Death in service

The amount of lump sum payable is equal to three times your annual Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP) no matter how long you have been an active member of the Scheme.

Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP) is used in the calculation of the death grant and survivors benefits payable in the event of your death in service. For the purposes of these calculations, the Assumed Pensionable Pay is:

The average of the last three whole months' pay prior to the date of death, uprated to an annual amount.

You can choose who you would like to receive any death grant payable by completing an 'Expression of Wish' form: 

Please note the administering authority has absolute discretion to pay the death grant to your nominee or personal representatives or to any person who appears, at any time, to have been your relative or dependant. If any part of the death grant has not been paid by the second anniversary of your death, it must be paid to your personal representatives, i.e. to your Estate. This may result in an inheritance tax charge being placed on the death grant.

Important: If you also have a deferred benefit and/or a pension in payment from a previous period of membership of the LGPS, the lump sum death grant paid is the greater of:

•    the total of any lump sum death grants payable from the deferred benefit and/or pensions in payment
•    three times your annual Assumed Pensionable Pay at the date you die

Long-term Widow’s Pension

If you die before your wife a long-term widow’s pension is payable equal to 1/160th of your Assumed Pensionable Pay for each year or fraction of a year uprated to the value you would have become entitled to had you remained a member of the scheme to your Normal Pension Age (NPA).

Long-term Widower’s Pension

If you die before your husband a long-term widower’s pension is payable equal to 1/160th of your Assumed Pensionable Pay for each year or fraction of a year built up since 1 April 1972 plus your prospective membership to your Normal Pension Age (NPA).

Your spouses pension is fully inflation proofed and payable for life.

Children's pensions are payable as long as eligible children remain following your death.

To be eligible your child must be a natural or adopted child, a step-child or a child accepted by the deceased as a member of the family. They would also need to meet the following additional criteria:

•    Aged under 18
•    Aged 18 or over but under 23 and have been in full-time education or training since before the age of 18
•    Dependent upon you by reason of incapacity since before the age of 18
•    Born within 12 months from the date of your death

The administering authority may, at their discretion, ignore a break in education or training and you can ask your administering authority what their policy is on this matter.

Please note that any children's pension brought into payment before 6 April 2006 is payable to the age of 17 or the point at which full-time education or training ceases, if later.

Children's Long-term Pension

If there is a pension payable to your legally married spouse, cohabiting partner or civil partner, the following children's pensions will be payable:

• One eligible child will receive 1/320th of your Assumed Pensionable Pay for each year and part-year used in the calculation of your benefits (including the enhancement to your NPA
• Two or more eligible children will receive 1/160th of your Assumed Pensionable Pay for each year and part-year used in the calculation of your benefits (including the enhancement to your NPA) divided equally between them.
  If there is no pension payable to your legally married spouse, cohabiting partner or civil partner, all references made above to 1/320th should be replaced with 1/240th and all references to 1/160th should be replaced with 1/120th. Children's pensions are fully inflation-proofed.

If you die before your civil partner he or she will become entitled to a long-term civil partner's pension equal to 1/160th of your Assumed Pensionable Pay for each year and part-year of your membership built up since 6 April 1988 plus your prospective membership to Normal Pension Age.

Your civil partner's long-term pension is fully inflation-proofed and payable for life.

Important Changes to Civil Partnership Benefits

The Local Government Pension Scheme (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2009 make amendments to scheme regulations as they relate to certain survivor's benefits.

If you have registered a civil partnership, your civil partner, as a result of a change to the regulations, will now qualify for a survivor's pension in the event of your death, based on all of your scheme membership since 1 April 1972.

This brings civil partners in line with spouse's benefits (widow's and widower's). Before this change to the regulations, civil partners' pensions were based on post 5 April 1988 membership only.

Please contact the Berkshire Pensions team for further information on 01628 796 668.

If you die and leave a co-habiting partner or civil partner, he or she, as your co-habiting partner or civil partner, will become entitled to part of your pension.

Local Government long-term dependant co-habiting partner's and civil partner's pensions no longer cease upon co-habitation with another person.

Long-term Co-habiting Partner's Pension

Providing you have contributed to the LGPS at some point since 1 April 2008 your co-habiting partner may be eligible to receive a survivor's pension that becomes payable in the event of your death.

For a co-habiting partnership to be valid both you and your partner must satisfy the following conditions at your date of death:

•    Your co-habitation had been continuous for at least 2 years at the date of death
•    You are free to marry or enter into a civil partnership at any time
•    You are living together as if husband and wife or civil partners
•    You are not living with a third person as if husband or wife or civil partners
•    Either your partner is financially dependent upon you or you are financially interdependent upon each other

Your co-habiting partner's long-term pension is fully inflation-proofed and payable for life.

If you would like to find out more about co-habiting partner's pensions read the Co-habiting Partner's Pension factsheet.

To report the death of scheme member please contact the pension team on 01628 796 668 or email info@berkshirepensions.org.uk  

We are also part of Tell Us Once (TUO). TUO allows people to report a death to most Government organisations in one go rather than contacting organisations separately.