It's important to understand what your loved ones will be entitled to if you die before taking your deferred pension.
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) may provide a one off death grant lump payment and a survivor pension payable to your spouse or partner for life, subject to certain conditions. A pension may also be payable for any eligible children you have.
Death grant lump sum
If you die before your 75th birthday having not taken your LGPS pension, the death grant payable will depend on when you left the scheme.
If you left on or after 1 April 2008
A lump sum of 5 times your deferred annual pension will be payable.
If you left before 1 April 2008
A lump sum of 3 times your deferred annual pension will be payable.
If you have a linked Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) fund, the value of the fund at your date of death will be paid with the death grant.
Multiple deferred LGPS membership
If you have more than one LGPS deferred benefit and you're not a current contributing active member of the LGPS when you die, a death grant lump sum will be payable for each deferred membership.
A deferred record and active record
If you have deferred benefits, are employed and paying into the LGPS when you die, only one death grant will be payable. This will be the higher of either:
- 5 times (or, if you left before 1 April 2008, 3 times) your deferred annual pension
- 3 times your annual pay in your active employment
Normally we pay the death grant lump sum in line with your nomination(s) made in your expression of wish, although the pension fund has overall discretion over who will receive the payment.
If you haven’t made an expression of wish nomination, or want to update or change the one currently in place, you’ll find the expression of wish form attached to this page.
Your annual benefit statements detail if we hold nomination(s) for you.
Survivor pensions
A pension is also provided for your spouse, registered civil partner, or your eligible cohabiting partner (if you left the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008). There’s also provision for paying a pension to your eligible children.
The national LGPS members website has details about the payment of survivor pensions.
Links to useful documents