UK Pension After Death: What Happens and What to Do

When someone dies in the UK, their State Pension stops and the death should be reported straight away. Tell Us Once can do this for the State Pension and public sector schemes. A surviving spouse or civil partner may be able to inherit some State Pension. Private and workplace pensions are paid under each scheme's rules, often tax-free if the person died before 75, and from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds will count towards Inheritance Tax.

Who do you tell about a pension after a death?

Start with Tell Us Once. The registrar gives you a reference number when the death is registered, and you must use the service within 28 days. It tells the DWP, which handles the State Pension, and public sector schemes, including Armed Forces, Civil Service, Local Government, NHS Pensions, the Pension Protection Fund and the Scottish Public Pension Agency. See our Tell Us Once guide for how it works.

You then need to contact every personal and workplace pension provider yourself. Tell Us Once does not cover them. If you cannot use Tell Us Once, the DWP Bereavement Service is on 0800 151 2012 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). Report promptly, because payments made for a period after the death may have to be repaid. Our guide to notifying pension providers covers what providers usually ask for.

What happens to the State Pension when someone dies?

The State Pension stops. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week from April 2026, though what a person actually received depended on their National Insurance record. If you were married to or in a civil partnership with the person, you may be able to inherit part of their State Pension.

Can you inherit a State Pension?

GOV.UK sets out the rules, which depend on when the partnership began and when your partner reached State Pension age:

• Additional State Pension: you may inherit some if your marriage or civil partnership began before 6 April 2016 and your partner reached State Pension age before that date, or died before it but would have qualified afterwards.
• Protected payment: you may inherit half of your partner's protected payment if the partnership began before 6 April 2016 and they reached State Pension age on or after that date.
• Extra State Pension or lump sum: you may get some or all if your partner deferred their State Pension, reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and you were married when they died.

Inherited amounts are paid with your own State Pension, and you generally need to be over State Pension age to claim extra payments. You will not be able to inherit anything if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before State Pension age. Contact the Pension Service to check exactly what applies to you. Because the rules refer to a husband, wife or civil partner, unmarried partners cannot inherit State Pension this way.

What happens to workplace and private pensions?

It depends on the type of pension and the scheme's rules:

• Defined benefit (final salary or career average) schemes often pay a survivor's pension to a spouse, civil partner or dependant, and sometimes a lump sum. The scheme rules set who qualifies and how much they receive.
• Defined contribution pots may be paid as a lump sum, kept invested for the beneficiary or used to buy an income. The provider or trustees decide, and they often look at a nomination or expression of wish form the member completed.
• Annuities may continue to a surviving partner or stop, depending on how they were set up.

A pension does not always follow the will, so do not assume the will decides. Ask the provider what is on file and who they are considering, and supply certified copies of the death certificate if they ask. If the person was still working, ask their employer about death in service benefits. Our UK probate guide explains how pensions sit alongside the rest of the estate.

How is a pension taxed after a death?

The tax depends mainly on the person's age at death, according to GOV.UK:

The lump sum and death benefit allowance is £1,073,100 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. If a lump sum death benefit goes over it, the person dealing with the estate may need to tell HMRC.

The pension provider usually deducts any tax before paying out. A large lump sum from someone who died at 75 or over may push a beneficiary into a higher tax band, so taking advice from a financial adviser or MoneyHelper before choosing is sensible.

What changes on 6 April 2027?

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be brought into the scope of Inheritance Tax for the first time. The government confirmed in its July 2025 response that personal representatives will be liable to report and pay any Inheritance Tax due on unused pension funds or death benefits. All death in service benefits from registered pension schemes will be excluded from the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

Inheritance Tax is normally charged at 40% on the part of an estate above the £325,000 threshold, and there is normally no Inheritance Tax where everything above the threshold goes to a spouse, civil partner or charity. Check GOV.UK for the latest guidance on how the change works. See our guides to UK Inheritance Tax and financial planning after a spouse dies.

Can you claim Bereavement Support Payment?

You may be able to claim if you were under State Pension age when your husband, wife or civil partner died, were living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits, and your partner had paid enough National Insurance or died from a work-related accident or disease. Unmarried partners can claim only if they were getting or entitled to Child Benefit for a shared child, or were pregnant.

Claiming within 3 months of the death gets you the full payment. The usual deadline is 21 months, and after that you usually cannot get any payments. If you reach State Pension age within 18 months of the death, you may get fewer monthly payments. You can claim online, by phone on 0800 151 2012 or by post using form BSP1. Our guide to Bereavement Support Payment has more detail.

How do you find pensions you didn't know about?

Look through old payslips, bank statements, letters and emails for scheme names, and ask former employers. The Pension Tracing Service (0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm) can give you contact details if you know the employer or provider's name. It cannot tell you whether a pension exists or what it is worth. Once you have a contact, write to the provider with a copy of the death certificate.

What to do next

1. Use Tell Us Once, or call the DWP Bereavement Service, so the State Pension stops and any survivor benefits can be assessed.
2. List every workplace and private pension provider and write to each with a certified death certificate copy.
3. If you were under State Pension age, check Bereavement Support Payment and claim within 3 months for the full amount.
4. For large pension pots or possible Inheritance Tax, speak to a solicitor or regulated financial adviser before taking money out.