How to Collect a Pension Death Benefit as Executor

Step 1: Notify the Pension Provider Immediately

Notify each pension provider as soon as possible after the death. Delays in notification can lead to overpayments (which become estate debts) and delays in processing the death benefit claim.

Send the following to each pension provider:

• A letter notifying them of the death.
• A certified copy of the death certificate.
• The member's name, date of birth, and membership/reference number.
• Your own details as executor and your contact information.

The provider will then stop any pension payments (if the deceased was already taking a pension), confirm the scheme rules, and initiate the death benefit claim process.

Step 2: Obtain the Fund Value and Check the Nomination

Ask the pension provider for:

• The fund value at the date of death (for DC schemes).
• A copy of the most recent nomination of beneficiary form.
• Confirmation of the scheme rules regarding death benefits.
• Details of any death-in-service lump sum or guaranteed annuity payments.

You need the fund value for IHT purposes (though most DC pensions are outside the IHT estate — see our pension valuation guide) and for the estate accounts.

How Discretionary Pension Death Benefits Work

For most modern UK pensions (defined contribution and most defined benefit schemes), death benefits are held under a discretionary trust. This means:

• The pension trustees (not the executor or the will) decide who receives the death benefit.
• The trustees will consider any nomination form completed by the member as their primary guide, but they are not legally bound by it.
• Beneficiaries named in the nomination form complete a claim form directly with the pension provider — the executor does not receive the funds (unless the benefit is paid to the estate).

The key message for beneficiaries: update your pension nomination forms regularly. An outdated nomination form (e.g. naming an ex-spouse) will be considered by the trustees but may not be followed.

When Death Benefits Are Paid to the Estate

If there is no valid nomination on file and no obvious beneficiaries, or if the trustees exercise their discretion to pay the estate, the death benefit may be paid to the estate. In this case:

• The funds become part of the probate estate.
• They are included in the IHT calculation (unlike discretionary benefits paid directly to beneficiaries).
• You can collect them using the Grant of Probate in the same way as any other asset.

DC Pension: Claims Process

For defined contribution pensions (personal pensions, SIPPs, workplace money purchase schemes):

1. Notify the provider and provide death certificate.
2. The provider sends a death benefit expression of wishes form (or checks the existing nomination) and may send a claim form to the nominated beneficiaries.
3. Beneficiaries complete the claim form and provide their identity documents.
4. The trustees make a decision (usually within 2–6 months) and pay out to the chosen beneficiary(ies).
5. Payment can be made as a lump sum or (for beneficiaries who wish to keep it in a pension) into a beneficiary drawdown account.

DB Pension: Death Benefits Available

Defined benefit (final salary) schemes typically offer:

• Death in service lump sum: Usually 2–4× final salary, paid as a discretionary lump sum to nominated beneficiaries.
• Spouse's/civil partner's pension: A reduced ongoing pension paid to the surviving spouse for life. This is not part of the estate — it belongs to the surviving spouse.
• Dependent's pension: For dependent children under 23 (or older if in full-time education or disabled).
• Pension guarantee: If the member died within a guarantee period, remaining guaranteed income may be paid as a lump sum.

Tax on Pension Death Benefits

The tax treatment of pension death benefits depends on the age of the deceased at death:

• Died before age 75: Lump sum death benefits are generally paid free of income tax to beneficiaries (up to the lifetime allowance, though the LTA charge has been abolished for 2023–24 onwards).
• Died on or after age 75: Death benefit lump sums are subject to income tax at the recipient's marginal rate. Beneficiary drawdown income is also taxed at the recipient's marginal rate.

Note the proposed changes from April 2027 that would bring undrawn pension funds into the IHT estate — see our inheritance tax guide for 2026–27.

For the overall estate administration process, see our estate administration checklist. Use our free estate administration tool for your personalised task list.

Related Guides

• Valuing a Pension for Probate
• Pensions and IHT: 2027 Changes
• Executor First Steps
• Applying for Probate
• Complete UK Probate Guide 2026
• IHT400 Form Guide