NEST – the National Employment Savings Trust – is the UK’s largest workplace pension scheme, used by around 14 million people. Because it was the government’s default choice for auto-enrolment from 2012, many families will be dealing with a NEST pension without knowing it existed. The deceased may never have mentioned it. There may be no paperwork in the house. That does not mean the money is lost.
This guide explains what happens to a NEST pension when a member dies, how to contact NEST’s bereavement team, what documents you will need, and the important differences between NEST’s two types of death benefit payment. It is written for spouses, civil partners, children, and executors dealing with the practical side of a bereavement.
Quick reference:
- NEST bereavement team: 0300 020 1410 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
- Online bereavement portal: bereavements.nestpensions.org.uk
- Tell Us Once: NEST does not participate in Tell Us Once or the Death Notification Service. You must contact NEST directly.
- Typical timeline: 20–30 working days once all documents are received
- Pension tracing: if you are not sure whether someone had a NEST pension, use the government’s Pension Tracing Service
What is NEST and who has it?
NEST was created by the UK government and launched in 2012 as the vehicle for auto-enrolment – the legal requirement for employers to enrol eligible workers into a pension. If an employer did not already have a workplace pension scheme in place, NEST was the default they used.
Auto-enrolment applies to workers aged 22 to State Pension age who earn above £10,000 a year. Many workers were enrolled without actively choosing to be, and some may not have realised they had a NEST pension at all, particularly if they were low earners, worked part-time, or moved between jobs frequently.
By 2026, NEST had approximately 14 million members and managed around £50 billion in assets. It is run by NEST Corporation, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Checking whether someone had a NEST pension
If you are not certain the deceased had a NEST pension, there are a few ways to check:
- Look through paperwork, payslips, or annual pension statements for any NEST correspondence
- Check bank statements for any employer pension contributions paid to NEST
- Contact former employers to ask whether they used NEST as their auto-enrolment provider
- Use the government’s Pension Tracing Service at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details – a free service that searches pension scheme records by employer name
The Pension Tracing Service provides contact details only; you then contact NEST directly to confirm whether a pension exists.
How to contact NEST
NEST has a dedicated bereavement team and an online portal designed specifically for reporting a death and beginning the claims process.
Online bereavement portal
The fastest route is NEST’s online portal at bereavements.nestpensions.org.uk. You can notify NEST of the death, upload documents, and track the progress of a claim. The portal is available at any time.
Phone
Call NEST’s bereavement team on 0300 020 1410, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Calls to 0300 numbers cost the same as a standard UK landline call and are included in most mobile plans.
When you call, it helps to have the following to hand:
- The deceased’s full name and date of birth
- The date of death
- The NEST member ID (if you can find it) or their National Insurance number
- Your own name, relationship to the deceased, and contact details
NEST will give you a reference number once you have made contact. Keep this – you will need it to track the claim.
What NEST does not cover
NEST does not participate in Tell Us Once (the government notification service offered when you register the death) or the Death Notification Service (used by banks). You must contact NEST separately, either by phone or online. This is one of the most common gaps families fall into – assuming that registering the death centrally has handled everything.
What documents you will need
NEST’s requirements are straightforward. The essential documents are:
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Death certificate | Original or certified copy. NEST will accept a scanned copy uploaded to the portal |
| NEST member ID or National Insurance number | The member ID appears on any NEST correspondence. The NI number is an acceptable alternative |
| Your photo ID and proof of address | Required as the person making the claim. A passport or driving licence plus a recent utility bill will usually suffice |
| UK bank details | For the person or persons receiving the payment |
| Marriage or civil partnership certificate | If you are a spouse or civil partner making the claim |
| Grant of probate or letters of administration | Only required if the benefit is being paid to the estate rather than directly to a named beneficiary |
NEST may ask for additional documents depending on the circumstances of the claim. They will tell you exactly what they need once you have made initial contact. In straightforward cases with a clear nomination, probate documents are not needed.
