NHS Retire and Return Death in service

Pat38493

Not even totally sure if this is the right board for this, but I was asked to help a friend whose wife passed away recently.

Any NHS experts here?

She was an NHS employee who had been working in the NHS for over 30 years.  In 2022 she took her benefits under the 1995 section and then immediately returned to work part time.  On return she was part of the 2015 section so started to accrue benefits again under the separate section.

She then unfortunately died after an illness last year whilst still employed by the NHS.

The question they are asking is whether she is entitled to death in service benefits and if so what?  He says that they have helped him to understand what portion of her 1995 and 2015 pensions he is entitled to, so that seems to be in hand, and he has provided NHS pensions with a death certificate.

There seem to be some leaflets floating around and they have sent me screenshots.  The leaflet implies that if you are a retired and return employee from the 1995 scheme, you are (or may be) entitled to death in service benefits, plus a lump sum from the pension as she died within 5 years of putting it in to payment.  He says that they when he spoke to NHS pensions, they seemed to be saying this is not the case but maybe he was not asking the questions in the right way.

Nothing has been mentioned about the death in service benefits and I’m not even sure whether it’s NHS pensions who would be involved there, or whether he is supposed to contact NHS payroll or HR.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Edit:  I found another confusing leaflet online that appears to suggest, if I am interpreting it correctly, that if you retire and return on 1995 scheme, any lump sum that you received upon retirement from the 1995 scheme is deducted from any death in service payment due (presumably meaning that in many cases you would get nothing).  This is a bit add to me because I would normally have assumed that if you quit the organisation, and then rejoin, you are effectively a new employee and should be entitled to death in service benefits under the new scheme that you are in.

BrilliantButScary

Think the following might be helpful:

https://www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/pensions/additional-pensions-advice/death-in-service-and-your-pension

https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/death-service-benefits-nhs-pension-scheme

Moonwolf

The place to contact is NHS BSA.

Start here https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/bereavements

I thought the 1995 and 2015 were separate so I don’t know how payments already made are impacted by retire and return but there should be pensions to pay (assuming not common law wife). 

The survivors guide here is a good start https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/Survivors%20Guide%20%28V12A%29%2004.2024.pdf

crv1963

These are as said two different schemes.

1) 1995 scheme, if you die within 5 years of retirement the surviving spouse may get a further lump sum, as the pension has not been in payment for 5 years. Survivors Pension of 50% pension in payment for the lifetime of the spouse.

2) 2015 scheme, death in service benefit of two years salary, provided you have been a scheme member for a minimum of 2 years, also a Survivors Pension of 33% of pension earned to date- which may or may not be much depending on salary and length in the scheme. Also for the lifetime of the spouse.

Pat38493

crv1963 said:

These are as said two different schemes.

1) 1995 scheme, if you die within 5 years of retirement the surviving spouse may get a further lump sum, as the pension has not been in payment for 5 years. Survivors Pension of 50% pension in payment for the lifetime of the spouse.

2) 2015 scheme, death in service benefit of two years salary, provided you have been a scheme member for a minimum of 2 years, also a Survivors Pension of 33% of pension earned to date- which may or may not be much depending on salary and length in the scheme. Also for the lifetime of the spouse.

Yes - this part is fairly clear and I think that the surviving spouse pension is being sorted.

However what we are trying to figure out is why there is no lump sum being offered for death in service.

The other leaflets linked above, appear to suggest that if you retired on the 1995 section, and then you went back to work and you are paying into the 2015 section, they can deduct the lump sum that you received on retirement from any lump sum due for death in service after "re-return" to work.  Since she took the max lump sum at the time, and she was only working part time at time of death, this might be why no lump sum was offered.

crv1963

If she was in a union possibly they may be able to help/ advise?