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.
A NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) death benefit does not normally require probate, but which of NEST's two beneficiary options the member chose matters. NEST is a master trust — a genuine trust-based scheme with a trustee — and where the member left an expression of wish, the trustee decides who to pay, the pot sits outside the estate and no grant is needed. Where the member instead recorded a nomination, NEST is bound to pay the named person, and NEST says the pot "will usually form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes". Notify NEST of the death on 0300 020 1410 — they will request a death certificate and begin the claims process.
NEST is the UK Government-backed workplace pension scheme established under auto-enrolment legislation. It is a master trust, so it genuinely does have a trustee exercising a discretion — unlike a personal pension or SIPP, where the provider makes that decision as scheme administrator, and unlike the statutory public service schemes, where the benefit is paid under scheme regulations. Where NEST holds an expression of wish, that trustee discretion means the pension assets are legally separate from the member's personal estate:
The exception is a NEST nomination. NEST offers this as a separate option to an expression of wish and it works the opposite way: "we'll pay your pot only to who you tell us to", and NEST states that the pot "will usually form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes". If you are dealing with a NEST pot, ask NEST which of the two it holds before assuming the pot is outside the estate.
For comparison, see our probate threshold guide for 2026–27, which covers the different rules that apply to pensions versus other financial products.
To claim a NEST death benefit, you will typically need:
Note: NEST will not require a grant of probate for pension death benefits. If you are also administering the wider estate, see what documents are needed for probate for the rest of the assets. Our estate administration checklist will help you manage everything in parallel.
Notifying NEST is part of the broader task of notifying financial institutions after a death.
NEST does not participate in the Death Notification Service (DNS). You must contact NEST directly by phone or post. As a pension scheme rather than a bank, NEST sits outside the DNS banking network.
NEST does not participate in the Direct Payment Scheme (DPS) and is not relevant to inheritance tax payments in the same way as banks and insurers. Because NEST pension assets are outside the estate, they are not counted in the gross estate value for inheritance tax purposes (under current rules). If the wider estate does have an IHT liability, see our guide on probate delays and IHT interest.
NEST states that claims are usually settled within 20 to 30 days of it receiving all the information it needs. The trustee will consider who the member named and may contact known beneficiaries directly.
The wider estate — including any probate application for other assets — runs on its own timetable, and no official source publishes a typical length for it. See the complete UK probate guide for 2026 for a full timeline.
If the deceased recorded neither an expression of wish nor a nomination, the NEST trustee has full discretion to decide who receives the death benefit. It will consider a range of factors, including:
If no suitable beneficiaries can be identified, NEST may pay the death benefit to the estate, in which case it would be distributed according to the will or intestacy rules — and a grant may then be needed for that sum. The same is true where NEST holds a binding nomination and the named person has died. For broader guidance on claiming workplace pension death benefits, see our dedicated guide. If you are deciding how to manage the wider estate, see our DIY probate versus solicitor cost guide.
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