What happens to my pension when I die?
When you die, your dependants could be eligible for payments from your personal or workplace pensions. Your partner may also be able to receive higher State Pension payments.
It depends what sort of pension you’re asking about. When you die:
- Your spouse or civil partner may get higher State Pension payments based on your entitlement
- Your spouse, civil partner or dependants could get payments from any personal or workplace pensions you have
This article explains how that works. We’ll talk you through:
- What happens to your pension when you die
- How to make sure your pension goes to your loved ones
Inheritance tax
Find out more about Inheritance Tax and how it affects pensions.
What happens to my State Pension when I die?
There’s a simple answer to how long your State Pension is paid after death. If you’re already claiming it, it just stops. But it can help your spouse or civil partner. And if you've reached State Pension age and have not claimed it, it can pay a small sum into your estate.
If you’re married or have a civil partner
When you die, your spouse or civil partner may be able to receive additional State Pension benefits, depending on their circumstances.
- If they reached State Pension age before 6th April 2016
If they're not receiving the full State Pension, they may be entitled to a higher payment. To find out what they could receive, they should contact the Pension Service. - If they reached State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016
If they're receiving the new State Pension, they may be entitled to an inherited payment. Whether they can receive this depends on when your marriage or civil partnership began and when you died. You can find more information on the government website. - If they remarry or enter a new civil partnership
This may affect their entitlement to inherited State Pension benefits. To find out how their circumstances could be affected, they should contact the Pension Service.
If you’re single, divorced or just not claiming it yet
If you haven’t already claimed your State Pension, after death your estate can ask for up to three months of it. If you are claiming it, your payments just stop.
What happens to my private pension when I die?
What happens to your private pension when you die, including whether and how long a pension’s paid after your death, depends on:
- What sort of pension scheme it is
- Whether you’ve already started getting your pension benefits
- If it’s a workplace pension, whether it also includes life cover
Your pension scheme administrator can give you more information. In general:
- If you have a defined benefit pension, it might pay a lump sum or start making continuing payments to your beneficiaries. Exactly what happens will depend on how old you are and if you’re still with the employer that set it up. Check with your pension administrator for details.
- If you have a defined contribution pension, any money left either in your pot or in drawdown will pass to your beneficiaries. They can take it either as a lump sum or as a series of payments, or use it to buy an annuity.
What happens to my pension income when I die?
If you have:
- A defined contribution pension and have put some or all of your pot into drawdown, that money goes to your beneficiaries. Exactly how that works depends on the type of pension you have, and your and their circumstances.
- An annuity, you’ll have agreed what happens when you bought it. It could stop paying out, or make a single or ongoing payments to your beneficiaries, your estate or your partner, depending on the death benefits available.
- A defined benefit pension, what happens to any income from it depends on how it works, who you’ve nominated as a beneficiary and what you might have agreed when you signed up for it.
And if you’re not sure about any of that, check with your provider for details.
How to claim a deceased parent’s pension
The details of how to claim a deceased parent’s pension will always depend on what sort of pension it is and how they set it up.
If you’re looking to claim a parent’s pension, a good first step is to talk to their provider. If you don’t know who that is, or think they had a pension but don’t have any details, the government’s free pension tracing service can help.
And if you’re the parent and want to make it easier for your child or children to claim your pension, you can name them as beneficiaries.
Are pensions subject to inheritance tax?
At the moment, pensions are not subject to inheritance tax. But from April 2027, pensions will be included in your estate and your beneficiaries may have to pay inheritance tax.
Related articles
Pension Annuities and Inheritance Tax
Can I withdraw my private pension before 55?
Early medical retirement due to ill health – what to do?
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