UK pension death benefits usually go to people the scheme chooses, guided by your wishes; type of pension and age at death shape them and their tax.

This guide is for anyone planning what their own pension will do after they die, and for anyone dealing with a pension after a death. It sets out the general position. It cannot tell you what a particular scheme will pay, because that depends on the scheme's rules and on the paperwork the person left.

For the options on a defined contribution pension, Pension Wise from MoneyHelper is, in its own description, free, impartial and backed by government, and someone under 50 who has inherited a pension can use it too. Where your own family, pots or tax position make the picture less clear, the form on this page asks for a few details and passes them to an adviser authorised by the FCA, who can go through all of it with you. Asking costs nothing.

What happens to a pension when someone dies

A pension does not behave like a bank account or a house. It is held under a pension scheme's rules, and those rules, rather than the member's will, usually decide who can be paid. What happens next depends mainly on three things: whether the pension is defined contribution (a pot of money that was built up and invested) or defined benefit (an income promised by a scheme, often based on salary and years of service), what form the pension was being taken in, and the person's age at death.

Defined contribution pots and SIPPs

With a defined contribution pension, including a SIPP, whatever is left in the pot when the member dies can usually be paid out to the people the scheme chooses, often guided by the member's wishes. HMRC's Inheritance Tax Manual notes that death benefits are payable from most schemes when a member dies before taking any benefits, and MoneyHelper says that if some money has already been taken, beneficiaries "will usually get whatever is left". It is usually taken as a lump sum or moved into the beneficiary's own drawdown fund, though the options available depend on the scheme's rules on death benefits. If the member had bought an annuity, what is paid after death depends on the type of annuity chosen at the time, which is covered in our annuity guide.

Defined benefit and "final salary" pensions

A defined benefit scheme pays an income, so there is no pot to hand on. MoneyHelper says most defined benefit pensions continue to pay a certain amount to your spouse, civil partner or dependants when you die, and some schemes also pay a lump sum. GOV.UK says that a pension from a defined benefit pot "can usually only be paid to a dependant of the person who died, for example a husband, wife, civil partner or child under 23". It adds that it "can sometimes be paid to someone else if the pension scheme’s rules allow it - but it will be taxed at up to 55% as an unauthorised payment".

How much a survivor receives, how long it lasts, and whether an unmarried partner qualifies are all set by each scheme. Our final salary pension guide explains the basics. There are separate guides for the Local Government Pension Scheme, Teachers' Pensions, civil service pensions, police pensions and the USS. In Scotland the NHS, teachers', police and firefighters' schemes are separate, run by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency. A pension from an employer you have left, or death in service while still employed, is covered in what happens to a workplace pension on death.

Who can receive the money: nominations and expressions of wish

Most defined contribution providers ask members to name the people they would like to receive their pension. The form is called a nomination or an expression of wish. GOV.UK says "the person who died will usually have nominated you (told their pension provider to give you money from their pension pot)", but also that "sometimes the provider can pay the money to someone else, for example if the nominated person cannot be found or has died".

The wording matters. HMRC's Inheritance Tax Manual says most UK schemes let members nominate beneficiaries "but these are generally not binding nominations. They are simply letters of wishes". MoneyHelper puts it the same way from the family's side: "Most pension providers will follow your wishes, but they usually have the right to make the final decision." The scheme rules say which applies. The difference between a nominee and a beneficiary, and what a scheme must do with a form, are explained in pension nominee versus beneficiary and who can be a pension beneficiary. How to complete the form is in how to fill in an expression of wish.

A few practical points follow from this:

  • Because the provider or trustees usually make the choice (known as "exercising discretion"), a will may not decide who receives a pension, and a will and a nomination form can point different ways. It is worth asking the provider how it treats the two.
  • MoneyHelper's advice is to keep the form updated, "especially if things change in your life such as getting married, divorced, having children or if someone you’ve listed dies".
  • A pension may sit in several places: a workplace scheme, an old personal pension, a SIPP. Each can have its own form.
  • If no one is named, the scheme rules decide. Often the provider or trustees still choose, but HMRC notes that some schemes pay the estate; MoneyHelper's example is Nest, where the pot "will normally form part of your estate" without a form. See what happens if there is no beneficiary.
  • A child can be named, but the way a young child is paid differs; see naming a child as a pension beneficiary. A trust can also be named in some cases, covered in pension beneficiary as a trust.

