For notification of death on a Phoenix Life pension, give Phoenix the policy number and, if you write, an original death certificate. Tax then depends on age at death.

Telling a pension company is one of many jobs after a death, and it is easy to put off. Anyone who would value an FCA-authorised adviser talking through where a Phoenix pot may go can use this page's form to get a free call-back.

How to notify Phoenix Life of a death

Phoenix Life has a notification page for policyholders who have died. It asks you to tell it early, "so we can make sure we stop sending correspondence and taking policy payments". Notifying it also starts the claims process.

The page first asks who provided the policy before it became part of Phoenix Life, because the contact details for the team that deals with it depend on that name. Its list of former names includes Abbey Life, Pearl Assurance and Scottish Provident, and if you do not know, "that's ok. We can help you find out".

Phoenix's help centre puts the process in two sentences: "please contact us and give us the policy number. We’ll let you know what to do next and if there are any other documents you need to send."

Documents Phoenix may ask for

The one document Phoenix names is the death certificate: "If you make a claim in writing, please include an original copy of the death certificate with your letter." Because an original goes in the post, extra copies help, and Phoenix's bereavement guide suggests paying for some, as providers of financial products may ask for them.

The same guide's general advice on life and pension policies adds that a claim may need "a copy of both the death certificate and the will, along with the grant of probate or confirmation of the estate, if relevant". It also notes that a grant of representation may not be needed, for instance where the estate passes to a spouse or civil partner. Which of this applies to a pension plan is a point the claims team can confirm when you call.

The government's free Tell Us Once service, available where the person lived in England, Scotland or Wales, tells government departments, councils and public sector pension schemes; Phoenix's guide lists private pension providers separately among the organisations to notify, so tell Phoenix directly. See what happens if a pension payment arrives after a death if money has already left the account.

Who gets the money: nominations and Phoenix Life

A pension pot is not dealt with by the will. Phoenix's guide on pensions and inheritance tax says: "Your will doesn't directly cover the money in your pension pot, nor who inherits it." It says you tell your provider who you want considered as beneficiaries, and that it "will take this into account when deciding who to pay your pension savings to, but may not be bound by your wishes".

Phoenix also says beneficiaries may differ for each plan, so check every pension, and its answer on managing beneficiaries points customers to MyPhoenix, where they can check whether their policy is available, or to contacting Phoenix. GOV.UK says a nomination is the usual route, but sometimes the provider "can pay the money to someone else, for example if the nominated person cannot be found or has died".

For how nominations work generally, see completing a pension nomination form, nominee, partner and beneficiary compared and what happens if no beneficiary was named. How a given Phoenix plan treats money left invested for the next generation is a question an adviser can take up at no charge on the call this page's form arranges.

Tax on a Phoenix Life pension after death: under 75 and 75 or over

Phoenix says flexible pensions usually pass savings to beneficiaries "tax-free if you die before you reach 75", while after 75 they "will normally pay income tax at their own tax rate" on what they take out. GOV.UK sets out the conditions. If the owner died under 75, most lump sums carry no tax "unless your lump sum is above the pension pot owner’s lump sum and death benefit allowance", and an annuity, or drawdown money from a defined contribution pot first accessed from 6 April 2015 onwards, is also untaxed; GOV.UK taxes payments from an older or capped drawdown fund. Where the owner was 75 or over, Income Tax comes off lump sums, drawdown and annuity payments before you receive them.

Where the owner died under 75, a lump sum paid "more than 2 years after the pension provider is told of the death" has Income Tax charged on the whole sum, one more reason to tell Phoenix promptly. The lump sum and death benefit allowance is £1,073,100 in the figure GOV.UK gives on its lump sum allowance page, though people with protections may have a higher allowance. The allowance is that of the person who died, not the beneficiary, and tax-free lump sums they took in their lifetime count towards it.

Which rule fits a given payment, and what a particular beneficiary could owe, turns on the plan type and their own income, which is a good thing to ask an adviser about; the short form here is how you ask for the call. The full position is in tax on an inherited pension.

Is a Phoenix Life pension counted in the estate after 5 April 2027?

Phoenix's guide says pensions are usually outside inheritance tax at present and notes the announced change from April 2027. That change is now law: Finance Act 2026, section 71, provides that the amendments made by sections 66 to 70 "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". For a death before that date the present rules apply. See pensions and inheritance tax and the hub guide, what happens to a pension when someone dies.

Phoenix Life pension death questions

Will Phoenix stop the pension payments when it is told?

Phoenix says telling it helps change or stop payments on the policy. A payment already made before it hears may need to be dealt with separately.

What if I do not know who the policy was with before Phoenix?

Phoenix says that is fine and that it can help you find out. Its page links to a service for finding a previous pension provider.

Is inheritance tax due on a lump sum Phoenix pays out?

GOV.UK says inheritance tax is not usually due on a pension lump sum because payment is usually discretionary, meaning the provider chooses whether to pay it. It suggests asking the provider whether the payment was discretionary, since inheritance tax may apply if it was not. Deaths on or after 6 April 2027 come under the change described above.

Can I claim on behalf of someone else?

Phoenix asks whoever gets in touch for the policy number, then says what to do next and which documents to send. Its bereavement guide says most companies let an executor, administrator or next of kin fill out claim forms online. Beneficiaries torn between cashing in and staying invested can weigh that choice with an FCA-authorised adviser, who phones free once this page's form arrives.

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