What happens if I die?

Telephone the Member Helpline on:

0333 222 0077

Write to:

MPS
PO Box 555,
Stead House,
Darlington,
DL1 9YT

Remember to quote your National Insurance/Scheme Number

Email:

mps@capita.co.uk

In all correspondence please provide: the member’s Scheme Number, the date of death and the name and address of the person dealing with our member’s affairs. Please also let us know if the member leaves a widow, a widower or a civil partner, or someone who was financially dependent on them.

Once the Scheme Administrator has been advised of the member’s death, they will contact the family and ask for any outstanding information so they can provide details of any benefits due from the Scheme.

If you left the Scheme before 6 April 1978

In most cases, no widow’s pension is payable. If you are unsure, the Scheme Administrator will be able to confirm the benefits which would be due following your death.

If you left the Scheme after 6 April 1978

Widow’s pension

Your widow will receive a pension of two-thirds of your total weekly pension at the date of death. If at the date of death, you had been married for less than six months, widow’s benefits would be payable at the discretion of the Trustees.

Once in payment, a widow’s pension is payable for life and will not cease should she re-marry.

Widower’s pension

Members who died on or before 5 April 1988

There is generally no entitlement to a pension for the widowers of female Scheme members who died on or before 5 April 1988. The Scheme Administrator will be able to confirm whether a pension is payable.

Members who died on or after 6 April 1988

Where a female Scheme member died on or after 6 April 1988, benefits are payable to her widower. The benefits payable are calculated in the same way as widow’s benefits.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on 5 December 2005. Since then, same-sex couples in the UK have been able to enter into a legally recognised relationship which gives a registered civil partner rights similar to those of spouses, including rights to pension scheme benefits. From 2 December 2019, the 2004 Act has been amended to allow opposite-sex couples to register civil partnerships also. Benefits payable to a qualifying surviving civil partner would be payable on the same basis as the benefits payable to MPS widowers.

If your pension is not in payment at the date of your death, a lump sum death benefit may be payable.

If you did not contribute to the Scheme after 6 April 1975, there is generally no dependant’s pension entitlement following your death. Your widow or next of kin would be entitled to a lump sum equal to the value of your contributions, plus interest.

If you contributed to the Scheme after 6 April 1975, your widow or next of kin would be entitled to a lump sum equal to the higher of three years’ worth of pension or the value of your contributions, plus interest.

MPS members can name the person or persons they would like to receive any cash sum payable on their death. 

The Trustees have a discretionary power to pay any cash sum on death to a relative or dependant rather than to your estate. Although (mainly for tax reasons) trustees cannot be bound by your nomination, the Scheme’s Trustees will, if you complete a form, be able to take your wishes into account. You can download and complete a form using this link, or you can ask the Scheme Administrator to send a copy to you.

If you have previously completed an Expression of Wish form, please think about whether your circumstances have changed as it might need to be updated.

The Rules give the Trustees some discretion on deciding how to pay benefits in certain circumstances. This includes the payment of dependant’s benefits on the death of a Scheme member. These benefits may be payable, depending on the circumstances, where an unmarried couple were living together as partners. The Trustees will take full account of all relevant information provided about a member’s circumstances in making a decision on the payment of discretionary Scheme benefits.

Benefits may also be paid, at the Trustees’ discretion, to a dependant who had care of the member’s children at the time of his death, or to a dependant (except someone already entitled to a child’s pension from the Scheme) who was being maintained by the member financially. The Trustees can review these discretionary benefits if a dependant’s circumstances change.

At any time, unmarried members can provide the Scheme Administrator with information about a person who is being maintained by the member financially and who they would like to be considered for a dependant’s pension on their death.

Where a couple are legally married or in a civil partnership, it is relatively straightforward to establish entitlement to benefits following the member’s death by asking to see the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.

This is not possible, of course, where a couple who were unmarried were living together as partners. In such cases, we ask to see supporting evidence of the relationship and of the claimant’s financial dependency on the Scheme member. This could include confirmation of a shared bank account, letters, and utility bills addressed to both parties at the same address. We may also arrange for a visit from a representative of CISWO (the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation), as often a claimant may prefer to speak personally to give details of their circumstances.

In the interests of security, many people routinely destroy bank statements and other paperwork. However, if you are living with a partner who would wish to make a claim for dependant’s benefit after your death, please consider whether they would be able to provide the evidence we have outlined above to support their claim. We do not need to see this evidence before your death but it would help the Trustees to consider a claim for dependant’s benefit if it could be provided after your death.

Leavers before 6 April 1978

In most cases, no children’s benefit is payable. If you are unsure, the Scheme Administrator will be able to confirm the benefits which would be due following your death.

Leavers after 6 April 1978

Children’s benefit is payable to any child who at the time of your death is under age 16, or up to age 21 if the child is continuing in full time education.

If a member is survived by a child who the Scheme’s Medical Advisor certifies was permanently incapable of self-support due to a physical or mental infirmity which was present at the date of the member’s death, children’s benefit is payable to them for life.