy - but sometimes there could be bitter arguments and good but competing cases. The worst ones, I found, involved ex-spouses and bitter divorces. A couple of my decisions resulted in complaints getting to the Pensions Ombudsman. One was determined in the scheme's favour. I don't know the outcome of the other because I left that job before any decision was made.

I suggest that you talk to the scheme administrators and ask them what they're waiting for, and see if there's anything you can do to move things along. It's possible that they might be waiting for something that'll take ages, like probate on an estate. (This can still be relevant if the estate is a potential beneficiary, because there's no certainty as to who the scheme should be dealing with in relation to it.)

Marcon

blue.peter said:

I suggest that you talk to the scheme administrators and ask them what they're waiting for, and see if there's anything you can do to move things along. It's possible that they might be waiting for something that'll take ages, like probate on an estate. (This can still be relevant if the estate is a potential beneficiary, because there's no certainty as to who the scheme should be dealing with in relation to it.)

Indeed - and if there's no will it could really clog up the process.

dunstonh

Anyone know how long it takes for a company to decide who the beneficiary of a private pension is, they left no "expression of wish". Have been waiting 6 weeks and still nothing.

Typically 3-9 months.

I started a claims process for someone back in November and the two pensions with EOWs paid out within a week or two.   The one without the EOW is still ongoing and will probably be another 2-3 months.

Private pension beneficiary

Private pension definitions vary.   I am assuming this is a defined contribution pension in my response.

Upinthestars

Thanks to everyone on this, just as an add on, I think it must have been a workplace pension, as my (deceased) ex and myself both worked at the same company. Don't know if that makes any difference or not.

Marcon

Upinthestars said:

Thanks to everyone on this, just as an add on, I think it must have been a workplace pension, as my (deceased) ex and myself both worked at the same company. Don't know if that makes any difference or not.

Unlikely that you'd be awarded anything where a pension relates to your 'ex', unless there was a recent EOW form in your favour. As there was no EOW, then suitable recipients will need to be located - or possibly a decision taken to pay the proceeds to the estate.

Hoenir

Have you divorced and had a financial consent order drawn up. 

blue.peter

Marcon said:

Unlikely that you'd be awarded anything where a pension relates to your 'ex', unless there was a recent EOW form in your favour.

It's not quite this simple, though I can understand why you say this. @Upinthestars has explained (in PMs to me) circumstances that, depending on the scheme's beneficial class, might influence a decision (partly or wholly) in their favour. If I was exercising the discretion in this case, I would certainly have taken the factors described into consideration. That is, of course, not the same as making a decision in their favour. But my point is that discretion can be exercised in favour of an ex-spouse if they are within the beneficial class. It's rare, but can happen.

Upinthestars said:

I think it must have been a workplace pension, as my (deceased) ex and myself both worked at the same company. Don't know if that makes any difference or not.

That was one of the possibilities that occurred to me during our PM conversation yesterday. In this case, it'd be interesting to know who actually exercises the discretion over the death benefit. If it was an occupational pension set up in the 1980s, I'd expect that to be either the scheme trustees (whoever they are - possibly including you!) or the employer (which, maybe, no longer exists - and that'd be interesting).

Hoenir said:

Have you divorced and had a financial consent order drawn up. 

This is a good question, and one that the trustees might well ask. The content of such an order, and the extent to which it has been fulfilled, are certainly relevant. (Incidentally, whilst financial orders on divorce are commonly by consent, this is not always the case.)

Marcon

blue.peter said:

Marcon said:

Unlikely that you'd be awarded anything where a pension relates to your 'ex', unless there was a recent EOW form in your favour.

It's not quite this simple, though I can understand why you say this. @Upinthestars has explained (in PMs to me) circumstances that, depending on the scheme's beneficial class, might influence a decision (partly or wholly) in their favour. If I was exercising the discretion in this case, I would certainly have taken the factors described into consideration. That is, of course, not the same as making a decision in their favour. But my point is that discretion can be exercised in favour of an ex-spouse if they are within the beneficial class. It's rare, but can happen.

Unhappily it rarely is 'this simple', which is precisely why I used the word 'unlikely'! I also included the possibility of an EOW being followed in respect of an ex/former partner. As you say, all relevant factors have to be taken into account - and irrelevant factors disregarded.

blue.peter said:

Hoenir said:

Have you divorced and had a financial consent order drawn up. 

This is a good question, and one that the trustees might well ask. The content of such an order, and the extent to which it has been fulfilled, are certainly relevant. (Incidentally, whilst financial orders on divorce are commonly by consent, this is not always the case.)

If there is a financial consent order, that should (but doesn't always) cover any pension sharing dictated by the court, in which case it's possible that there is no 'decision' to take. If the court did make an order, it should (funny how I keep coming back to the word 'should') have been served oh the scheme.

blue.peter

Marcon said:

Unhappily it rarely is 'this simple', which is precisely why I used the word 'unlikely'!

Fair point. Perhaps I should have started by saying something like "Unlikely, but not impossible". Apologies.

The critical point at this stage is to establish whether or not the OP is even within the beneficial class, and I've encouraged them to check this with the scheme administrator. If they aren't, there's no point in pursuing it any further.