What to do about someone’s pension when they’ve died

You can use the Tell Us Once serviceOpens in a new window to report a death to most government organisations in one go including dealing with a State Pension.

The Tell Us Once service is not available in Northern Ireland. Find out who to tell about a death in Northern IrelandOpens in a new window on nidirect.

If you’d like to discuss your situation, you can contact the Pension ServiceOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.

You might be entitled to extra pension payments from your spouse’s or civil partner’s State Pension.

It depends on the amount of National Insurance contributions they made and when you and your spouse or civil partner reach(ed) the State Pension age.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has identified some people whose pensions were underpaid because they didn’t get the automatic increase they were entitled to. These include people who were:

• married or widowed when they died, or

• aged 80 or over when they died.

The DWP may have already written to the person or their next of kin, if they know the correct address.

If you think the person who died may have been underpaid for their pension, you can contact the DWP for more informationOpens in a new window

It may take some time for the DWP to deal with your enquiry, but they will write to you to tell you the outcome either way. If the person was owed money from their pension, the DWP will let you know what the next steps are.

You can check what you might be entitled through your partner's pensionOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.

If you haven’t reached State Pension age, you might also qualify for Bereavement benefitsOpens in a new window

Different tax rules apply when inheriting a defined contribution pension.

If someone dies before age 75, their beneficiaries may be able to inherit their pension tax-free. If they die when they're 75 or older, whoever inherits their pension may need to pay Income Tax on it.

At the moment, death benefits and unused defined contribution pensions are not included as part of your estate for calculating Inheritance Tax. A change announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget means that these could be liable for Inheritance Tax from April 2027.

If the person died before age 75:

• If they received income from a single life annuity, this would stop unless there was a ‘guarantee period’ attached to the annuity. In which case, it will continue to be paid tax-free until the end of the guarantee period – usually five or ten years.
• If it was a joint life annuity, income will continue to be paid to the survivor – also tax-free – until their death. But this is usually at a reduced rate – half is common. If you’re not sure which they had, ask the annuity provider.
• If the person who died had a flexi access drawdown pension set up or first accessed after 5 April 2015, the money can be paid out tax-free as long as a decision is made on how to take the money within two years of their death.
• However, if the pension is claimed more than two years after the pension holder’s death, tax might be payable.
• Any money taken out of the pension scheme before death, or any investments bought with cash from the pension scheme, will count as part of their estate and might be subject to Inheritance Tax.
• The money in the pension will continue to grow tax-free if it stays invested.

If the person died age 75 or over:

• If they received income from a single life annuity, this would stop unless there was a ‘guarantee period’. In which case, it will be paid to the beneficiaries until the end of the guarantee period. Income Tax will apply to the payments.
• If it was a joint life annuity, income will continue to be paid to the survivor, and Income Tax will apply.
• Any money taken as a lump sum or as an income from a flexi-access drawdown scheme, or from any untouched pension pot, will be added to the beneficiary’s’ other income and taxed in the normal way.

How a defined benefit pension pays out depends on whether the deceased was retired.

If the person who died hadn’t yet retired:

• Most schemes will pay out a lump sum that is typically two or four times their salary.
• If the person who died was under age 75, this lump sum is tax-free.
• This type of pension usually also pays a taxable ‘survivor’s pension’ to the spouse, civil partner or dependent child.

If the person who died was retired:

• If the person who died received a pension from a defined benefit scheme, a reduced taxable pension will often continue to be paid to a spouse, civil partner or other dependant according to the rules of the scheme.
• Check what benefits are due with the pension scheme or provider.

Currently, death benefits from these pensions are not included as part of your estate for calculating Inheritance Tax. A change announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget means that some death benefits could be liable for Inheritance Tax from April 2027.

If you need more information about sorting out the pension of someone who’s died, or how you should claim their pension, contact us: