Pension on death

Tommydog15

Hi, please can you help.  On death of a loved one, do you know how long it takes employer's pension administrators to deal with the expression of wish and payout of a death in service benefit.  I am only asking as I am not executor of will but a named beneficiary and I haven't been contacted other than to provide ID etc almost 2 months ago.  

There is no rush, and this may be normal - that is why i am asking, but am slightly uneased due to circumstances i won't go into here.  Any help or experience would be invaluable at this difficult time.

Thanks, 

Nearlyold

Death in service payments are not usually part of the Estate. Are you a beneficiary in the will and also named in the expression of  wishes in relation to the death in service or is it just the one scenario?

dunstonh

On death of a loved one, do you know how long it takes employer's pension administrators to deal with the expression of wish and payout of a death in service benefit. 

Anything from a week to a year.

It will largely depend on the type of pension, if the expression of wish is up-to-date and comprehensive, and not doing something unusual.   Delays can also occur if relatives are slow to respond to information requests.

 I am only asking as I am not executor of will but a named beneficiary and I haven't been contacted other than to provide ID etc almost 2 months ago.  

Others named will also be asked the same, and other unnamed relatives will be contacted to see if they feel they have a claim on the pension.   That is often the slowest stage. 

When you say beneficiary, do you mean on the expression of wish or the Will?  (pensions are not subject to the Will)

Marcon

Tommydog15 said:

Hi, please can you help.  On death of a loved one, do you know how long it takes employer's pension administrators to deal with the expression of wish and payout of a death in service benefit.  I am only asking as I am not executor of will but a named beneficiary and I haven't been contacted other than to provide ID etc almost 2 months ago.  

There is no rush, and this may be normal - that is why i am asking, but am slightly uneased due to circumstances i won't go into here.  Any help or experience would be invaluable at this difficult time.

Thanks, 

The answer is almost always 'longer than you hope'. Even if the expression of wish form is recent/up to date, the trustees still have to carry out an appropriate level of 'due diligence' (fact finding). Even if things look pretty straightforward, that can still take quite a bit of time, not least because the parties being asked to provide information, ID etc are not always quick to respond.

Where there are more complex issues - an old and possibly out of date EOW form, blended families, separated/divorced parties etc - it takes time to establish the true position and ensure the trustees can take a properly informed decision. Rushing things opens the door to a challenge from disgruntled would-be beneficiaries, so getting it right first time is very important.

There needs to be a trustee meeting to take a decision on who the recipient(s) of the DIS payment should be. Again, that can take time to arrange.

DIS benefits are almost always insured, and the claim has to be submitted to the insurer and payment received by the employer/trustees before it can be paid out. Again, this can be slower than you'd hope.

None of the above is intended to distress you - rather the reverse. Two months is far from uncommon, and 6 months to a year, although unwelcome, is not that unusual.

You say you are a 'named beneficiary' - is that in the will, on the EOW form, or both?

Tommydog15

Thanks everyone for informative answers.  For clarity I am named on expression of wish form for employers pension which was confirmed by hr on terminal diagnosis as to what the payout would likely be overall and believe this to be tax free 

There is a will which aligns with the dame wishes.  There are a few family members who are not named on either and that is because the deceased was unsure how much to leave them and so left senior relative a larger chunk so that they could distribute this separately giving time to decide how much she wanted to leave them.  

The will however doesnt have a y property or investments for anyone to inherit, just a small life insurance policy and cash which, although technically entitled to a perce page as per her will, I do not envisage that happening by the executor, and won't take that any further.  I was however concerned at the lack of contact re the pension....but from what u say this is normal and doesn't mean anything untoward is going on. 

It is unfortunate when families show their not so nice side at a time when should be grieving, but it is what it is. 

Thanks. Hope this helps more 

dunstonh

There are a few family members who are not named on either and that is because the deceased was unsure how much to leave them and so left senior relative a larger chunk so that they could distribute this separately giving time to decide how much she wanted to leave them.  

That may cause delays.

If the expression of wish just gave names and percentages and left family members out (mainly if direct family members), then due diligence checks will almost certainly involve those missing family members.

if the expression of wish was names, percentages and a written explanation as to why certain family members were left out, then there is less risk of the EOW being overruled. 

Tommydog15

Thanks for input.  The EOW had came, relationship, contact number (maybe address) and percentage amount. 

The largest percentage was left to senior relative who was meant to get their proportion to then split to.remaining children/grandchildren 

Tommydog15

Sorry I meant Name not came 

Tommydog15

It doesnt bother me, I actually think a musjudgement was made in excluding but I realise the reasons why.  However would the will overrule the administrators investigations ie would the will as backup make the administrators believe that an informed decision had been made?   

Marcon

Tommydog15 said:

It doesnt bother me, I actually think a musjudgement was made in excluding but I realise the reasons why.  However would the will overrule the administrators investigations ie would the will as backup make the administrators believe that an informed decision had been made?   

I'm afraid nobody here can answer that with any degree of certainty. Some schemes go to great lengths to check everything they can, others will take an EOW at face value, especially if it's recent and is backed up by a valid will. I'm afraid it's the horribly common answer in anything relating to pensions and DIS payments: wait. I know that's not the answer you hoped for, but it is the only realistic one.

Tommydog15

Thanks I appreciate it.  I will wait to hear from them in due course. I had concerns but now I know this is not an undue time to hear from administrators, that sits fine with me