Scottish Widows is one of the UK’s largest providers of pensions, life insurance, and investments – which means the person you’ve lost may have held several different types of product with them, each with its own rules. A workplace or personal pension works differently from a life insurance policy, and an investment account works differently again.
This guide walks through how to notify Scottish Widows after a death, what documents to gather, what happens to each type of product, and the things that catch people out. It is written for families and executors handling the practical side of a bereavement in the UK.
Quick reference:
- Bereavement phone: 0345 601 4179 (Monday–Friday, standard business hours)
- Postal address: The Bereavement Team, PO Box 28015, 15 Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh EH16 5WL
- Online claim form: scottishwidows.co.uk bereavement claim form
- Part of Lloyds Banking Group – one notification to Lloyds or Halifax may cover Scottish Widows automatically
What Scottish Widows products may be affected
Scottish Widows is part of Lloyds Banking Group and covers a wide range of financial products. Understanding which type the deceased held is the first practical step, because each product is handled differently at death.
| Product type | What happens at death |
|---|---|
| Workplace or personal pension | Paid at trustees’ discretion to nominated beneficiaries – generally outside the estate |
| Life insurance | Lump sum to named beneficiaries or estate; trust status determines speed and tax |
| Critical illness cover | Policy typically ends at death if no separate life cover element |
| Annuity | Depends on policy terms – may stop at death or continue to a dependant |
| Stocks and shares ISA / investments | Passes to estate; probate required above £150,000 |
If you are not sure what the deceased held, Scottish Widows can search their records using the deceased’s name, date of birth, and address. Ask when you call.
Other companies in the Lloyds Banking Group – including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Clerical Medical, and St Andrew’s Life – may also hold separate accounts. Scottish Widows can request permission to share information across group companies, which can help you close everything in fewer steps.
How to notify Scottish Widows of a death
There are three ways to make the initial notification.
By phone – Call 0345 601 4179 to reach the Scottish Widows bereavement team. This is the same number for pensions, life insurance, and investment products. Have the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death to hand. You do not need every document before you call – Scottish Widows will log the notification and explain next steps.
Online – An online bereavement claim form is available at scottishwidows.co.uk. This allows you to begin the process at your own pace and is particularly useful if you are dealing with multiple organisations at once.
By post – Write to: The Bereavement Team, PO Box 28015, 15 Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh EH16 5WL. Include a certified copy of the death certificate (not the original), plus policy or reference numbers if you have them.
What to have ready when you contact them
For the initial contact, you will need:
- The deceased’s full name, usual address, and date of birth
- The date of death
- A policy or membership number (if available – from any correspondence, annual statements, or welcome letters)
- Your own name, phone number, and relationship to the deceased
- Next of kin details
If the deceased held accounts with other Lloyds Banking Group companies, Scottish Widows may ask permission to share information with them so those accounts can also be updated.
What happens to a pension
For a dedicated step-by-step guide covering Scottish Widows pension products specifically – workplace pensions, personal pensions, SIPPs, and annuities – see our Scottish Widows pension bereavement guide. The sections below give an overview.
Pensions are the area that creates the most uncertainty for families, and where the rules are most different from what most people expect.
Pensions sit outside the estate
A Scottish Widows pension – workplace or personal – does not automatically form part of the deceased’s estate. Scottish Widows, acting as pension trustees, has discretion over who receives the death benefits. This means the pension will not go through probate in the normal sense, and it may not follow the terms of the will.
The trustees exercise their discretion based on an expression of wishes form the deceased may have completed. This form – sometimes called a nomination form or beneficiary nomination – tells the trustees who the deceased wanted to receive the money. It is not legally binding, but Scottish Widows gives it significant weight. If one was completed, it speeds up payment considerably.
Source: Scottish Widows platform – expression of wishes guidance
If no expression of wishes form is on file, the trustees must investigate who might be appropriate beneficiaries – spouse, civil partner, dependants, and others close to the deceased. This takes longer. If you can find any pension-related paperwork, correspondence from a financial adviser, or any documents the deceased completed, share these with Scottish Widows when you contact them.