If a family member disagrees with a decision, our guide on challenging a beneficiary decision explains what is generally possible.

Tax on pension death benefits: before and after age 75

The member's age at death is the main fork in the road for a defined contribution pot. In GOV.UK's summary, the tax is paid by the person who receives the money, not the person who has died.

What is paidMember died under 75Member died at 75 or over
Most lump sumsNo tax, unless the lump sum is above the pension pot owner's lump sum and death benefit allowanceIncome Tax deducted by the provider
An annuity or money from a new drawdown fund (set up or converted and first accessed from 6 April 2015)No taxIncome Tax deducted by the provider (any annuity or drawdown fund)
A pension provided by the scheme (for example a survivor's pension)Income Tax deducted by the provider, at any age

— GOV.UK, Tax on a private pension you inherit, accessed 17 October 2026 (table cells summarised). The same table shows Income Tax deducted on money from an old drawdown fund (a "capped" fund or one first accessed before 6 April 2015) even when the member died under 75, so it is worth asking the provider which kind a particular fund is.

Two of the conditions GOV.UK lists can turn a tax-free death benefit into a taxable one when the member died under 75. First, if a lump sum is paid more than two years after the pension provider is told of the death, Income Tax is due on the whole lump sum. Second, tax applies to any amount above the member's lump sum and death benefit allowance, which is up to £1,073,100 (checked October 2026); a protected allowance may increase it. Tax-free cash the member took in their lifetime uses up part of that allowance, so it is worth asking the pension provider how much has been used.

Nothing here works out anybody's tax. The detail, including how lump sums and drawdown income are taxed, is in how inherited pensions are taxed.

For any one family the answer turns on the age at death, which pots exist and how much allowance was used. An FCA-authorised adviser can weigh those pieces together; the short form on this page lets you request a call back.

Beneficiary drawdown: keeping the money invested

A beneficiary does not always have to take a lump sum. Where the scheme's rules allow it, they can move their share into a drawdown fund in their own name. HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual says that with flexi-access drawdown "there is no minimum or maximum amount that a beneficiary can take in any tax year", subject to the scheme rules. This is often called beneficiary flexi-access drawdown, and our guide to it covers how it works.

Leaving money invested means its value can go down as well as up, and the beneficiary may get back less than the pot was worth at the time of death. A beneficiary who is not used to managing investments can book Pension Wise, which is open to people who have inherited a pension, or take advice first.

GOV.UK also says that someone who inherits a defined contribution pot can in turn nominate someone to receive any money left unused when they die, as long as the money is in a flexi-access drawdown fund at that point. So a pension can pass down more than once, subject to the provider allowing it. What happens when that second beneficiary dies is in what happens to an inherited pension when the beneficiary dies.

The April 2027 change: unused pensions and inheritance tax

GOV.UK's current guidance on inheriting a pension says "you do not usually pay Inheritance Tax on a lump sum because payment is usually ‘discretionary’ - this means the pension provider can choose whether to pay it to you". It adds: "Ask the pension provider if payment of the lump sum was discretionary. If it was not, you may have to pay Inheritance Tax."

That position ends for deaths from April 2027, and the change is already law. Under section 66 of the Finance Act 2026, passed on 18 March 2026, a member of a registered pension scheme "is treated as beneficially entitled immediately before their death to property" described in the Act as "notional pension property". Section 71 says that these amendments "apply in relation to deaths, and (so far as relevant) to other transfers of value within the meaning of IHTA 1984, occurring on or after 6 April 2027."

Put simply, for a death on or after 6 April 2027, the value of unused pension pots, and of lump sum death benefits a defined benefit scheme can pay, counts towards the estate for inheritance tax, apart from benefits the Act excludes, such as a dependants' scheme pension and some death in service benefits. Those exclusions, and how the tax then works for an estate, are covered in pensions and inheritance tax, and steps people consider in how to protect a pension from inheritance tax. The income tax rules in the table above are separate from inheritance tax.

For anyone deciding now how their own pension should pass on, the 2027 rules are a natural thing to raise with an FCA-authorised adviser, alongside savings, home and family. The form on this page is where that conversation can begin.

