PPF pension lost on death? Was advice in life misleading?

bensim90

TL:DR - Mum passed away at 61, left a pension with PPF. Seems she was already eligible for various options including a £12K lump sum. PPF tell me we have no claim to this upon mums passing. Anything I can do? I also think they've provided misleading financial information discussed below. 

Looking for any help, guidance and advice please. Thank you in advance. My mum passed last year at 61 after a short and all consuming illness. I am working on her estate. She was in a good place financially but spent ZERO time on managing her finances. 

Following a paper trail of letters between 2015 and now its seems one of her pensions was with an employer who went bust. This was then passed to JLT, then Entrust and then taken on by Pension Protection Fund/PPF. 

They have been chasing her by letter since turning 60 to claim her pension, either in monthly payments, lump sum and monthly or cash lump sum of 12K. Nothing was done. 

Though.... we had a telephone call with them in 2022 and at that point we were not offered the cash lump sum or we absolutely would have taken it at that amount. There is a letter not long after illustrating monthly payment, lump sum and monthly and just cash lump sum. Having had a phone call not long before mum wont have read the letter leaving money on the table at that point. I don't know if this is grounds for a claim on being given incomplete, misleading financial information during that phone call....?

So now PPF tell me the estate has no claim to the pension. It dies with her unless she has dependant children or live in spouse. Neither apply. 

I dont know pensions but this feel brutal.

1. Is this correct?
2. is there anything I can do?
3. If not is it worth pursuing this phone call in 2022 on the grounds that it was misleading information that informed her financial decision?

Thank you in advance for any help. 

MeteredOut

It sounds like your mum had all the information available to her to make a decision to take the lump sum, but did not act on it. I very much doubt you have any grounds for a complaint.

You could ask for a recording of the call from 2022, but even if the lump sum was not offered then, the follow-up letter did.

Keep_pedalling

This was a defined benefit pension so what happens in the event of her death after she failed to take the pension when she be eligible to receive it would be dependant on the scheme rules. With no surviving spouse or dependant children these schemes usually die with the pensioner.

Marcon

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653738/ppf-pension-lost-on-death-was-advice-in-life-misleading

Condolences on your loss. Your dear mum may not have read the information, but she had it - including full details of what was available to her shortly after the phone call in 2022 which you say was 'misleading'. I can understand your sense of outrage, and your distress, but I'm afraid you have zero chance of any claim succeeding, particularly as there have been letters chasing her to claim her pension since she turned 60.

Grumpy_chap

Sorry for your loss, OP.

With regard to the pension, you state your Mum passed away last year, age 61. In 2025.

You state your Mum passed after a "short and all-consuming" illness.

So, she would have turned 60 in 2024.

You state the pension company had been contacting your Mum since she turned 60 about claiming the pension. Lump sum or monthly payments.

You reference a phone conversation in 2022 and no cash sum mentioned at that time. However, whatever was said in that call seems to have been confirmed in a follow-on letter, which you acknowledge your Mum will not have read.

This sounds like the pension was originally a DB employer scheme with a "normal" retirement age of 60.

Such schemes typically have an option for deferred start date resulting in increased monthly income.

Such schemes typically do not allow payments earlier than the "normal retirement age".

Such schemes do typically cease to have any value on the members death. Some members get little by virtue of early passing while some get a great deal comparatively if they survive to a ripe old age.

If the above is correct, then your Mum would not have been able to take a lump sum when the conversation happened in 2022.

In 2024, when your Mum became eligible to draw the pension, she may have just done nothing, putting that into the "things to get around to" pile. She may have decided that as she was "in a good place financially" that she'd rather delay the start of drawing the pension and have the increased amount later.

How short was the "short and all-consuming" illness? If your Mum was in good health at age 60, then early pension commencement may not have been her priority and, when she became unwell, the pension might well again not have been top of her action list, especially if she had enough money day-to-day.

Unless there was something specific in the call in 2022, it seems unlikely there are any grounds for any complaint here. You also reference "was advice misleading"? Did the pension company give advice at any time or only ever provide statements of facts about the options available?

Albermarle

PPF tell me we have no claim to this upon mums passing

That is normal for a defined benefit pension, it is not specific to the PPF.

Usually only surviving spouses and dependent children are eligible.

dunstonh

Though.... we had a telephone call with them in 2022 and at that point we were not offered the cash lump sum or we absolutely would have taken it at that amount. There is a letter not long after illustrating monthly payment, lump sum and monthly and just cash lump sum.

That letter would likely have been the options pack issued following the phone call. When you ring the PPF, they often don't have access to the full details of the various options with the schemes they deal with until the options pack has been generated.

 Having had a phone call not long before mum wont have read the letter leaving money on the table at that point. I don't know if this is grounds for a claim on being given incomplete, misleading financial information during that phone call....?

a) There hasn't been any misleading information. The letter is the document where the terms are shown

b) The choices made by your mum are not the responsibility of others.

I dont know pensions but this feel brutal.

Is this correct?

is there anything I can do?

If not is it worth pursuing this phone call in 2022 on the grounds that it was misleading information that informed her financial decision?

It sounds correct.

No, there is nothing you can do

No, it's not worth pursuing the phone call because the letter that followed is the primary document the call handler would not have had access to at the time. Your mum had the information to make an informed decision. You say she chose not to read it.

Your mum had a defined-benefit/final-salary scheme. She paid an amount whilst working (sometimes the employee paid little or nothing and the employer paid most or all). In return, she received a range of defined benefits. There is no pot of money with that type of pension to pass on to beneficiaries. There are limited death benefits but not for adult children who have no disabilities.

For whatever reason, your mum chose not to receive the money when it was offered. That is a choice she made as an adult, and the consequences go with those choices.

bensim90

Thank you all for the kind words and the candid advice.

I appreciate I was clutching at straws. Pushing mum to be proactive with her finances was a battle I never did gain much ground in. I'll put this down to a casualty of that and move on.

Thank you again for the replies, without them I could have wasted much time, effort and emotion here.