Local government pension scheme death benefits: a lump sum plus partner and children's pensions, with no age-75 limit in England and Wales (backdated to 2014).
When someone in the LGPS has died, families usually want to know whether there is a lump sum, whether the husband, wife or partner gets a pension, and what the children receive. That depends on which of the three LGPS schemes the member belonged to and whether they were paying in, had left, or had retired. If you would like them looked at alongside the household's savings, income and tax, an FCA-authorised adviser is one free phone call away: ask via this page's form.
Local government pension scheme death benefits: three schemes, three rulebooks
The LGPS is three schemes, each with its own regulations and member website: lgpsmember.org (England and Wales), scotlgpsmember.org (Scotland) and nilgosc.org.uk (Northern Ireland, run by NILGOSC). All three pay a lump sum death grant, a survivor's pension and children's pensions, but the key dates and the age-75 rule differ.
This page follows England and Wales and notes where the others differ, with Northern Ireland as NILGOSC's pages stood in January and June 2026. See also the LGPS explainer and what happens to a pension when someone dies.
The LGPS widow's, widower's and partner's pension
A husband, wife, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner receives part of the member's pension for life. The England and Wales member website says it is generally 30.625% of the pension built up from April 2014, 37.50% of the pension built up between April 2008 and March 2014, and 50% of the pension built up before April 2008. If the member died while still paying in, the pension includes part of the increase they would have had on ill-health retirement; extra pension bought with additional pension contributions is left out.
Scotland uses the same three rates on a later timetable: 30.625% from April 2015, 37.50% from April 2009 to March 2015, and 50% before April 2009. Where the member left before 1 April 1998, its website warns that the pension "may stop if your partner remarries, enters into a civil partnership or cohabits" (how remarrying affects a widow's pension). For a member who dies while paying in, NILGOSC works the survivor's pension out at a 1/160th rate and adds 1/160th of assumed pensionable pay for each year they would have built up to normal pension age.
When an unmarried partner qualifies
An unmarried partner can receive the pension if the fund is satisfied on every point. The England and Wales glossary lists these, each met for a continuous period of at least two years up to the date of death:
- both were free to marry each other, or to enter a civil partnership together;
- they shared a home as a married couple or civil partners would;
- neither lived as a couple with anyone else; and
- the partner relied on the member financially, or the two were financially interdependent.
Financial interdependence means relying on joint finances for your standard of living, and the glossary adds that it "doesn't mean that you need to be contributing equally". In Scotland and Northern Ireland the free-to-marry test applies only at the date of death, while the other tests still need the two years. England and Wales pays a cohabiting partner only if the member paid in after 31 March 2008, counting membership after 5 April 1988 unless the member elected before April 2014 to pay for earlier years. In Scotland the member must have left after 31 March 2009; Northern Ireland also counts membership after 5 April 1988. Claiming is covered in how to claim a widow's pension.
Which children get an LGPS pension, and until what age?
A child qualifies if they are the member's natural child (including one born within 12 months after the death), an adopted child, or a step-child or child treated as one of the family who depended on the member, but not a child sponsored through a charity. In England and Wales they must also be under 18; under 23 and in full-time study or vocational training; under 23 and unable to work because of a physical or mental impairment; or older and unable to work because of an impairment likely to be permanent, who depended on the member because of that impairment. Scotland treats "gainful employment" as paid work of 30 hours or more a week lasting at least a year, and Northern Ireland covers study or training between 18 and 22 inclusive.
For a member who died while paying in, the England and Wales regulations work the children's pension out as if the pension had built up at 1/320th of pay, plus 1/320th of assumed pensionable pay for each year to normal pension age, for one child alongside a partner's pension, or 1/160th on the same basis split equally between two or more. With no partner's pension the fractions are 1/240th for one child and 1/120th shared between two or more, and NILGOSC uses the same four. See also can a child be a pension beneficiary.
LGPS death grant by stage: paying in, deferred or retired
For someone who died while still paying in, the England and Wales website puts it at "three times your annual pay", worked out on assumed pensionable pay, from the first day of membership, with any AVC fund paid on top.
