What happens to your NHS pension when you die

NHS pension death benefits can include a lump sum and pensions for a partner and children; what is paid depends on the member's section and status.

If you are reading this after a loss, there is no need to take it all in today. The NHS Pension Scheme pays set benefits to set people, and the amounts differ between the 1995 Section, the 2008 Section and the 2015 Scheme. Pension Wise is government-backed guidance from MoneyHelper and costs nothing, though only NHS Pensions can say what a particular record pays. Should it help to talk the figures over afterwards, a telephone chat with an FCA-authorised adviser carries no fee, and this page's short form needs only a few basic details.

What to do first when an NHS pension member has died

NHSBSA, the NHS Business Services Authority, runs the scheme in England and Wales. It says: "Before you do anything else, report the death using Tell Us Once" That service tells most government organisations in one go. NHSBSA also explains how to contact NHS Pensions directly, and who to tell depends on the kind of member.

• Still working in the NHS. Contact their employer, the NHS organisation they worked for. The employer fills in a death in service notification form and NHS Pensions then sends out the claim form.
• Left, but kept a pension in the scheme (a deferred member). Contact NHS Pensions directly. A deferred member is someone with two or more years' membership who stopped paying in and left their benefits behind.
• Already drawing the pension. Contact NHS Pensions. Payments stop at the date of death.
• Pension credit member. This is someone who was given pension benefits through a divorce or dissolution. Contact NHS Pensions too.

NHS Pensions can be phoned on 0300 330 1346 between 8am and 6pm, and has an online contact service for anyone who would rather not talk. It asks for the member's name and date of birth, their 8-digit membership number and National Insurance number if you have them (it says not to worry if you do not), details of any surviving partner or dependent children, and who is dealing with the estate. Once the death is reported, the scheme sends the forms you need.

Grief takes its own time. The NHS's page on grief after bereavement or loss lists organisations such as Cruse Bereavement Support, and suggests seeing a GP if you have had a low mood for more than 2 weeks or the things you are trying yourself are not helping.

Does an NHS pension die with you?

The pension you were paid stops, but the scheme may pay other things to the people left behind: a lump sum on death, a pension for a spouse, civil partner or qualifying scheme partner, and pensions for dependent children. The Survivors guide says plainly that "The NHS Pension Scheme is not a discretionary scheme", so the rules decide who is paid. A member can name someone else for the lump sum, which the NHS pension nomination form page covers.

The member's pension is paid up to and including the date of death, and anything paid afterwards has to be returned; overpayments after a death explains how that usually unfolds. The pensions for dependants are different. In the Survivors guide's words: "An adult dependant’s pension does not form part of the member’s Estate, and cannot be transferred to anyone else."

Not every record leaves a lump sum to claim: if the member took extra cash at retirement, the scheme's liability may already have been discharged. Telling the sections apart is the job of which NHS pension scheme am I in, and a member who left earlier is covered in our guide to leaving the NHS Pension Scheme. For the wider picture across pension types, see pension death benefits.

The NHS pension lump sum on death: how much, by section

The Survivors guide says "A lump sum on death benefit may be paid if a member dies before retiring or within five years of their retirement." The multiples below are the ones printed in that guide (print code V12A, 04.2024); the guide says the Regulations prevail if there is any conflict, so the scheme's figure for your record is the one that counts.

Multiples say little until they meet a real pay record, and NHS Pensions holds those figures. If you would like someone beside you while you make sense of them, an FCA-authorised adviser offers a phone conversation at no cost to you once the form on this page holds your contact details.

For a death in membership, the 1995 and 2008 tables in the guide note that a lump sum is payable even with less than two years' membership. Bank staff and freelance GP locums are covered only while actually at work; if they die when not at work, the scheme pays as if they had died within 12 months of leaving.

Who receives the lump sum

The lump sum goes to the spouse, civil partner or qualifying scheme partner unless the member nominated someone else, and otherwise to the estate. Where it reaches the estate, the scheme asks to see a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration before paying £5,000 or more, and for smaller sums it issues an indemnity form instead. Choosing, changing or cancelling a nominee is on the nomination form page; the retirement lump sum, a different thing, is on NHS pension lump sum.

Tax on the death lump sum: the two-year rule, age 75 and Inheritance Tax

The Survivors guide says: "The lump sum on death benefit must be paid within two years of the member’s death first being notified to us. After two years the lump sum will be subject to a HMRC tax charge of up to 45%." The scheme has no discretion to waive the charge, so it helps to report the death promptly.

Age at death matters too. Where the member was 75 or over on or after 6 April 2011, NHSBSA says a lump sum paid to an organisation bears a 45% death benefit charge and one paid to a person is taxed at that person's marginal rate. On Inheritance Tax, a married partner or civil partner will not pay it on the lump sum, but a qualifying scheme partner or nominated person may. NHSBSA also warns: "From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be included in the value of a deceased person's estate for inheritance tax purposes." That start date is set in law by section 71 of the Finance Act 2026. How those rules work across ordinary workplace pensions is in what happens to a workplace pension when you die.

