Who this guide is about

For employees who are either:

• active members - contributing to the LGPS at the date of death and aged under 75
• optants-out who have been contributing in the past opted out of the LGPS in that employment and the fund now holds a deferred benefit, and are aged under 75
• still employed, aged over 75, and the LGPS pension is being paid. 

Pension Services treat benefits following a death in service as their highest priority. The usual two year or ‘vesting’ qualification is waived for scheme members who die in service.   

You will find background information to members’ benefits in our leaflet Life Cover and Protection for your family on our active members guide page.

Death in service notification

As soon as possible alert Pension Services with the essential information of the member’s death using the death in service notification form (docx format, 800Kb).

If you cannot send all the information immediately, complete what you can immediately and send to Pension Services. Supply further copies as more information is available, and before you submit the leaver details on the MARS (monthly administration report) return. 

You must complete the notification form, the leaver section on the MARS return and the CARE pay details as described on this page.

What we need for LGPS contributors 

At the date of death, we need a 'death in service notification' form with the member's details and the following information.

Annual rate of assumed pensionable pay (AAPP)

This provides us with a notional pensionable pay figure to assess death grant and survivors’ pension. The annual assumed pensionable pay for a death grant is calculated as the average of the pensionable pay for the member for the three months (or 12 weeks if weekly paid), starting with the pay period before the one in which the death occurred.

This average figure is then grossed up to an annual rate and, when the employer policy provides, any regular lump-sum payment from the previous 12 months is added in.

It is essential you use the death in service notification form to tell us of this AAPP, you cannot use the MARS return to pass on this information.   

Completed medical certificate

Use an IRMP certificate to disregard a reduction in pensionable pay when the reason for the reduction is linked to the condition which caused or contributed to the death. 

The Death in Service notification form (v2015) refers to the medical statements needed. The medical opinion will allow the benefits to be assessed on the more representative pay figure for the enhancements for survivor pensions. See Ill Health Guidance

Next of kin details

We will use the contact details you can provide to collect information to help us determine eligibility and entitlement to benefits.

Death certificate

If you have the certificate, please send a copy when you submit the 'death in service notification form'. Please do not delay sending in the form while you wait for the certificate or other information. Send in a further form as you receive more details. 

Authorisation

The form should be completed and signed by the HR or payroll contact recognised by pension services.

A MARS return

You must submit the completed leaver tab on the MARS return to Pension Services before the 19th of the month following the relevant month, to show: 

• death as the reason for leaving, and
• the appropriate CARE details of pay, and
• the details needed for the ‘final pay’ calculation.

What we need for optant outs

We need a 'death in service notification' form with the member's details and the following information.

Death certificate

If you have the certificate, please send a copy when you submit the 'death in service notification form'. Please do not delay sending in the form while you wait for the certificate or other information. Send in a further form as you receive more details. 

Authorisation

The form should be completed and signed by the HR or payroll contact recognised by pension services.

MARS return

On the leaver tab show the personal details and confirm date and reason for leaving employment (death). There are no care pay details.   

The pension entitlement, if any, would have been calculated when they left the pension scheme. Although a death in employment following opting out will not attract the same level of benefit as a current contributor, it will be helpful for us to know of the death.

What we need for employees over 75

Complete the following information to ensure Pension Services stop pension and assess any survivor pensions. After the age of 75 there will be no death grant due. 

We need a 'death in service notification' form with the member's details and the following information.

Death certificate

If you have the certificate, please send a copy when you submit the 'death in service notification form'. Please do not delay sending in the form while you wait for the certificate or other information. Send in a further form as you receive more details. 

Authorisation

The form should be completed and signed by the HR or payroll contact recognised by pension services.

Additional employer guidance

Although Pension Services can begin to collect the information we need, we cannot begin the benefit calculations until all actual pay details are held and we know no further payments are due. Show the reason for leaving in the MARS return as 'death in service'.

Pension Services will calculate benefits and inform the survivors of their payment.

There will be no immediate employer hidden costs, the increase to liability will be incorporated into the next fund valuation data.

Benefits following the death of the contributing member, do not depend on the member having had the usual qualifying two years in the scheme.  It is essential that:

• the employer supplies the notification of a death in service form with AAPP assessed 
• full and complete information is supplied on the MARS and CARE pay return.

Indication of timescales for payment

The following can only be a broad guide to the process rather than timescales because everyone is different and individual

• Step one - Pension Services receives 'notification of death in service' from the employer
• Step two – Work registered in the Pension Services worklist, highest priority.
• Next steps are dependent on receiving AAPP, all leavers CARE pay and ‘final pay’ details, from the employer's monthly data submission MARS (due every month before the 19th of the month after payment), the collection of data from next of kin and verifying the date of death. 
• We will look to make any death grant payment within 10 working days of having all the information required to make that decision.

Paying a death grant

The administering authority has sole discretion concerning who will receive any payment; however the member’s nomination – the expression of their wishes- is taken into account.  

Other LGPS records

If the employee has other LGPS pension records, whether or not in this fund, establishing entitlement will take a little longer, and there may be restrictions to the amount we can pay as a death grant.