Annuities, joint-life cover and the State Pension

An annuity is a different case from a pot. MoneyHelper says an annuity will usually stop paying when you die, unless it was set up on a joint-life basis or with options such as a guarantee period or value protection, which can keep money going to a partner or other beneficiaries. Which of these was chosen at purchase decides what is payable, and the details are in the annuity guide. In the tax table above, GOV.UK puts annuities in the same rows as drawdown money, so the member's age at death matters here too; the annuity provider can confirm how a particular payment is taxed.

The State Pension is a separate system with its own rules. GOV.UK states that "there are different rules on inheriting the State Pension". See the State Pension guide, deferred State Pension on death and inheriting additional State Pension. For a survivor's pension from a scheme, how to claim a widow's pension explains the claim.

If you are dealing with a pension after a death

When someone has died, the first practical step is usually to find out which pensions they had and to tell each provider or scheme, each of which will explain what it needs to deal with a claim. GOV.UK's guide to what to do after someone dies says that for personal and workplace pensions "you’ll need to contact the person’s pension provider", and suggests the Pension Tracing Service to find details of a pension the family cannot locate. Its Tell Us Once service also notifies some public sector schemes.

  • Ask each provider whether the benefit is a lump sum, a survivor's pension or a drawdown option, and who it intends to pay.
  • Ask which age band applied, and whether the lump sum and death benefit allowance was relevant.
  • Note the date the provider was told of the death. The two-year point described above runs from that date.
  • The FCA warns on its pension scams page that scams often involve offers to transfer a pension pot "(or release funds from it)", and that a cold call about a pension is "illegal and probably a scam".
  • If a payment was made after the pensioner died, see pension overpayments after death.

One step is worth taking early: if the person was being paid a pension, GOV.UK advises contacting the provider "as soon as possible to avoid having to make repayments". Most of the rest can be taken at a steadier pace, with the two-year point in the tax section the date to note.

Pension death benefit questions

Can a pension be passed on to my children?

Yes, a defined contribution pot can be left to children if the scheme allows it and they are named or chosen by the provider. A defined benefit pension is different: it "can usually only be paid to a dependant", which can include a child under 23. See naming a child as a beneficiary.

What happens to my pension if I die before I have started taking it?

A defined contribution pot that has not been touched can still be paid as death benefits. GOV.UK's table treats most lump sums from a person who died under 75 as tax-free unless they go over the lump sum and death benefit allowance, and as taxed through Income Tax at 75 or over.

Does my spouse or partner automatically get my pension?

Not necessarily. A defined benefit scheme usually has survivor rules for a spouse or civil partner, but whether it includes an unmarried partner is for the scheme. With a defined contribution pot, the provider or trustees decide who is paid, and the member's nomination is the main guide. The scheme's rules, or its administrator, will say who qualifies.

Is a survivor's pension taxed?

GOV.UK's table shows "Income Tax deducted by the provider" for a pension provided by the scheme, whatever age the member died. Our guide on whether a widow's pension is taxable goes further.

Should a beneficiary take a lump sum or an ongoing pension?

That depends on what the provider offers, the beneficiary's own income and the tax position set out above. Taking a lump sum can end the investment risk but may be taxed if the member died at 75 or over; leaving money in drawdown keeps it invested, and its value can fall as well as rise. Pension Wise is free, and a regulated adviser can weigh the whole picture.

What happens to my SIPP when I die?

A SIPP is a defined contribution pension, so everything above applies to it, including the inheritance tax change for deaths from 6 April 2027. See also our SIPP guide.

How long does a provider take to pay death benefits?

How long a payment takes depends on the provider or scheme. GOV.UK sets one deadline that matters: where the member died under 75, Income Tax is due on the whole of a lump sum paid more than two years after the provider is told of the death. Ask the provider for its expected timescale when you first contact it.

Your next step

Which death benefits apply, and how they are paid and taxed, depends on your type of pension, who you want to receive it and the rules coming in from April 2027. If you would like to speak to someone, the enquiry form on this page takes a few details and goes to one firm authorised by the FCA that considers your pensions, tax and family in a single conversation. You can also contact your pension providers and Pension Wise directly.

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