Expression of wish for payment of death grant

Transcription

1 Expression of wish for payment of death grant

2 Please read this guide carefully before completing the Expression of wish for payment of death grant form at the end of this guide. One of the many benefits of being a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is that the Kent Pension Fund will pay a lump sum death grant in the event of your death if you are under the age of 75 and are:- a current Scheme member contributing to the scheme a former contributor to the Scheme with deferred benefits in your first 10 years of retirement (or in your first 5 years of retirement if you left before 1 April 2008). I am a current Scheme member; do I need to have been in the Scheme for a certain amount of time to qualify for the payment of a death grant? No, from the first day of Scheme membership, if you were to die in service, a lump sum death grant equal to 3 times your annual pensionable pay is payable. Under the Scheme regulations you are able to state who you would like to receive this benefit in the event of your death. Why should I complete an Expression of Wish form? The advantage of completing a form is that any death grant will be paid without waiting for your Estate to be settled. A death grant would normally be paid to your chosen beneficiaries and as it does not form part of your Estate, it is not liable to inheritance tax. However, you should seek your own independent advice about inheritance tax and your estate. Completing an Expression of Wish form allows you to tell us of your wishes with regard to whom or where you would like your death grant to be paid. Do I have to make a nomination? No, but you should consider the advantages of doing so. If you do not make a nomination, any death grant will be made at the absolute discretion of Kent County Council Pension Section. Who can I nominate to receive my death grant? You can nominate whoever you would like partner, family, friends, an organisation such as a charity, club or society it does not matter what their relationship is to you or whether or not they are financially dependent on you. You can nominate as many different people and organisations as you like. Please remember, you must indicate the percentage share of death grant you wish each beneficiary to receive and ensure that the total percentage shares equals 100%. If at the date of your death your beneficiary is a minor (i.e. under 18 years of age) Kent County Council will be unable to make payment of any death grant due unless a trust or some other suitable arrangement has been set up. A trust does not need to be set up until the time of your death. Please note that if you nominate my estate your death grant will be included in the value of your estate when determining whether inheritance tax is due.

3 What happens if myself and my nominee(s) pass away at the same time? Kent County Council Pension Section will consider your circumstances and pay the death grant accordingly. Please note that you cannot name an alternate beneficiary in case your first choice dies first, e.g. 50% to x if y dies before him. Will you always act on my wishes? In the majority of cases we will act upon your wishes, unless your nominated beneficiary dies before you or you nominate your spouse of civil partner and then, for example, you get divorced or your partnership is dissolved (if you still wish your former spouse or partner to receive your death grant, you will need to complete a new form dated after your divorce/dissolution). It may also be that special circumstances apply. For example, a member may complete an Expression of Wish form whilst single and nominate their parents as the beneficiaries. They subsequently get married and forget to complete another form. Kent County Council Pension Section would then ask would the member still want us to pay the death grant to their parents? For this reason it is important you have an up to date nomination. If any of your beneficiaries change their address please remember to let us know. If we are unable to trace a beneficiary it may mean that your wishes cannot be acted upon. Who will you pay the lump sum to? Under the Scheme rules, the final decision always rests with us, but we do have guidelines as to how we go about this: If you complete a nomination We will always give great consideration to your nomination, and will generally follow it unless this isn t possible, or we feel there are exceptional circumstances. An example of when we can t follow your nomination is if a beneficiary has died, or we can t trace them within 2 years. If you don t complete a nomination, or we don t follow your nomination If you do not complete a nomination form, or we don t follow your nomination we will establish who we feel should receive the payment based on your circumstances, and use our discretion when making payment. There will always be a short delay to allow for any claims from family or dependants who wouldn t benefit if we followed your nomination. But they would have to put forward an exceptionally strong case for us to pay them instead. Will I be able to change my Expression of wish once I have made it? Yes, you may change your nominated beneficiaries at any time. You need to consider amending your form if:

