To report a bereavement, please call either:

  • the dedicated helpline provided by the pension scheme (details of which should be in correspondence from the scheme); or
  • the Barnett Waddingham support team on 0141 447 0799. 

Some schemes may also have their own online bereavement reporting platforms. In all cases, if you’re unsure then please call the Barnett Waddingham support team and we can direct you as needed.
 

What to expect when you call

You’ll need to answer a series of questions which will help ascertain what documents are needed and what benefits (if any) may be payable. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have all these details to hand – the following are the only details required to get the process started:

  • The name of the deceased
  • The date of their death
  • The pension scheme they were a member of (if you’re unsure the Employer name can often help with locating the scheme)
  • EITHER the deceased’s National Insurance number OR their Member ID number (this can be found on any recent correspondence) 
  • Your name and contact details as informant, and your relationship to the deceased
  • The name and address of the Personal Representative (if that is not yourself)
  • Preferred contact for dealing with further action – for example, the deceased’s appointed solicitor
  • If possible, the name and address of the deceased person’s spouse, if the deceased was married at the time of their death

During the call, we’ll give you the option to register for Secure File Exchange (SFX), which will allow you to send documents to us securely, and to receive documents from us. We’ll go through the process of setting up your password and security details with you while you’re on the call where this is appropriate or arrange a time to call you back if this is preferrable.
 

What documents are needed?

It will depend on the pension scheme rules and the type of pension being paid (if it is in payment) however, typically the documents needed are as follows:

  • The deceased’s death certificate
  • The birth and marriage certificates if there are surviving eligible spouse/dependant(s) *
  • The bank account details for the spouse/dependant *
  • Family information form (we’ll provide this to you for completion and enables us to ascertain any further information not already gathered)

* Please note that not all pension schemes provide a guaranteed spouse/dependant pension, and we’ll need to check the scheme rules to see if the criterion for eligibility is met. Therefore, we can’t always tell you straight away if a spouse/dependant pension will be payable.

You’ll be able to upload these to your SFX account once set up.
 

What happens to any pension that is in payment?

On the notification of a bereavement, we’ll immediately cease future pension instalments that are not due to the deceased. This will depend on the timing of pensions, and whether they get paid in advance or arrears, but we’ll notify you when we write to you. 

Where we have run the pensioner payroll for the month, it may not be possible to stop a pension payment being made. If this happens then a payment will still be paid to the deceased’s bank account. Where the account has been closed, this will simply bounce back to the trustees’ bank account. However, where the account has not been closed, we will likely need to ask for the funds to be returned when funds are available.

Funds paid after the death of a member will need to be reclaimed by the administrator acting on behalf of the trustees, as they have a duty to do this. However, we do understand that funds won’t necessarily be available straight away, for example a Grant of Probate may need to be obtained so we’ll let you know there is an overpayment and the steps to settle this once funds are available. We will also need to check in with the Personal Representative where this remains outstanding, so it is helpful for you to let us know where there will be a delay, and an estimated timeframe for when you think funds may be available. This will help us diary the case appropriately and prevent our administrators contacting you unnecessarily.