Notifying Pension Providers After a Death: Who to Tell, What They Need and the Tax Deadlines

In the UK, the State Pension and public sector pensions can be reported through the Tell Us Once service, but every workplace or private pension provider has to be told separately. Do it soon. State Pension payments made after the death can be reclaimed, and for someone who died before 75 there is a two-year window that affects the tax on lump sums. This guide is mainly about the UK, with a section at the end for the US.

Which pensions does Tell Us Once cover?

Tell Us Once is a GOV.UK service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go. The registrar gives you a reference number when the death is registered, and you must use the service within 28 days of getting it. It isn't available if the person lived in Northern Ireland. Our guide to Tell Us Once covers how it works.

GOV.UK lists private and workplace pension schemes among the organisations you still have to contact yourself.

How do you find all of the person's pensions?

People often change jobs several times, so there can be pensions nobody in the family knows about. Try these in order:

1. Paperwork and email. Look for annual statements, payslips, letters from pension providers and old employer documents.
2. Former employers. Ask them which scheme they used and who runs it now.
3. The Pension Tracing Service. This is a GOV.UK service for finding contact details of workplace and personal pensions. You need the name of an employer or pension provider. It can't tell you whether a pension exists or what it's worth. You can search online at findpensioncontacts.service.gov.uk or phone 0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
4. Bank statements. Look for regular payments coming in from pension providers, or payments going out to them.

How do you notify a pension provider?

Contact each provider by phone or letter, and follow up in writing. Have these ready:

• the person's full name, date of birth and date of death
• their National Insurance number and any policy or member number
• a copy of the death certificate (ask whether the provider accepts a scan or wants a certified copy)
• your name, contact details and relationship to the person
• proof you are the executor or personal representative, if you are dealing with the estate

Then ask the provider what benefits are payable, who the scheme is considering paying, and what forms and evidence it needs. If the person was still working, tell their employer too. Many employer schemes pay a death-in-service lump sum, and the scheme booklet will say how it's worked out. Our guide to telling an employer about a death has more.

How do you report the death to the State Pension?

Tell Us Once does it for you if you use it. Without it, contact the DWP Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. GOV.UK says to contact pension providers straight away to prevent repayments being demanded.

Who receives a private or workplace pension?

Often not who the will names. Many pensions are paid at the discretion of the scheme's trustees or the provider. They usually look at the nomination or "expression of wish" form the person filled in. GOV.UK describes lump sum payments as usually discretionary for this reason.

That has two practical effects. First, the will may not control the pension at all. Second, an old nomination that was never updated, for example after a divorce or remarriage, can still be part of what the provider considers. Ask the provider to tell you what nomination it holds. Our beneficiary update checklist explains why these forms matter.

Defined benefit schemes and annuities may instead pay a survivor's pension to a spouse, civil partner or child. The rules vary by scheme, so ask the provider.

Is the pension taxed after death?

It depends on the person's age at death and on how quickly the money is paid.

Some other points from GOV.UK:

• The lump sum and death benefit allowance is £1,073,100 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. Payments above it are taxed. If lump sum death benefits go over the allowance, the person dealing with the estate must tell HMRC.
• Money from drawdown funds first accessed before 6 April 2015 is subject to Income Tax even when the person died under 75.
• For a lump sum paid more than two years after the provider learned of the death, the person dealing with the estate must tell the pension provider within 13 months of the death or 30 days after they realise tax is owed, whichever is later.
• You don't usually pay Inheritance Tax on a lump sum now, because the payment is usually discretionary.

Tax rules change often and mistakes are costly, so talk to a solicitor or tax adviser if the pension is large.

What is changing for Inheritance Tax in April 2027?

From 6 April 2027, the government has announced that most unused pension funds and death benefits will count as part of a person's estate for Inheritance Tax. Check GOV.UK for the final rules, because the detail was still being settled in the sources we could check. Its consultation outcome says personal representatives will be responsible for reporting and paying Inheritance Tax on pensions, and that death-in-service benefits from registered pension schemes will be excluded.

If the person died after that date, check GOV.UK for the rules that apply and the provider's procedure for passing information to the estate. See our UK Inheritance Tax guide and UK probate guide.

Can you inherit your spouse's State Pension?

Sometimes. GOV.UK says a widow, widower or surviving civil partner may inherit part of an additional State Pension or a protected payment, but only if they don't remarry or form a new civil partnership before reaching State Pension age. The marriage or civil partnership date and the date the person reached State Pension age, compared with 6 April 2016, decide what you may get. The DWP Bereavement Service can tell you what applies. Our UK pension after death guide covers the different types of pension and what survivors may receive.

What about pensions in the United States?

There is no single service to report a death to every US pension. Who you contact depends on the type of plan:

• Employer pensions and retirement plans. Contact the plan administrator, usually through the employer's HR or benefits office or the provider on the statements. They will explain survivor benefits and what they need from you. For 401(k)s and IRAs, see our guide to 401(k) and IRA accounts after a death.
• Federal retirees. Report the death to OPM using its online Report Annuitant Death form, or call the Retirement Information Office on 888-767-6738 (Monday to Friday, 7:40am to 5pm Eastern). OPM then sends the survivor benefit application forms.
• Military retirees. USAGov says to report a death to DFAS.
• Social Security. This is separate from a pension. Call 1-800-772-1213 or use the funeral director. See notifying the government after a death.
• Questions about a private plan. The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration answers questions on 1-866-444-3272.

As in the UK, don't spend pension payments that arrive after the death until you know whether they're owed back.

What to do next

1. Register the death and use Tell Us Once within 28 days of getting the reference number.
2. Make a list of every pension and employer, using paperwork and the Pension Tracing Service.
3. Write to each provider, ask for the claim forms, and note the date you told them.
4. Keep a record of when each provider was notified. The two-year tax window counts from that date.
5. Get advice if the pension is large, there is a dispute over who should be paid, or the estate may owe Inheritance Tax.