How To Stop Pension After Death

When a loved one passes away, managing what happens to their money might not be at the top of your list but it’s an important process that you will eventually need to go through. Although you will be dealing with emotional turmoil and upset, you may find yourself in the position where you will need to address what happens to your loved one’s pension. In this article, how to stop pension after death, we take a look at the process and steps involved.

Free Initial Telephone Discussion

For a free initial discussion on how we can help you with the legal aspects of dealing with a loved one’s pension, get in touch with us today. We will review your situation and discuss the options open to you in a clear and approachable manner. Early expert legal assistance can help guide you through the whole process and also help you avoid the stress of dealing with these issues on your own. Simply call us on 0345 901 0445 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will get back to you.

What steps to take when someone dies

In addition to dealing with the funeral arrangements, there are a number of steps that need to be taken before you can deal with the deceased’s financial affairs:

1. You should register the death within 5 days. By doing this you will obtain a death certificate. This is an important document that you must keep safe as you will need the original in order to gain access to the deceased’s bank accounts.
2. If the deceased left a will, an executor will have been named. This is the person responsible for handling the estate of the deceased. Once the executor has the original copies of the Will and the death certificate, they can apply for probate. If someone dies without a will, the application process is the same, but you’ll get ‘letters of administration’ rather than a ‘grant of probate’.
3. You will need to estimate any inheritance tax liability and notify HMRC of the same. We can advise on this.
4. Once you have the Will, death certificate, and grant of probate, you are then in a position to notify the banks, utility and insurance companies.

What to do about their State Pension

If the person who died was receiving a State Pension, you should tell the Pension Service that he or she has died so that payments stop.

What to do about their personal and workplace pensions

It’s important that you tell each pension scheme that the person who dies was a member of as soon as possible.

Pension schemes often provide death benefits. If you don’t know what these are or the rules that apply, you should contact the pension provider or the scheme administrator to find out. To receive the death benefits, it may be necessary to complete a nomination form.

If you’re dealing with someone’s affairs after their death, you should check their paperwork to see if they had any personal or workplace pension schemes. If they did, contact the pension provider to find out how much they had and what to do next. If you don’t know who the pension provider is and the deceased was employed, contact their employer to see if there was a current workplace pension.

The amount you can claim and when you can claim it depends on which type of personal or workplace pension it is.

You’ll also need to find out if any personal or workplace pensions are:

• defined contribution pensions
• defined benefit pensions

Once you know this information, you need to contact the pension provider, or employer if it’s a workplace scheme.

You need to find out how much the deceased had, and how to claim that pension.

How we can help

We have a proven track-record of helping clients deal with probate matters. We will guide you through all the necessary legal due diligence in a comprehensive and timely manner. We firmly believe that with the right solicitors by your side, the entire process will seem more manageable and far less daunting.

How to Contact our Wills and Probate Solicitors

It is important for you to be well informed about the issues and obstacles you are facing. However, expert legal support is crucial in terms of guiding you through the often emotional process of probate in a sensitive and supportive manner and help ensure you achieve a positive outcome.

To speak to our Wills and Probate solicitors today, simply call us on 0345 901 0445, or allow a member of the team to get back to you by filling in our online enquiry form. We are well known across the country and can assist wherever you are based. We also have offices based in Cheshire and London.

Authored by Ben Posted in News, Private Client Tagged as