BT Pension Scheme bereavement benefits start with a lifelong pension for a spouse or civil partner; lump sums and other pensions depend on the member's section.
Once the BTPS paperwork is under way, the household's wider money can be raised with an FCA-authorised adviser, whose call comes without charge after this page's form is submitted.
What happens to a BT pension after the member's death?
The BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) says your pension provides "a pension for life for your spouse or civil partner". Other benefits may go to children or to another adult who depends on you financially, "subject to certain eligibility criteria or the discretion of the Trustee", and some depend on which section you are in.
The sections follow when the member joined: Section A for people who joined the Post Office before 1 December 1971, Section B for 1 December 1971 to 31 March 1986, and Section C for 1 April 1986 to 31 March 2001. The figures below come from each section's April 2025 booklet.
Spouse and civil partner pension after the member has retired
In all three sections the pension for a spouse or civil partner is payable for life and is usually half of the member's pension (in Sections B and C, half before any was exchanged for a lump sum). Sections A and B add that it may be less if the member did not pay extra contributions for service before 1 June 1972.
For a short period the pension is higher. In Section C, if the member dies within five years of the pension starting, the spouse or civil partner gets an increased pension "equal to your pension" until the fifth anniversary. After five years the higher rate lasts for the first 91 days, which is also the rule in Sections A and B. Section B families can ask BTPS about a death inside the first five years; for the wider household finances, this page's form books an FCA-authorised adviser's call, which costs nothing.
If a State Pension Offset applies to the member's pension and the survivor is 45 or over, Sections B and C say up to 50% of the Offset is applied to the survivor's pension. That means "their BTPS pension will reduce when they reach State Pension age", though BT has a discretion not to apply the reduction.
BT pension scheme death benefit lump sums, section by section
| Section | Died after retirement | Died with a deferred pension |
|---|---|---|
| A | Within five years of the pension starting: five times the annual pension at death, minus the pension and lump sum already received | All Section A members are now over Normal Pension Age, so a deferred member's death is treated as death in retirement |
| B | Within five years of the pension starting and before age 75: the Trustee has discretion to pay one | Before 75, one may be payable: the higher of four measures, including five times the deferred pension and a refund of contributions with 3% interest |
| C | Within five years, before 75 and with no spouse, civil partner or adult dependant: the Trustee has discretion to pay one | Before 75, for pension built up after 1 April 2009, one may be payable: the total of the Revalued CARE Lump Sums, increased from leaving to death |
Where the Trustee decides who gets a lump sum, the beneficiaries do not have to be financially dependent on the member, and the Trustee takes the member's wishes into account but cannot be bound by them. Filling in an expression of wish form is how those wishes are recorded; see also what happens if no beneficiary is named.
On tax, BTPS says inheritance tax is generally not payable on a lump sum paid at the Trustee's discretion. That describes the position today: the Finance Act 2026 applies its inheritance tax changes for pension interests (sections 66 to 70) to deaths on or after 6 April 2027, covered in pensions and inheritance tax. Inherited pension tax explains how beneficiaries are taxed.
Unmarried partners and other adult dependants
Someone who was not married to the member, or in a civil partnership with them, can still receive a pension as an adult dependant, at the Trustee's discretion. The member can nominate an adult who is wholly or partly financially dependent on them and likely to remain so, though the Trustee is not bound by it. An adult never nominated can also qualify if the Trustee judges they were financially dependent at the death.
A nomination, made online through the portal, stays in force until the member revokes it in writing, marries or enters a civil partnership. How a nominee differs from a beneficiary is covered in pension nominee vs beneficiary. The adviser who calls once your details are sent through this page's form can help you shape the questions to put to the Trustee.
Dependent children and BTPS pensions
BTPS says a dependent child may get a pension if the member dies while receiving a BTPS pension. The child must be under 17, or between 17 and under 23 and in at least two years' full-time education, or in full-time training and earning below a set level, or over 17 and unable to support themselves because of physical or mental incapacity.
Amounts differ by section. In Sections A and B, with a surviving spouse or partner, one child receives a quarter of the member's pension and two or more share a half; with none, a third for one child and two thirds for two or more. Section C instead sets the child's pension against the spouse's pension: half of it for one child, the same amount shared for two or more, and double where no spouse, civil partner or adult dependant is paid. See also children as pension beneficiaries.
If the member had not yet retired
Sections B and C closed to future accrual on 30 June 2018 (Section C for most members), so members there who had not retired hold deferred pensions; Section C GAD members are asked to contact BTPS about benefits such as death in service. Section A's booklet sets out death in pensionable service: a lump sum of at least three times Final Pensionable Salary, or more if the medical-retirement lump sum would have been higher.
For deferred members of Sections B and C who die before Normal Pension Age, the spouse or civil partner and eligible children receive benefits, and the booklets say the spouse's pension will usually be half of the pension the member would have received at the date of death.
BT pension scheme notification of death
BTPS says you can report a death with its online form or by phone, on 0800 731 1919 from within the UK. It asks for the member's membership or National Insurance number, date of birth and date of death, and details of any spouse, civil partner or financially dependent adult.
It needs the death, birth and marriage certificates. For privacy it then deals with the beneficiary directly, unless the nominated person has Lasting Power of Attorney or is a Court of Protection deputy, or the beneficiary consents in writing. If payments have continued after the death, see pension overpayments after death.
More questions on BT pension death benefits
Does an unmarried partner receive anything from the BT pension?
Possibly, as an adult dependant, if the Trustee decides to pay. A nomination helps, but the Trustee can also accept an adult it judges was financially dependent on the member at death.
Do local government scheme rules work the same way?
No, each scheme has its own rules: see local government pension death benefits and pension death benefits in general.