A husband, wife or partner's pension after an NHS member dies

A husband, wife or civil partner can claim an adult dependant's pension, and so can a qualifying scheme partner. If the member's membership extended to or beyond 1 April 2008 the pension is paid for life, even if the recipient later remarries or lives with someone. Where membership ended before 1 April 2008, it normally ends on remarriage, a new civil partnership or living with someone as a partner, though it may be reinstated if that causes severe financial hardship. The figures here are for at least two years' membership; shorter membership is treated differently, and NHS Pensions can say how.

In a death in service the percentage is applied to a "notional" pension, meaning the amount that would have been payable at the date of death: a tier 2 ill health pension if the member was under a set age (60 in the 1995 Section, 65 in the 2008 Section, normal pension age in the 2015 Scheme), and an age pension if over it. After retirement it is applied to the pension in payment, which leaves out any additional pension being paid unless dependants' cover was bought with it. Anyone who bought added pension with that cover could receive more.

A small pension may be paid as one sum. NHSBSA says that if a continuing adult dependant's pension is less than £260 a year, it may be able to change it to a one-off lump sum payment.

An unmarried partner

NHSBSA is direct: "If the member was living with a partner but was not married or in a civil partnership, the partner is not automatically entitled to these benefits." A qualifying scheme partner needs conditions to have held for at least two years before the death, including living together in an exclusive relationship and being financially interdependent or dependent. The guide adds that "Dependency checks are made after the member dies; this typically means things like sharing bank accounts and a mortgage, naming each other in a Will, or running a joint household." The partner nomination form, PN1, and its two-year tests are set out on the NHS pension nomination form page. Whether a particular partner meets them is for NHS Pensions to decide, and the guide says a qualifying scheme partner's pension leaves out any membership before 6 April 1988.

What children may receive, and until what age

Dependent children may receive their own pension, and the word "children" is wide. The Survivors guide includes step and adopted children, a grandchild, a nephew or niece, and a brother or sister of the member or of their partner, as well as children of a civil partner or qualifying scheme partner. The pension is paid to whoever has care of the child, or into the child's own bank account, even if the child is a minor.

Age limits depend on the member's last membership. Where it extended to or beyond 1 April 2008, a child must be dependent on the member at retirement and at death and be under 23, or 23 or over and incapable of earning a living through a permanent infirmity from which they were suffering when the member died. For membership that ended earlier, the limit is under 17, or 17 up to 23 in full-time education or training, or an older child with the same permanent infirmity.

For a death in service, the share is of a notional tier 2 ill health pension worked out on at least 10 years' pensionable membership; for a member already retired, it is of the pension in payment. The guide adds that higher rates may be payable if there is no adult dependant's pension. A child's pension can be claimed at any time after the death, and in most cases NHSBSA can pay it from the day after. The claim for a child is made on the Dependant claim form, which covers both an adult and a children's pension.

Claim forms, papers and Scotland

After the death is reported, the scheme sends out forms. The Survivors guide's list of documents includes the member's death certificate, a marriage or civil partnership certificate, the surviving partner's birth certificate and the children's birth certificates; only originals or certified copies are accepted, and they are returned. It says not to send the will, Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration with the application form: the scheme writes if it needs them. The surviving spouse or partner of a pensioner has to apply for the adult dependant's pension; it does not start on its own.

NHS pensions in Scotland run under the separate NHS (Scotland) Superannuation Scheme, administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA). For a death, SPPA's Bereavement Team is on 01896 893000, and it says that once it has all the information, "This usually takes around eight weeks." Its 2015 Scheme spouse rate is also 33.75%, of the member's pension before commutation or any early payment reduction. The wider differences between the English and Scottish schemes are covered in our guide to the NHS pension in Scotland.

Other things families ask after an NHS member dies

Are a partner's or children's NHS pensions counted for Inheritance Tax?

No. The Survivors guide says adult dependant's and children's pensions do not form part of the estate, so the Inheritance Tax questions mostly concern the lump sum, covered above.

What does a widow or widower get from the NHS pension?

A surviving husband or wife may receive an adult dependant's pension of 50%, 37.5% or 33.75% of the relevant pension for the 1995, 2008 and 2015 sections, and, depending on how the member died, a short-term pension and a lump sum.

Do my children get my NHS pension if I die?

Dependent children may receive a children's pension, in most cases from the day after the death, paid to the person who cares for them or into the child's own account. Who counts as a child, and how long the pension lasts, depends on the age and dependency rules above.

How soon do I need to tell the NHS pension scheme?

NHSBSA asks you to get in touch as soon as possible. The reason is partly practical: a pension that carries on being paid has to be repaid, and a lump sum not paid within two years of notification can lose up to 45% to tax.

Sorting out your own family's position

Which section applies, how many years were built up and who counts as a dependant all change the answer, and NHS Pensions decides what is paid. How those benefits sit beside a will, a home and the rest of the estate is a lot to untangle alone. When you feel ready, request a call-back by filling in the form here; an FCA-authorised adviser explains it free.

Sources

• NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Pensions Survivors guide (V12A, 04.2024)
• NHSBSA, Benefit types after death (updated 15 October 2026)
• NHSBSA, Report a death (updated 20 October 2026)
• NHSBSA, Who can receive pensions benefits after a death (updated 15 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk, Finance Act 2026, section 71
• NHSBSA, Bereavements (member hub)
• SPPA, Tell us someone has died
• SPPA, Death benefits (NHS Scotland)
• NHS, Get help with grief after bereavement or loss (reviewed 14 July 2026)