Death before retirement

If you die in pensionable employment you will qualify for a life assurance lump sum. If you have a surviving partner, they will get a survivor’s pension and if you have surviving dependent children they will get dependant allowances.

Lump sum

For NHS Pension Scheme Members the lump sum payable is equal to 2 years’ pensionable pay. For New NHS Scheme members it is equal to 2 years’ reckonable pay provided you have not ‘drawn down’ any of your pension. (See New Scheme Guide, available in the members’ library, for more details)

For general medical, ophthalmic, locum and dental practitioners in both the NHS and New NHS Schemes, the lump sum will be twice the annual average of the uprated pensionable pay earned throughout their career.

Members who are legally married (including separated), or have formed a civil partnership, or from 1 April 2008 have nominated a qualifying partner, their surviving spouse, civil partner or partner will automatically get the lump sum unless the member has nominated anyone else on form DB2 (available from this link). The lump sum will then be paid to the member’s nominees.

Members who are single without a nominated qualifying partner, divorced, or have terminated a civil partnership, will have the lump sum paid automatically to their estate unless they have nominated someone on form DB2.

Members can change their instructions on form DB2 at anytime.

Survivor pensions

Pensions for surviving partners can be paid to: a legal spouse; or a registered civil partner; or a nominated partner with whom you have an exclusive long-term committed relationship of at least two years and are either financially dependent or inter-dependent.

Under both the NHS Pension Scheme (Amended April 2008) and the New NHS Pension Scheme, a survivor's pension for a member’s legal spouse, civil partner or nominated qualifying partner is payable for life, even if your spouse or partner remarries or begins living with someone as their spouse, civil partner or partner.

Under the NHS Pension Scheme (Amended April 2008) for members with less than 2 years’ membership when they die, their spouse, civil partner or nominated qualifying partner will get a short term pension for 6 months. The pension will be at the same rate as the member’s pensionable pay at the time of death. For GPs the
pension will be based on their average pensionable earnings during the last complete quarter.

For members with at least 2 years’ membership at death, their spouse, civil partner or nominated qualifying partner will get the short term pension for 6 months.

Widows will then get a survivor's pension payable for life of half the amount the member would have got if they had retired because of ill-health on their date of death. Different arrangements apply for Widowers, civil partners and nominated qualifying partners. Further details about this and other aspects of death before retirement can be found the Scheme Guide –SD, available in the members’ library

Under the New NHS Pension Scheme, spouses or partners of members with less than 2 years membership at death will get a short term pension for 6 months. The pension will be at the same rate as the member’s pensionable pay at the time of their death. For GPs the pension will be based on their average pensionable earnings during the last complete
quarter.

Spouses or partners of members with 2 or more years’ membership at death will get the short term pension for 6 months. Thereafter a survivor's pension will be payable for life.

The survivor's pension will be 37.5% of the tier 2 ill-health pension the member would have received on the day of their death. GP survivor's pensions are 70/187ths of the tier 2 ill-health pension they would have received on the day of death.

Further details about this and other aspects of death before retirement can be found the New Scheme Guide available in the members library.

Allowances for dependant children

The amount of a child allowance depends on the number of dependent children, and whether there is a surviving parent who will get a Scheme survivor’s pension (in which case the amount is smaller).

The basis on which the allowances are calculated differ between the NHS Pension Scheme (Amended April 2008) and the New NHS Pension Scheme. Further information can be found in the Scheme Guide –SD and the New Scheme Guide, both of which can be found in the members’ library.