4 your circumstances change you become divorced or dissolve a civil partnership or separate* the person you have nominated dies the charity or organisation you nominated no longer exists. * Your nomination is not automatically invalidated by separation or divorce although any change in circumstances would need to be considered when determining to whom the death grant should be paid. In order to clarify your wishes a new nomination, dated after the date of divorce/ separation should be made. Can I cancel or change my nomination? Yes, at any time you can cancel your nomination by writing to us or change your nomination by completing a new form (this will automatically cancel your previous nomination). I have recently divorced; does this mean that my Expression of Wish is now invalid? No, your Expression of wish form is still valid. You will need to complete a new Expression of Wish form if you wish to change your nomination(s). Do I need to complete the Expression of Wish form if I have already made a Will? You should still complete the Expression of Wish form, as we will consider your wishes without reference to your Will. Your Will covers your Estate. The death grant is not payable to your Estate, other than in exceptional circumstances. How much would be payable in the event of my death? Current scheme member A tax free lump sum death grant of 3 times your pay is paid no matter how long you have been a member of the LGPS, provided you are under age 75 at the date of death. For part-time employees, it is three times your actual part-time pay. Deferred scheme member If you left the LGPS before 31 March A lump sum death grant is payable at the current value of your deferred lump sum and will include any cost of living increases from your date of leaving to the date of your death. If you left the LGPS after 31 March A lump sum death grant of 5 times your deferred annual pension is payable and will include any cost of living increases from your date of leaving to the date of your death. Pensioner scheme member If you left the LGPS before 31 March A lump sum death grant may be payable depending on the length of your membership in the LGPS and how much pension and lump sum you have already received. If you left the LGPS after 31 March 1998 but before 1 April A lump sum death grant will normally be payable if you die within 5 years of your benefits coming into payment. The value of the death grant is the balance of 5 years pension payments.

5 If you left the LGPS after 31 March A lump sum death grant of 10 times your annual pension reduced by any pension already received is paid. If you die on or after age 75, no lump sum death grant can be paid. If you are a current member and have a deferred pension or another pension in payment from the Scheme before 1 April 2014, only one death grant lump sum is payable, whichever is the highest. Can I increase this cover? No, there are no options to be able to increase life cover in the LGPS. Previously there was an option to pay additional contributions to in-house AVCs for extra life cover. If you paid these, the life cover from AVCs are not considered a death grant within the regulations. Payment would be due to your Estate and may therefore be payable to someone other than your nominee(s). You can find out more about in-house AVCs in the I am a current scheme member area of What do I need to do next? If you wish to make an expression of wish, please complete the form at the end of this guide, ensuring you have completed your details accurately and the details of your chosen beneficiaries. It is also important that the shares add up to 100%, otherwise the form will be returned to you. Please note:- If there is not enough room on the form for your chosen beneficiaries details to be entered please provide details on a separate sheet of paper quoting your National Insurance number and ensure you sign and date it. If you have more than one period of membership in the Kent Pension Fund, your wishes will be applied to all of your records unless you confirm in writing otherwise. We are unable to accept your form if there are any alterations or parts crossed out. If you make a mistake please download a new form. You may wish to keep a copy of your completed nomination for future reference. Current and deferred scheme members receive an annual benefit illustration which shows nominated beneficiaries. A new Expression of Wish form can be obtained by contacting the Pension Section or you can download a copy from our website, Data Protection The information you give us is protected under the Data Protection Act We will use the information we hold about you to process your pension benefits. You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you at any time.

6 Right of appeal There would be a right of appeal if someone we did not pay the lump sum death grant to believes that they are entitled. Further information can be found on our website Can we help? You can contact us on , pensions@kent.gov.uk or visit us at the address below. It is advisable to ring to arrange an appointment in advance. Kent County Council Pension Section Invicta House County Square Maidstone Kent ME14 1XX Please remember to quote your National Insurance Number when contacting us. Please remember to let us know your new address if you move. DISCLAIMER This guide is for information only and does not give you any contractual or legal rights. The appropriate legislation will apply to your pension benefits. Produced by Kent Pension Fund Kent County Council, Pension Section, Invicta House, County Square, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XX pensions@kent.gov.uk

7 EXPRESSION OF WISH FOR PAYMENT OF DEATH GRANT Local Government Pension Scheme As a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) you may complete this form in order to choose who you would like to benefit from any lump sum payment in the event of your death. The expression you give below will be used on all your LGPS pension records that Kent County Council administers. Your personal details Surname National Insurance number Home address Forename(s) Date of birth Personal address Your nominee details I wish Kent County Council Pension Section, in the exercise of its absolute discretion, to consider paying any death grant due under the LGPS to the nominee(s) shown below and in the percentage shares indicated. This form revokes any previous expression of wish made by me. Name and address of beneficiary Relationship to you Percentage share % % % TOTAL 100% If you wish to nominate more than 3 beneficiaries then please use an additional sheet, ensuring that you quote your National Insurance number and that you sign and date it. Signed Date Please return this form to:- Kent County Council, Pension Section, Invicta House, County Square, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XX