Pensions and benefits after a death: what stops and what you can claim

When someone dies, their pensions and benefits have to be sorted out, and yours may change too. Some of this happens once you report the death; the rest you have to chase yourself. This guide explains what stops, what can be passed on, how to find pensions and what a surviving partner can claim.

Key points

• State Pension and benefits stop once DWP knows about the death. Overpayments can be recovered from the estate.
• Tell Us Once reports the death to DWP, HMRC, the council and some public sector pension schemes. It isn’t available in Northern Ireland.
• You must contact most workplace and private pension schemes yourself.
• Only a husband, wife or civil partner can inherit State Pension, and the rules depend on dates.
• Scheme trustees usually decide who gets a pension lump sum, guided by the person’s expression of wish.
• A survivor may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment, more Pension Credit or a Council Tax discount.

Step 1: report the death

England, Scotland and Wales. When you register the death, the registrar will usually offer Tell Us Once. You must use the reference number within 28 days. It tells:

• DWP, to stop benefits and State Pension
• HMRC, about personal tax and benefits such as Child Benefit
• the local council, including Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
• Social Security Scotland, for Scottish benefits
• some public sector pension schemes: the Armed Forces, Civil Service, Local Government and NHS schemes in England and Wales, the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme, and the Scottish Public Pensions Agency schemes

See our Tell Us Once guide. If you can’t use it, call the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012.

Northern Ireland. Tell Us Once isn’t available. Call the Department for Communities’ Bereavement Service on 0800 085 2463. nidirect says it records the death, tells any benefit office that paid the person and checks what financial support you might get. Tell Land and Property Services if the person paid rates or got help with them.

What happens to the State Pension

The State Pension stops when DWP is told about the death.

• Overpayments. If a payment arrived after the death, DWP Debt Management will contact the next of kin, the bank or whoever is dealing with the estate. DWP can also recover older benefit overpayments from the estate. Don’t share out the estate until you know whether anything must be repaid, or you may have to pay it yourself. See dealing with debts after a death.
• Underpayments. DWP has found that some married, widowed and older pensioners were underpaid. If you’re the next of kin or executor and think this applies, you can ask DWP to check.

Inheriting State Pension from a husband, wife or civil partner

Only husbands, wives and civil partners can inherit State Pension. What’s possible depends on when you each reached State Pension age.

Some important limits:

• For Additional State Pension, you can inherit up to 50% of their State Second Pension. How much of any SERPS pension you can inherit depends on their date of birth.
• On the new State Pension, you can’t inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before reaching State Pension age.
• If you’re under State Pension age, you may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment instead.

Contact the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469 to check what you can claim. In Northern Ireland, the same rules apply through the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

Workplace and personal pensions

Tell Us Once doesn’t contact most private schemes, so contact each one yourself, as soon as possible. GOV.UK warns that if the person was receiving payments, telling the scheme quickly helps avoid repayments later.

Finding their pensions

Check their post, bank statements, payslips and P60s. If you know an employer’s or provider’s name, the Pension Tracing Service (0800 731 0175, or online) can give you the scheme’s contact details. It can’t tell you whether a pension exists or what it’s worth.

What a scheme might pay

It depends on the scheme’s rules and the type of pension.

• Defined benefit (final salary or career average) schemes may pay a pension to a dependant, such as a husband, wife, civil partner or child under 23, and sometimes a lump sum. Some schemes’ rules allow payments to other people.
• Defined contribution pots can usually be paid out as a lump sum, or used to provide income through drawdown or an annuity.
• If they had bought an annuity, check whether it included a partner’s pension or a guarantee period.
• If they died while working, their employer’s scheme may pay a death in service lump sum.

Who decides: nominations and expression of wish forms

Members are usually asked to say who they’d like to receive their pension, often on an expression of wish or nomination form. The Pensions Ombudsman explains that, in most schemes, lump sums are paid at the trustees’ discretion. Trustees aren’t generally required to follow the person’s wishes, even if they left a nomination form, and they can only pay people who fall within the scheme’s rules. The decision can take time.

If you disagree with a decision, use the scheme’s complaints process first. You can then complain to The Pensions Ombudsman, which checks that the right process was followed.

Tax on inherited pensions

A pension paid by the scheme itself, such as a dependant’s pension, is taxed as income at any age.

Inheritance Tax. At present, pension lump sums usually aren’t subject to Inheritance Tax because the scheme has discretion over who gets them. The government has confirmed that from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will count as part of the estate for Inheritance Tax. Death in service benefits are excluded, and the existing exemptions for a surviving spouse or civil partner and for charities continue. Executors will be responsible for reporting and paying any tax.

It’s a good moment to check your own nominations too. For England and Wales, SwiftWill explains how life insurance, pensions and your will fit together.

Benefits the surviving partner may be able to claim

Council Tax and rates

If you now live alone. You can usually get 25% off your Council Tax in England and Wales if you’re the only adult in the home. Scotland has a similar single adult discount. Ask your council.

If the home is now empty. In England, GOV.UK says you don’t need to pay Council Tax on the home of someone who has died until probate is granted, as long as it stays empty. After probate, the exemption can continue for up to 6 months if the home is still unoccupied and in the person’s name. In Scotland, the exemption depends on when confirmation is granted. Wales has its own rules, so check with the council. See clearing a home after a death.

Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead of Council Tax. Tell Land and Property Services about the death. If you’re 70 or over and now live alone, you may qualify for Lone Pensioner Allowance, a 20% discount.

Where to get help

• DWP Bereavement Service: 0800 151 2012 (England, Scotland and Wales)
• Bereavement Service (Northern Ireland): 0800 085 2463
• Pension Service: 0800 731 0469
• Pension Tracing Service: 0800 731 0175
• Citizens Advice or Advice NI, for a free benefits check and money advice
• Keep track of every task with our when someone dies checklist, and see do I need probate?