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There are three police pension schemes in England and Wales — the Police Pension Scheme 1987 (PPS), the New Police Pension Scheme 2006 (NPPS), and the Police Pension Scheme 2015. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own police pension regulations, so nothing on this page should be read across to them. When an officer dies, their family may be able to claim a lump sum death grant and an ongoing survivor's pension. Whether probate is needed depends on who the grant is paid to.
Often no — but police pension schemes are statutory schemes, not trusts, and there are no trustees. The Home Office members' guides set out a fixed order. Under the 2015 scheme the lump sum death grant is paid to a surviving spouse or civil partner; if there is none, at the discretion of the Police Pension Authority to a declared partner; if there is none of those, at its discretion to a person the officer nominated. The 1987 scheme works the same way for spouses and civil partners.
Where none of those people exist, the grant goes to the officer's legal personal representative — and the Home Office guide says plainly that it will "thus form part of your estate". In that case you may need to apply for probate before the funds can be distributed.
The main benefit is the lump sum death grant. The separate "gratuity" the scheme refers to is a much narrower payment, covered at the end of this list.
A surviving spouse or civil partner is entitled to an ongoing survivor's pension of half the officer's pension. That is the rate in all three schemes: regulations 139 to 141 of the Police Pensions Regulations 2015 set the surviving adult's pension at 50%, and the 1987 scheme pays a half-rate widow's or widower's pension for officers who joined after 1 April 1972. It is paid for life and is taxable as income.
A child's pension in the 2015 scheme is generally 25% of the officer's pension; where there are three or more eligible children, they share 50% of it between them. A child stops being eligible at 19, unless they are in full-time education on a course of at least a year's duration — in which case the pension runs to their 23rd birthday — or cannot work because of a permanent impairment they had when the officer died, in which case it is paid for life.
Where an officer dies as a result of an injury received on duty, separate benefits may be payable under the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006. These sit outside the pension scheme. Contact the officer's force or the pension administrator.
If you are unsure which scheme the officer was in, contact their last force or use the Pension Tracing Service.
Police pension members can complete a nomination form naming who should receive the lump sum death grant — but it does less than people expect. The Home Office guide to the 2015 scheme states that a nomination "does not override the provision that the grant will go to a surviving spouse, civil partner or declared partner, if you have one". It takes effect only where there is no such person, or where the officer and their partner die at the same time.
So if you are a bereaved spouse or civil partner, an out-of-date nomination naming somebody else does not displace you. Note too that a nomination for the lump sum is a different thing from a declared partner declaration, which is what makes an unmarried partner eligible in the first place.
Where the lump sum death grant goes to a surviving spouse or civil partner, the ordinary spouse exemption applies and there is no inheritance tax on it. Where it goes to the personal representative it forms part of the estate and is assessed with everything else. Survivors' and children's pensions are not estate assets.
From 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits come into the estate for inheritance tax. HMRC's policy paper of 26 November 2025 states that all death in service benefits payable from a registered pension scheme are excluded from that change — discretionary and non-discretionary schemes alike — as are dependants' scheme pensions from a defined benefit arrangement, and the spouse, civil partner and charity exemptions are kept. Personal representatives become liable for reporting and paying inheritance tax on whatever is in scope. Read our guide to pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027 for the latest position, and review the current inheritance tax rules for 2026/27.
If no nomination form is on file, that does not change the outcome for a surviving spouse or civil partner — they receive the grant either way. Discretion only arises where there is no spouse or civil partner and the Police Pension Authority is deciding between a declared partner and other candidates. If there is nobody eligible, the grant is paid to the personal representative, forming part of the estate and triggering the probate process and potentially inheritance tax.