What happens to the NEST pension
NEST is a defined contribution pension – a savings pot that belongs to the member. When a member dies, the value of that pot (the “death benefit”) can be paid to beneficiaries. The amount is whatever the pot is worth at the time of death, which depends on contributions made and investment performance.
NEST currently has two ways it can pay death benefits, and which one applies depends on what the deceased chose during their lifetime.
Option 1: Expression of wish (discretionary)
This is the option that keeps the pension pot outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes.
When a member completes an Expression of Wish form, they name the person or people they would like to receive their pension pot. NEST’s trustees then have the discretion to decide whether to pay those individuals – taking into account any changes in the deceased’s circumstances since the form was completed (a new marriage, for example, or estrangement from a named person).
In practice, NEST almost always follows the expression of wish where it exists and there are no competing claims. But because the trustees retain discretion, the money does not legally belong to the estate and does not count as part of it for inheritance tax purposes.
This option was introduced by NEST in 2019 and cannot be reversed once selected. Members could modify who they named, but could not switch back to a binding nomination.
Option 2: Binding nomination
With a binding nomination, the deceased named a specific beneficiary and NEST is bound to pay that person if they are alive and traceable at the date of death. There is no trustee discretion – the money goes to whoever was nominated.
The trade-off is that a binding nomination generally means the pot does form part of the estate for inheritance tax purposes, because the payment is guaranteed rather than discretionary. The pension pot may therefore contribute to an inheritance tax liability if the total estate value exceeds the nil-rate band.
If there is no nomination or expression of wish
If the deceased never completed either form – which is common, particularly among younger workers auto-enrolled into NEST who never actively engaged with the account – NEST’s trustees will exercise their discretion. They will typically look for:
- A surviving spouse or civil partner
- A financially dependent person
- Any instructions in a will (taken as evidence of intent, though trustees are not bound by it)
For smaller pots of £5,000 or less, NEST may pay to certain relatives without requiring them to obtain probate. For larger amounts with no nomination, the pot may be paid to the estate, in which case probate is needed for that sum and it passes under the will or intestacy rules.
Active vs deferred accounts
Many people have worked for employers who used NEST and then moved on. A deferred account is a NEST pot where contributions have stopped – the member changed jobs and their new employer uses a different scheme, or they left work entirely – but the money remains invested in NEST. A deferred account is treated the same as an active account on death: the death benefit process is identical, and the pot is paid out in the same way.
If the deceased was a member of NEST through multiple employers over their working life, they may have multiple NEST accounts. NEST will consolidate these when you contact them, but it is worth asking whether there is more than one pot to avoid any being overlooked.
The April 2027 pension inheritance tax change
Pension death benefits – including NEST pots – are currently treated favourably for inheritance tax. Under the rules that apply to deaths before 6 April 2027, most pension death benefits paid under trustees’ discretion do not form part of the taxable estate and are outside the scope of inheritance tax.
That changes from 6 April 2027.
The Finance Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026, brings unused pension funds and most pension death benefits within the scope of inheritance tax for people who die on or after that date. The change was announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and is now law. (Source: gov.uk – Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits)
What this means in practice:
- For deaths before 6 April 2027, the existing rules apply – NEST pots paid under trustees’ discretion are outside the estate and not subject to inheritance tax.
- For deaths on or after 6 April 2027, the value of the NEST pot will form part of the estate’s value for inheritance tax purposes, even if it is paid directly to a nominated beneficiary under an expression of wish.
- The exemption for death in service benefits from registered pension schemes remains.
- Pension death benefits paid to a surviving spouse or civil partner continue to benefit from the spousal exemption from inheritance tax.
- Personal representatives – not pension administrators – become responsible for reporting and paying any inheritance tax due on pension death benefits from April 2027.
The government estimates approximately 10,500 additional estates per year will face an inheritance tax liability as a result of this change. The average additional liability is estimated at around £34,000.