| Member's position at death | England and Wales | Scotland (member must be under 75) | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still paying in | 3 x annual pay | 3 x assumed pensionable pay | 3 x assumed pensionable pay |
| Left, pension not yet taken | Left after 31 March 2008: 5 x deferred annual pension. Left before 1 April 2008: 3 x | Left after 31 March 2009: 5 x deferred annual pension. Left before 1 April 2009: 3 x | Ask NILGOSC |
| Drawing a pension | Left after 31 March 2008 and died within 10 years of the pension starting: 10 x pension, less pension and lump sum already paid. Left between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2008 and died within five years of the pension starting: 5 x pension, less pension paid | Left after 31 March 2009 and died within 10 years of the pension starting: 10 x pension, less what has been paid. Left between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2009 and died within five years of the pension starting: 5 x pension, less pension paid | Left after 31 March 2015: 10 x pension, less pension already paid and, for membership from April 2015, any lump sum taken. Left between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2015: in most cases a ten year guarantee. Left before 1 April 2009: in most cases a five year guarantee |
NILGOSC calls the pensioner grant "a reducing amount as it takes account of pension that has already been paid": For a pensioner who left before 1 April 1998 the England and Wales website says the sum is more complex to work out and the fund can estimate it. For the figure on one member's own record, an adviser can go through it free: leave your details using this page's form.
Is there still an age-75 limit on the death grant?
Not in England and Wales. The Local Government Pension Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Member Benefits) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/226), made on 4 March 2026 and in force from 1 April 2026, delete the words "before attaining the age of 75" from regulation 40 (members paying in) and regulation 46 (pensioners) of the 2013 regulations, with effect back to 1 April 2014. The Explanatory Note says it is to "provide that death grants may be payable in respect of members who die after having attained the age of 75".
Where a grant becomes due only because of this change for a member who died before 1 April 2026, the same regulations add interest under the scheme's rules on late payment. A family who were told no grant was due because the member had turned 75 may want to ask the fund to look again.
Scotland still has the limit. As legislation.gov.uk showed them on 26 October 2026, regulations 38, 41 and 44 of the Scottish 2018 regulations (active, deferred and pensioner members) still begin with a death "before attaining the age of 75", and the Scottish member website says a grant is paid only if "you are under age 75". Families of Northern Ireland members should ask NILGOSC whether any age limit applies.
The fund decides who gets the grant: what the expression of wish form does
The grant does not pass automatically to the next of kin or under the will. The England and Wales regulations let the fund pay it "at its absolute discretion" to the member's nominee, their personal representatives, or anyone who appears to have been a relative or dependant, and the fund weighs the wishes on the member's expression of wish form, which it supplies.
In Northern Ireland a nomination can be made through My NILGOSC Pension Online or on form LGS20, and NILGOSC asks for a new form whenever marital or partnership circumstances change. Its January 2026 page explains that this discretion "enables the death grant normally to be paid free of inheritance tax"; for deaths on or after 6 April 2027 the Finance Act 2026 changes how pensions are treated for inheritance tax (see pensions and inheritance tax).
The step-by-step side is in how to complete a pension expression of wish form, and the terms in pension nominee vs beneficiary. Unsure whether a nomination made years ago still suits the family, or how it sits beside a will? An FCA-authorised adviser can discuss that on a free call-back, which this page's form requests.
The lump sum and death benefit allowance and an LGPS death grant
GOV.UK (HMRC) puts the lump sum and death benefit allowance at £1,073,100. The England and Wales member website says the personal representatives do that check when a death grant is paid, and that a lifetime allowance protection can mean a higher limit. GOV.UK's guide to tax on an inherited pension (read 26 October 2026) shows no tax on most lump sums, defined benefit included, where the member died under 75, unless the sum is over that allowance or arrives more than 2 years after the provider has been told of the death. If the member was 75 or over, Income Tax is deducted by the provider, and that now matters for grants in England and Wales. See also is a widow's pension taxable.
More on LGPS death benefits
Does an unmarried partner have to be nominated to get the pension?
No. Neither the England and Wales nor the Scottish glossary requires it. The partner must still satisfy the fund that the conditions were met.
Is the partner's pension smaller if we married after the member left?
It can be. The England and Wales website says "The amount may be less if you entered into a civil partnership or marriage after leaving the LGPS."
What if the member had more than one LGPS record?
On the England and Wales website, each deferred pension pays its own death grant unless the member was also paying in when they died; then the family gets the larger of the active grant and the total of the grants from the earlier records.
Does reduced pay from illness lower the death grant?
Not if the illness that led to the death was the reason for the reduced hours. Where an independent registered medical practitioner certifies that, the England and Wales grant is based on the pay the member would have had without the reduction.
Is an AVC fund paid as well?
Yes, an LGPS AVC fund's value is paid on top. In England and Wales the fund decides who gets it if the member was in the LGPS on or after 1 April 2014; if they left before then, it must go to the estate. Scotland's date is 1 April 2015.
Losing someone leaves a great deal to sort out at once. When the time feels right, an FCA-authorised adviser can weigh these LGPS benefits with the family's other money; send this page's short form and they will phone you.