Death benefits

If you die before you start receiving your deferred pension from LGPS Councillor, we will pay a cash sum as a death grant.

The death grant will be three times your deferred annual pension value plus cost of living increase.

If you paid additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) through LGPS Councillor, the value of your AVC fund is also payable.

The Clwyd Pension Fund has the discretion about who should receive the death grant. If you fill in an expression of wish form naming your beneficiaries, this helps us pay the death grant to the correct people.

They can be one or more family members, friends, or charities.

You can update your beneficiaries by downloading an Expression of Wish form from our website.

If you are married or in a registered civil partnership, your partner will receive a surviving partner’s pension if you die before them. They will need to send us a copy of the marriage or civil partnership certificate and fill in some claim forms.

A surviving partner’s pension will be half the value of your deferred annual pension.

Note: If you enter into a civil partnership after retirement, the surviving partner’s pension will be half your pension.

To qualify for a child’s pension, the child must be:

• A natural child born before, on or within 12 months of a member’s death
• An adopted child born before or on the date of the member’s death
• A step-child or a child accepted by the deceased member as a family member who was dependent on the member when they died

A child sponsored by the member through a registered charity is not an eligible child.

They must also be:

• Under age 18, or
• Aged under 23 and in full-time education or vocational training, or
• Any age and unable to work because of permanent physical or mental impairment and, as a result, dependent on the member when they died. An independent doctor must advise on whether the impairment is likely to be permanent

Children receive a part of your pension. The amount will depend on how many children you have and whether your partner is also receiving a pension.