If you are dealing with an estate where the deceased died before 6 April 2027, the current rules apply and NEST proceeds paid under an expression of wish are outside the estate. For deaths after that date, specialist advice may be worth seeking. For a broader overview of how pension assets interact with inheritance tax, see our pensions overview.
How long it takes
NEST’s target is to settle claims within 20–30 working days of receiving all required information. In practice, some cases take longer.
| Stage | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Initial contact and receipt of claim reference | Same day (phone or online) |
| Document review and validation | 1–2 weeks from documents received |
| Trustee decision (where discretion applies) | Can add several weeks in complex cases |
| Payment to beneficiary | 20–30 working days from all documents received; some sources cite 4–8 weeks |
Delays are most likely when:
- There is no nomination or expression of wish, and trustees need to investigate the circumstances
- There are competing claims from multiple potential beneficiaries
- Documents are missing or not certified correctly
- The estate is complex and probate is required
Contact NEST’s bereavement team on 0300 020 1410 if you have not heard back within four weeks of submitting all documents. They can give you a progress update using your claim reference number.
Things to watch out for
A few practical points that come up repeatedly with NEST bereavements:
Multiple NEST accounts. Someone who worked for several employers that all used NEST, or who left and re-joined a NEST employer, may have more than one NEST pot. Ask NEST explicitly whether there are multiple accounts linked to the deceased. If you do not ask, a smaller or older pot could easily be missed.
The nomination is not the will. One of the most common misconceptions in pension bereavement is that the will determines who gets the pension. It does not. What the deceased wrote in their nomination or expression of wish controls the pension – which may be a different person entirely from the will beneficiaries. A parent might have nominated an ex-spouse, for example, and never updated it. The trustees will use their judgment, but the nomination form takes precedence over the will.
The two-year rule for tax-free lump sums. Where a beneficiary is under 75 and the death benefit is paid as a lump sum, it can be paid tax-free provided NEST is notified and the payment is made within two years of the date of death. The two-year clock starts from the date of death, not from when you contact NEST. Missing this window means the payment becomes subject to income tax at the beneficiary’s marginal rate. Contact NEST promptly.
No Tell Us Once for NEST. Tell Us Once does not cover NEST. You may use it when registering the death – it handles many government departments and state benefits – but it will not notify NEST. Contact NEST separately.
Pension Tracing Service for lost NEST accounts. If you are not sure whether the deceased had a NEST account, the government’s Pension Tracing Service can help you find contact details for any pension schemes they belonged to. Search by employer name.
NEST accounts do not automatically close. Until you contact NEST and the claim is processed, the account remains open and continues to be invested. The pot value at the date of death is what will be paid out, not any later figure.
Summary
NEST is the default workplace pension for millions of UK workers, so it is worth checking whether the deceased had a NEST account even if you have found no paperwork. The process is straightforward once you make contact.
Call NEST’s bereavement team on 0300 020 1410 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) or start a claim online at bereavements.nestpensions.org.uk. Claims are usually settled within 20–30 working days of all documents being received.
For the wider picture on pensions after a bereavement – including state pensions, public-sector schemes, and how to trace lost pensions – see our pensions overview.
If the deceased also had a State Pension, see our State Pension guide. For public-sector workplace pensions, see guides for NHS Pension, LGPS, Teachers’ Pension, Armed Forces Pension, Civil Service Pension, and Police Pension.
For other workplace auto-enrolment pension providers, see our guide on how to notify NOW: Pensions when someone dies – NOW: Pensions is the other major UK auto-enrolment provider, used by more than 30,000 employers.
For the full list of organisations to contact after a bereavement, see who to notify when someone dies.
Phone number and process last verified: 14 May 2026, from nestpensions.org.uk – notify us of a death and nestpensions.org.uk – a member’s pension after death. IHT change sourced from gov.uk – Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits.