Losing someone is hard enough without having to work out where their money is. If the person who died had a PensionBee plan, the good news is that PensionBee is a consolidator — they specialise in combining old workplace and personal pensions into a single pot. That often means several scattered pensions are already gathered in one place, which makes the next steps simpler than chasing each former employer.
This guide walks you through how to tell PensionBee what has happened, what documents they will ask for, how the pension pot is paid out, and an important change to inheritance tax arriving in April 2027 that affects almost everyone who inherits a pension. We will keep it plain and practical, and point you to the official sources for every figure.
Quick reference
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Phone | 020 3457 8444 |
| engagement@pensionbee.com | |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 9:30am–5pm |
| Online | pensionbee.com – what to do when someone dies |
| Documents needed | Death certificate, will (if any), grant of probate or letters of administration if requested, marriage or civil partnership certificate where relevant |
| What you need to hand | The deceased's full legal name, date of birth and registered address |
Source: PensionBee, “What to do when someone dies”, verified 15 May 2026.
How to notify PensionBee
PensionBee is a digital-first provider, so there is no branch to visit. You notify them by phone or email.
Call 020 3457 8444, Monday to Friday, 9:30am–5pm, or email engagement@pensionbee.com. Before you contact them, gather the deceased’s personal details so the team can find the account quickly. You will be asked for their:
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Registered address (the address PensionBee held for them)
You do not need the account or plan number to start the conversation — the name, date of birth and address are enough to locate the plan.
Once PensionBee has been told about the death, they will send a form requesting that you upload supporting documents. Based on PensionBee’s own bereavement page, this typically includes:
- The final death certificate
- The will, if there is one
- A letter of administration, if probate has produced one
- A marriage or civil partnership certificate, if it is relevant to a beneficiary’s claim
After you submit the completed form with documents, one of PensionBee’s Compliance Managers reviews the information. PensionBee will then come back to you to confirm anything else they need and explain the next steps. There is no public self-service bereavement form on the website — the process starts with that phone call or email, and PensionBee sends the death benefits form to you directly.
If you are administering the estate and you are not sure whether you are the right person to make contact, you can still notify PensionBee. Telling them about the death freezes the account and protects the pot while the right beneficiaries are confirmed.
Source: PensionBee, “What to do when someone dies”, verified 15 May 2026.
Expression of wishes
A PensionBee plan is a personal pension held under a trust arrangement. In practice this means the pension pot does not normally form part of the deceased’s estate and does not pass through the will. Instead, the scheme administrator decides who receives the money, taking the member’s recorded nominations into account.
Those nominations are called an expression of wishes (sometimes “nomination of beneficiaries”). PensionBee customers record them in the Account section of their online BeeHive, naming the people or charities they want to benefit and the share each should receive. An expression of wishes is not legally binding — the provider is not obliged to follow it — but a clearly recorded, up-to-date nomination is the single strongest piece of guidance the administrator has, and it normally makes the claim straightforward.
If the person who died left an expression of wishes, tell PensionBee about it as soon as you make contact. Where a beneficiary has been named, the process usually runs smoothly, although the beneficiary will still have to prove their identity before any money is paid.
If you are not certain whether the deceased completed a nomination, ask PensionBee directly when you call. They hold the record and can confirm what is on file. This matters because the pension can be the largest single asset someone leaves, and because it sits outside the will, the people named in the will may not be the people who receive it.
Source: PensionBee, “Pension beneficiaries”, and “What happens to your pension when you die”, verified 15 May 2026.
What happens to the pension pot
How the pot is paid out, and how it is taxed, depends mainly on the age the person was when they died.
Death before age 75. If the person died before their 75th birthday, beneficiaries can normally take the pension free of income tax, provided the claim is made within two years of PensionBee being notified of the death. After that two-year window, income tax may apply.
Death at or after age 75. If the person died at 75 or older, beneficiaries pay income tax at their own marginal rate on whatever they take from the pension. Taking a large lump sum in one tax year can push a beneficiary into a higher tax band, so it is worth taking advice before deciding how to draw the money.
Beneficiaries usually have a choice about how to receive the money. PensionBee describes the main options as:
- A one-off lump sum
- Keeping the money invested and taking it as drawdown income over time
- Buying an annuity, subject to certain restrictions
The tax treatment above (pre- or post-75) applies whichever option a beneficiary picks.
If no expression of wishes exists, PensionBee’s scheme administrator decides who should receive the money. They will look at the deceased’s circumstances — surviving spouse or civil partner, children, financial dependants, and the will — and reach a decision. This can take longer than a case with a clear, recorded nomination, which is why keeping an expression of wishes current matters so much.
Source: PensionBee, “What happens to your pension when you die”, verified 15 May 2026.
