How to notify NHS Pensions when someone dies

The NHS Pension Scheme is often the most valuable single asset an NHS worker leaves behind – more than the house, more than any savings. Around 1.7 million NHS staff and pensioners are members, and the death benefits can run to several years of salary plus a lifetime income for a surviving spouse.

This guide walks through what you can claim, how to notify NHS Pensions, and the small administrative steps that catch families out at the worst possible time. It is written for spouses, partners, civil partners, and adult children dealing with the practical side of a bereavement involving an NHS Pension Scheme member in the UK.

NHS Pensions are administered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), a national body that handles the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Quick reference:

• NHS Pensions – pensioner bereavement line: 0345 121 2522 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
• NHS Pensions – members line (if the deceased had left the NHS but not yet retired): 0300 330 1346
• Outside the UK: +44 191 283 0303 (pensioners) or +44 191 283 8918 (members)
• Postal: NHS Pensions, PO Box 683, Unit 5, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 9EE
• Bereavement online hub: nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/bereavements
• What to have ready: the deceased’s SD (membership) number or National Insurance number, date of birth, date of death, and your relationship to them
• Tell Us Once: if you use the Tell Us Once service when registering the death, NHS Pensions is included – you do not need to contact them separately

NHS Pension death benefits – what you may be entitled to

The NHS Pension Scheme is one of the most generous occupational pension schemes in the UK, and the death benefits reflect that. What is paid depends on whether the member was still working in the NHS when they died (active member), had left the NHS but not yet drawn their pension (deferred member), or was already drawing their pension (pensioner member). It also depends on which section of the scheme they were in: 1995, 2008, or 2015.

Lump sum on death benefit

This is the headline benefit and it is significant.

Many members have membership across more than one section because of the McCloud remedy and earlier scheme changes. NHS Pensions will calculate the lump sum across all sections of membership.

For deferred members (those who left the NHS but had not yet retired), a smaller lump sum is generally payable – typically equal to three times the member’s annual pension entitlement at the date they left. For pensioner members, a lump sum may also be payable if the member dies within the first five years of retirement (the “five-year guarantee”), equal to the balance of pension payments that would have been made over those five years.

Lump sums must be paid within two years of NHS Pensions being notified of the death, otherwise an HMRC tax charge of up to 45% applies. This is one reason to notify NHS Pensions promptly.

Adult dependant’s pension

A regular pension is paid to an eligible surviving partner – usually a spouse, civil partner, or qualifying scheme partner. Approximate rates:

• 1995 Section: half the member’s pension (50% of the member’s notional or actual pension)
• 2008 Section: 37.5% of the member’s pension
• 2015 Scheme: 33.75% of the member’s pension

For active or deferred members who die before drawing their pension, the survivor’s pension is based on what the member’s pension would have been at the date of death. For pensioner members who have already retired, it is based on the pension they were drawing.

A scheme partner (someone the member was living with but not married to or in a civil partnership with) is only eligible if the member completed a Partner Nomination Form (PN1) and the qualifying conditions are met – broadly, the couple were financially interdependent and free to marry or form a civil partnership for at least two years before the death.

Children’s pension

A pension is also payable for dependent children, normally up to age 23 if they remain in full-time education or training. The amount depends on whether there is also a surviving adult dependant:

• With a surviving adult dependant: roughly half the adult dependant’s pension per child, up to a maximum of two children sharing equally
• Without a surviving adult dependant: a higher rate per child (broadly 75% to 100% of the adult dependant pension equivalent, depending on the section)

Children who cannot earn a living because of a permanent disability may continue to receive a pension beyond age 23.

Ill-health and pensioner death benefits

If the member was already retired on an ill-health pension, or died within five years of retirement, additional lump sums or guarantees may apply. These rules are detailed and section-specific. NHS Pensions will work out what is payable once you notify them – you do not need to calculate it yourself.

Source: NHSBSA – Benefits payable on death and the NHS Pensions Survivors Guide (PDF, V12A, 04.2024). Last verified: 13 May 2026.

How to notify NHS Pensions of a death

The right contact route depends on whether the deceased was still working for the NHS.

