What happens if I die in service?

A pension is provided for a surviving widow, widower, registered civil partner or, subject to certain qualifying conditions, a cohabiting partner. A survivors’ pension is payable immediately after death (providing conditions are met), and for the rest of their life, and will be adjusted every year in line with the cost of living (CPI). Pensions may also be payable to eligible children.

If you pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) arranged through the LGPS (in-house AVCs), the value of your AVC fund is also payable, as is any additional life cover.

If you die in service as a member of the LGPS, a lump sum payment of 3 times your assumed pensionable pay at your date of death is paid, provided you are under age of 75 at the date of death. You can elect who you would like this lump sum to be paid to by completing an Expression of Wish Form. Please remember to keep this up to date if your circumstances change.

If you are paying, or have paid, additional contributions to buy extra LGPS pension through Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) (or Shared Cost Additional Pension Contributions (SCAPCs)), these will not count towards the value of any survivors’ pension or children’s pensions.

There are exceptions dependent upon when you took out an Additional Pension Contribution contract as follows:

• you elected before 1 April 2014 to pay Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs) then, provided you opted to pay for survivors’ benefits when you took out your original contract, extra benefits will be payable to your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner and to any eligible children. If you were paying the ARCs at the date of death you will be deemed to have completed all payments. If you did not opt to pay for survivors’ benefits when you took out your original ARC contract, then no extra benefits will be payable.
• you elected before 1 April 2008 to buy LGPS added years of membership, you will be credited on your death with the whole extra period of membership that you set out to buy, even if you have not completed full payment for it. This will increase the value of the benefits payable for your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner and to any eligible children.
• you elected before 1 April 2014 to buy extra nominated cohabiting partner survivor benefits, then the whole of your pre 6 April 1988 membership that you were paying additional contributions for, will be included in calculating any survivors pension payable to an eligible cohabiting partner, even if you have not completed full payment for it.
• if you are paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) arranged through the LGPS (in-house AVCs), the value of any extra life cover pension for your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner and eligible children paid for through AVCs is also payable.