The April 2027 inheritance tax change
This is the most significant recent change for anyone inheriting a pension, so it is worth reading carefully.
The position until 5 April 2027. Unused pension pots, including PensionBee plans, fall outside the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax. Beneficiaries inherit the pension without it being added to the estate’s value, so it is not subject to the 40% inheritance tax that can apply above the nil-rate band.
The position from 6 April 2027. Most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be brought within the value of the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax purposes. This change was confirmed in the Finance Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. From that date, a PensionBee pot left behind may add to the estate’s total and could be taxed at the inheritance tax rate where the estate exceeds the available thresholds.
Some important exemptions remain after April 2027:
- Death benefits paid to a surviving spouse or civil partner stay exempt from inheritance tax (the normal spouse exemption applies)
- Death-in-service benefits from a registered pension scheme are excluded
- Charity lump sum death benefits are excluded
Under the new rules, the personal representatives of the estate — the executors or administrators — become responsible for reporting and paying any inheritance tax due on unused pension funds. There will be a mechanism allowing personal representatives to direct the pension scheme administrator to pay the inheritance tax due directly from the pot in limited circumstances.
HMRC estimates that of around 213,000 estates with inheritable pension wealth in 2027–28, roughly 10,500 will face an inheritance tax bill they would not have had before, and around 38,500 will pay more than they would have done.
Practical step. If the person you are helping is still alive and has a PensionBee plan, this is a strong reason to review their expression of wishes now and take regulated financial advice before April 2027. Leaving a pot to a spouse or civil partner, for example, keeps the spouse exemption in play. For the official detail, see the GOV.UK guidance on inheritance tax on unused pension funds and death benefits and the HMRC technical note on inheritance tax on pensions. Our own guide to inheritance tax explains the thresholds in more detail.
Source: GOV.UK, “Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits”; Finance Act 2026 (Royal Assent 18 March 2026), verified 15 May 2026.
Does PensionBee require probate?
PensionBee does not publish a specific probate threshold for pension death benefits, and because a PensionBee pension is held under trust and sits outside the estate, a grant of probate is often not needed for the pension itself. The administrator’s process is built around the death certificate, the expression of wishes and identity checks rather than probate.
That said, PensionBee’s own documents list a “letter of administration” among the items they may ask for, so probate paperwork can be requested depending on the circumstances of the estate. The honest position is that this varies case by case. Do not assume either way — ask PensionBee directly when you call what they need for this specific plan.
If you also need to deal with other assets that do require probate, our guide on whether you need probate explains when it is required and how to apply.
Source: PensionBee, “What to do when someone dies”, verified 15 May 2026.
How long it takes
PensionBee does not publish a fixed turnaround time. From their described process, expect roughly this sequence: you notify them by phone or email, they send you the death benefits form, you return it with the death certificate and any other documents, and a Compliance Manager then reviews the claim before confirming the next steps.
In practice, a claim with a clear expression of wishes and a beneficiary whose identity is easy to verify can move through in a few weeks once all documents are received. Cases without a recorded nomination, or where the administrator must investigate who should benefit, take longer. The two-year window for tax-free treatment on a pre-75 death runs from when PensionBee is notified, so contacting them promptly protects that position.
Tips and things to watch out for
- One place, less chasing. PensionBee’s whole purpose is consolidation, so the deceased’s old workplace pensions may already be combined in the single PensionBee pot. That is one notification rather than many.
- But check for pensions left behind. Consolidation is voluntary and may be incomplete. If the person had old jobs whose pensions were never moved across, use the free government Pension Tracing Service to find them.
- Digital-first means phone or email only. There is no branch and no public self-service bereavement form. Start with the phone number above and have the deceased’s full name, date of birth and address ready.
- The pension bypasses the will. Because the pot sits under a trust, the expression of wishes — not the will — usually decides who receives it. Tell PensionBee straight away if a nomination exists.
- Tell Us Once does not cover private pension providers. The government’s Tell Us Once service notifies many public bodies, but you must contact PensionBee yourself.
- Mind the April 2027 change. If you are planning ahead rather than dealing with a recent death, review the expression of wishes before pension pots enter the inheritance tax estate.
You may also find our guides to other investment and pension platforms useful, including Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity and Standard Life, and our overview of what happens to pensions when someone dies.
Summary
To claim a PensionBee pension after a death, call 020 3457 8444 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am–5pm) or email engagement@pensionbee.com. Have the deceased’s full legal name, date of birth and registered address ready, then send the death certificate and the death benefits form PensionBee provides. If the person left an expression of wishes, mention it immediately — it normally makes the claim straightforward. Remember that from 6 April 2027 unused pension pots count towards the estate for inheritance tax, so anyone planning ahead should review their nominations and take advice before then.
Return to the what to do when someone dies hub for more step-by-step guides.