This is your reminder that your pension isn’t just for you. One of the great things about the Scheme is that through it you’ll be able to look after your loved ones, even when you’re gone, and having that security can help your family in more ways than you’d expect.

With it being Valentine’s Day, it feels like a fitting time to remind you that you can nominate someone to receive your benefits and how to do this.

We’ve different criteria for your loved ones that will determine the process for how they can receive a pension, here we’ll discuss what to expect.

Married/Civil partnership.

As long as you’ve qualified for a pension your spouse or civil partner will receive a pension after you die. You can find out more about the application process by reading our death benefits factsheet (PDF, 80 KB) (This link opens in a new window).

Partners

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, your partner can receive a long-term survivor’s pension. There are qualifying conditions your partner must meet to receive a long-term survivor’s pension. It’s essential that partners who aren’t in a marriage or civil partnership prove that they’ve been financially dependent or financially interdependent with you. To understand the qualifying conditions that your partner must meet we’ve more information on our relationships page.

We’d recommend that you complete a partner notification form (PDF, 349 KB) (This link opens in a new window) so that we know about your long term relationship and nominate your partner through My Pension Online (MPO). Although, there isn’t a legal requirement to complete the form or make a nomination it’s always useful for yourself and us to know what plans you may have for your benefits.

Close dependent relative nominee

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, you’ll be able to nominate a close dependent relative to receive your pension. You’ll be able to nominate a parent, step-parent, brother or sister, provided that they’re unmarried, widowed, not a civil partner or cohabiting with another person as husband and wife or as civil partners. The nominated beneficiary must be wholly or mainly financially dependent on you at the date of death, to find out more please see our Family Benefits Guide (PDF) (This link opens in a new window).

We’ve a financially dependent relative form that you can complete online via MPO to make your nomination.

Death Grant

A death grant nomination allows you to nominate someone to receive a death grant in the event of your death. If you haven’t completed the death grant nomination, your benefits will be payable to your spouse, civil partner, or qualifying partner. If you’d like to make us aware of your wishes for who you’d like to receive your benefits you can choose to complete a death grant nomination (PDF, 288 KB) (This link opens in a new window)  which can also be made through MPO.

Log into MPO and nominate a loved one

The easiest way to make a nomination, is via MPO. Having the reassurance that those you care for will have security once you’re gone is a huge benefit. Nominations can be a simple way to put your mind at ease when thinking of your future and how you’d like to handle your pension benefits. Once you’ve made a nomination, it’s your responsibility to keep it up to date, which is simple with MPO. It’s always good to remember that your pension isn’t just about you, it’s also there for those who you love and care for. For more information be sure to check out our nominations FAQs page.