If the deceased was still employed by the NHS

Contact their employing NHS Trust or organisation first. The employer needs to update payroll, stop salary payments, and submit the necessary pension forms to NHS Pensions on your behalf. The HR or pensions team at the Trust will guide you through this.

Once the employer has notified NHS Pensions, the scheme will write to you (the next of kin or executor) and send the relevant claim forms.

If the deceased was retired and drawing an NHS pension

Contact NHS Pensions directly. You can do this in two main ways:

By phone: Call 0345 121 2522 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm; outside the UK call +44 191 283 0303). Have the deceased’s SD (membership) number or National Insurance number to hand if you can find it – it speeds up the call significantly. Their most recent pension payslip or P60 from NHS Pensions will show the SD number.

Online: Use the bereavement section of the NHSBSA website at nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/bereavements to download notification forms and the dependant claim form.

If the deceased had left the NHS but had not yet drawn their pension

Treat this the same as a pensioner notification: contact NHS Pensions directly using the number above. The scheme will check the membership records and issue the relevant claim forms.

If you have used Tell Us Once

The Tell Us Once service, run by the DWP, automatically notifies NHS Pensions when you report the death to the registrar. If you have used Tell Us Once, you do not need to contact NHS Pensions separately for the initial notification – the scheme will write to the next of kin once it has been informed.

You will still need to claim any death benefits actively. Tell Us Once stops payments and triggers the notification, but it does not lodge a claim for a lump sum or survivor’s pension.

Expression of wishes – why it matters

NHS Pension lump sum death benefits sit outside the deceased’s estate under current rules. They are paid at the discretion of NHS Pensions’ scheme administrator, which means they bypass probate and (until April 2027 – see below) bypass inheritance tax as well.

In practice, the scheme follows the member’s wishes wherever possible. There are two relevant forms:

• DB2 – Lump sum on death benefit nomination. This is the “expression of wishes” form for the lump sum. The member uses it to nominate who they want to receive the lump sum and in what proportions.
• PN1 – Partner Nomination Form. This is used by unmarried partners (not married, not in a civil partnership) to register the partner as eligible for the adult dependant’s pension.

If the member completed a DB2, NHS Pensions will generally follow it. If they did not, the lump sum is usually paid to the legal spouse or civil partner. If there is no spouse or civil partner and no nomination, the lump sum is paid to the member’s personal representatives (the executor under a will, or administrator under intestacy rules) – at which point it falls into the estate and may attract probate and tax consequences.

The expression of wishes is advisory, not binding. The scheme administrator has discretion, particularly if circumstances have changed since the form was completed (a separation, a new partner, a child the member did not know about). That discretion is what keeps the money out of the estate for tax purposes under current rules.

If you suspect a nomination exists but cannot find a paper copy, ask NHS Pensions when you call – they hold the records.

Documents you’ll need

The scheme will write to you with a personalised list once it has been notified, but the typical documents are:

• Death certificate – original or certified copy (a registrar will provide multiple certified copies for a small fee at the time of registration; certified copies from a solicitor are also accepted)
• The deceased’s SD number or National Insurance number – on any NHS Pensions correspondence, payslip, or P60
• Marriage or civil partnership certificate – if you are claiming as a spouse or civil partner
• Partner Nomination Form (PN1) details – if you are claiming as an unmarried partner
• Birth certificates for any dependent children – if claiming a children’s pension
• Bank account details – for the person receiving payment
• The completed dependant claim form – downloadable from the NHSBSA bereavement pages

If the member’s spouse or civil partner pre-deceased them, you may also need that earlier death certificate. Photocopies are not accepted for any of these documents – use originals or properly certified copies.

How long it takes

Once NHS Pensions has all the documents:

• Lump sum on death: typically paid within about 2 months of the scheme receiving the completed claim and supporting documents
• Adult dependant’s pension: usually starts within 6 to 8 weeks of the claim being processed, with arrears backdated to the day after the member’s death
• Children’s pension: similar timeline to the adult dependant’s pension

The biggest delays are nearly always missing or unclear documents – an unreadable date on a death certificate, a marriage certificate in a former name, or uncertainty about who is making the claim. If a partnership was complex (separated but not divorced, a recent remarriage, blended family), expect longer.

