Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
Legal & General (L&G) is one of the UK's largest financial services companies, providing workplace pensions, personal pensions, and SIPPs. When an L&G pension holder dies, the fund value can be paid to a nominated beneficiary or eligible dependant. These funds fall outside the estate and do not normally require probate.
In most cases, no. An L&G personal or workplace pension is a contract between the member and Legal & General rather than a trust with its own board of trustees: the scheme rules give L&G discretion over who receives the death benefit, and it is that discretion — not the will, and not a grant — that decides where the money goes. L&G can pay the death benefit directly to the person it selects without a Grant of Probate. (Where an employer runs its scheme under trust, the employer's trustees take that decision instead.)
If there is no nomination and no suitable beneficiary can be identified, the fund may be paid to the estate. In that case, probate may be required before the funds are released.
For defined contribution pensions and SIPPs, the death benefit is the full fund value at the date of death. L&G may offer beneficiaries the following options depending on the policy type:
L&G also provides group life insurance (death in service) through many employer schemes. If the deceased was employed, check whether the employer had a separate group life policy — this is a distinct benefit from the pension fund.
Legal & General pension holders should complete an expression of wishes form specifying who should receive the fund. It is not an instruction L&G must follow: L&G gives it significant weight and then decides. That discretion is what has kept the fund outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes up to April 2027.
Members should review and update their expression of wishes after any major life event. An outdated nomination can lead to delays and unexpected outcomes for bereaved families.
See GOV.UK for current guidance on tax on pension death benefits.
Currently, L&G pension funds fall outside the estate and are not subject to inheritance tax. For deaths on or after 6 April 2027 that changes, and it is settled law rather than a proposal — the charge is in sections 66 to 71 of the Finance Act 2026. HMRC's policy paper of 26 November 2025 states that personal representatives will be liable for reporting and paying any Inheritance Tax due on unused pension funds and pension death benefits, and that they can direct a scheme administrator such as L&G to withhold up to 50% of the death benefits for up to 15 months from the date of death while the tax is settled. Death in service benefits from a registered pension scheme are excluded — which matters here, because L&G is a large group life provider — as are dependants' scheme pensions from a defined benefit or collective money purchase arrangement, and the spouse, civil partner and charity exemptions are kept.
Read our full guide to pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027 and the inheritance tax guide for 2026/27.
If no expression of wishes is on file, L&G still exercises its discretion. It will typically pay a surviving spouse or civil partner. If no suitable beneficiary is found, the fund may be paid to the estate, which becomes subject to the probate and estate administration process.