General Chat

Here's the scenario, The person who has died was 59, single and childless, she had worked continuousley since the age of 16, among her jobs, she was employed by the Civil Service for 23 years and paid into a pension with them. Here next of Kin are siblings (2 brothers and a sister). Does anybody know if they would be entitled to proceeds from her Pension? both Civil Service and State, which she didn't live long enough to claim any of it. Apparently, a sibling has been told that only spouse or children can claim? seeing that she didn't have either surely her siblings would be next in line. thanks for any comments.

Hi Haribo
No one can claim the state pension for someone who has died. It is not transferable.
I think that half of her civil service pension would have been paid to her surviving spouse (if she had one) after her death but I am sure that no one else can claim any of it.

I think it is at the discretion of the pension company and only if she left instruction with them on where/who it should go to.

Hi Astra, I can understand it about the non transferable State Pension but I find it very discrimminatory and quite shocking that in this day and age a person who chooses not to have a spouse or child will find that there contributions will not go to their surviving siblings! I wonder if all those single/childless pension payers realise this? I have talked about this to at least a doven people in the last week and they all find it hard to believe.

Both my sisters and their Husbands chose not to have children so haven't claimed family allowance, maternity pay, haven't been out of work so not claimed dole.
I think that what they pay in nat ins should reflect that, and only pay towards state pension.

Depends if she named anyone as the beneficiary on the pension policy.

Most workplace pensions provide a 'Death-in-Service' benefit, similar to a life assurance policy. This means that if you die before starting to draw your workplace pension a lump sum is paid to a chosen person.

Did she leave a will?

Rose

i am sure only a spouse can make a claim on it :-(

Civil Service pensions are non-contributory, and are paid to retired employees or a proportion to their widows/widowers, provided they don't re-marry.

As a civil servant she may have completed a next of kin form. The next of kin needs to contact whoever paid her C S pension to see if a form was completed. Death benefit I think should be paid to next of kin.

Hi Rose. no she didn't leave a will, She was medically retired from the Civil Sevice at the age of 51 after having served 23 years continuouse service, within a year she got a part time job, 25 hours a week as a school cleaner/dinner lady, sadly, she died aged 59. We have no idea who she named on the pension papers as next of kin, yet so far we are being told that only spouses or children are entitled.....Sad as i'm sure she would've wanted her neice and nephew who have recently graduated to have used the money to pay off uni fees, she did not own a property and had no money in any accounts, the siblings had to pay for the funeral. Thanks to all who have responded,

I am a retired civil servant Haribo and the position when I worked was as follows. We had to complete a 'death in service' form where you nominated who should benefit if you died in service. (ie before getting your civil service pension and only payable during the time you worked as a civil servant). It was a kind of life insurance as has been said and nothing to do with your civil service pension.

The only person who can benefit from my civil service pension after I die is my spouse as I have no dependant children and he would get less than half of my pension. If he then remarried he would lose it again.

Sadly, as a single woman her state pension rights die with her.