The two-year clock for the lump sum starts from the date NHS Pensions is notified of the death, not the date of death itself. As long as you notify the scheme promptly, you have time to gather paperwork without losing the tax-free status of the lump sum.

What about the April 2027 pension IHT changes?

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be brought into the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax (IHT). This is a significant change to a long-standing tax advantage of UK pensions.

For NHS Pension members, the picture is more nuanced than for personal or defined contribution pensions:

• Death-in-service lump sums (paid because the member died as an active scheme member) have been excluded from the IHT changes following consultation. The government confirmed in 2025 that these benefits will continue to sit outside the estate for IHT purposes.
• Survivor’s pensions (the regular adult dependant’s pension and children’s pension) are not affected. Spouse and civil partner survivor pensions remain exempt under the existing spouse exemption from IHT.
• Lump sums paid after retirement – for example, the five-year guarantee lump sum where a member dies shortly after retiring – are expected to fall within the new IHT scope, but the detailed rules are still being finalised.

The other change worth knowing: from April 2027, personal representatives (the executor of the estate) become responsible for reporting and paying any IHT due on pensions. Pension scheme administrators will have to provide a valuation of any in-scope death benefits within four weeks of being notified of the death.

Source: HMRC – Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits and Royal London adviser briefing on the April 2027 changes. Last verified: 13 May 2026. The rules are still being finalised in secondary legislation – if a large NHS Pension lump sum is involved, take specific advice from a financial adviser or solicitor.

If the deceased held other pensions as well as their NHS Pension, the IHT change is likely to be more relevant to those personal or workplace defined contribution pots than to the NHS scheme itself.

Tips and things to watch out for

A few practical points that come up repeatedly with NHS Pension bereavements:

• Check whether a DB2 nomination exists before assuming the spouse gets the lump sum. A member may have nominated an adult child, a sibling, or an ex-partner years ago and never updated it. The scheme will tell you.
• Unmarried partners need a PN1 on file. Without a Partner Nomination Form, an unmarried partner will not receive the adult dependant’s pension, even if the couple lived together for decades.
• Survivor’s pension does not start automatically. You have to claim it using the dependant claim form. Stories occasionally surface of widows or widowers who never claimed because they assumed payments would just begin.
• McCloud remedy may mean two calculations. If the member moved between sections between 2015 and 2022, NHS Pensions will work out the better of the two options for the family – but it can extend the timeline.
• One household, several pensions. Most NHS workers also have a State Pension and may have private pensions or AVCs. Each must be claimed separately. See our guide on what happens to a pension when someone dies for the wider picture, and the dedicated guide to what happens to the State Pension when someone dies for how to stop payments and check inherited entitlement.
• The five-year guarantee is easy to miss. If a member retired and died within five years, ask explicitly about the balance of pension payments – it is not always volunteered.

If the deceased also held private pension or insurance products with providers such as Scottish Widows, Standard Life, Aviva, or an AVC arrangement with Hargreaves Lansdown, each will need its own notification. The NHS Pension is occupational and is handled separately from any personal pension.

If the deceased worked in local government, education, or another role covered by the LGPS rather than the NHS, see our companion guide on how to notify LGPS when someone dies. For teachers and lecturers in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, see how to notify the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. For former Service personnel covered by the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, see how to claim Armed Forces Pension benefits when someone dies. For civil servants, see how to claim a Civil Service pension after a bereavement. For police officers, see how to claim a Police Pension after a bereavement.

For probate questions on the rest of the estate, our probate guide covers thresholds, timings, and process.

Summary

If an NHS Pension Scheme member has died:

1. If they were still working for the NHS: contact their employing Trust first – the employer will notify NHS Pensions.
2. If they were retired or had left the NHS: call NHS Pensions on 0345 121 2522 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm), or use Tell Us Once at registration.
3. Have ready the SD number or National Insurance number, date of birth, and date of death.
4. Ask whether a DB2 lump sum nomination is on file, and whether a Partner Nomination Form (PN1) was completed if the partnership was unmarried.
5. Claim the adult dependant’s pension, children’s pension, and any lump sum using the dependant claim form – they are not paid automatically.

The NHS Pension Scheme is well-administered and the bereavement team is experienced. Take it one form at a time. There is no rush on the lump sum tax-free status once the initial notification is in.