What if I die?
classic plus
Does the scheme pay any lump sum if I die in service?
We will pay a lump sum of three times your pay to the person or people you have nominated.
What will my husband or wife get?
They will get a pension based on 1/160 of your final pensionable pay for each year of reckonable service you have paid contributions for at the full rate. If you have a civil partner, any service before 6 April 1988 willl not count for a civil partner’s pension.
If you die in service, we will increase your reckonable service, depending on your age and length of service.
If your husband, wife or civil partner remarries, enters a new civil partnership, or lives with someone else as husband and wife, or as civil partners, we will reduce their pension to the part which relates only to your service from October 2002.
Important note. At the time of a divorce, a court may order that when a scheme member, or a previous member, dies, all or part of the death benefit must be paid to the ex-husband or ex-wife or ex-civil partner. If this is the case, we will pay any balance to the person you nominated or to the personal representative of the person who died if there is no valid nomination.
What will my partner get?
If you are neither married nor in a civil partnership, but have a partner who meets our qualifying conditions, we will pay them a pension based on 1/160 of your pensionable earnings for each year of reckonable service from October 2002.
If you die in service, we will increase your reckonable service, depending on your age and length of service. ‘Partner’ can include a partner of the same sex.
For more information about benefits for unmarried partners, see Partners.
Will my children get anything?
We will pay a pension to children who were dependent on you when you died. This is on top of any pension we pay to your husband, wife, civil partner or partner.
Find out more
For more information, see the following booklet: Your classic plus benefits explained [PDF 666KB, 16 pages].