Tax rules for pension death benefits
The tax treatment of pension death benefits depends on the age of the deceased at death:
- If the deceased was under 75 – lump sum death benefits paid to a nominated beneficiary are generally free of income tax, provided they are paid within two years of Scottish Widows being notified. This is a significant reason not to delay making contact.
- If the deceased was 75 or older – death benefits are paid to beneficiaries and taxed at their marginal income tax rate.
The pension death benefit is generally outside the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax purposes under current HMRC rules. However, from April 2027, the government has announced plans to include most pension death benefits in estate calculations for inheritance tax. If the estate is likely to exceed the nil-rate band (currently £325,000), it is worth taking financial advice before that change takes effect. Source: gov.uk – pensions and inheritance tax consultation
For a broader overview of how pensions are treated after death, see what happens to a pension when someone dies.
Death in service benefits
If the deceased was still employed and their workplace pension was administered by Scottish Widows, there may also be a death in service benefit – a separate lump sum paid by the employer’s pension scheme. Contact the deceased’s employer’s HR department for this, as it is a separate claim from any Scottish Widows pension fund.
If the deceased worked in the NHS, the death benefit will come from the NHS Pension Scheme rather than Scottish Widows – see how to notify NHS Pensions when someone dies for the separate notification process and the 1995, 2008, and 2015 section rules.
What happens to life insurance
When someone with a Scottish Widows life insurance policy dies, the policy pays a lump sum. How quickly that money arrives – and whether it goes through probate – depends on whether the policy was placed in a trust.
If the policy was in trust: The payout goes directly to the trustees and can be distributed to beneficiaries without going through probate. This is faster and the money sits outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes. Check any policy documents or financial adviser correspondence for a trust deed.
If the policy was not in trust: The payout forms part of the estate. If the total value of the life insurance payout plus other non-pension assets is above £150,000, Scottish Widows will ask for grant of probate (or letters of administration if there is no will) before releasing the funds.
Scottish Widows’ probate threshold is £150,000 – raised from £50,000 in July 2023. This means many claimants can now receive a payout without waiting for the probate process to complete. For applications handled by a solicitor, the threshold is £175,000. Source: Health & Protection – Scottish Widows increases probate threshold, July 2023.
To start a life insurance claim, call 0345 601 4179 or use the online form. Scottish Widows will ask for the death certificate and policy number, and may request additional information depending on the circumstances of the claim.
For a broader overview of the life insurance claim process, see what happens to life insurance when someone dies.
What happens to investments and ISAs
Investment accounts and stocks and shares ISAs held with Scottish Widows form part of the estate and are dealt with through the estate administration process.
For holdings under £150,000, Scottish Widows may be able to release funds without requiring a full grant of probate. For holdings over £150,000, a grant of probate (or letters of administration if there is no will) will be required. In Scotland, this is a certificate of confirmation from the Sheriff Court.
If the deceased had a stocks and shares ISA, the surviving spouse or civil partner may be entitled to an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) – an extra ISA allowance equal to the value of the deceased’s ISA. This must be claimed within three years of the date of death, or 180 days after estate administration completes, whichever is later. Source: gov.uk – ISAs on death
Documents you’ll need
| Document | When needed |
|---|---|
| Death certificate (certified copy) | Always – for every product type |
| Policy or membership number | Helpful but not required to start |
| Your ID and proof of relationship | Required to process the claim |
| Expression of wishes / nomination form | For pension claims – speeds up payment significantly |
| Grant of probate or letters of administration | Life insurance / investments over £150,000 (not in trust) |
| Trust deed | If life insurance was written in trust |
| Will | Helpful for investment and estate administration |
It is worth ordering several certified copies of the death certificate when you register the death, as each financial institution will need one. In England and Wales, certified copies cost £11 each from the register office – see gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate. In Scotland the cost is £8.
How long does it take?
| Product | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Life insurance (policy in trust) | Faster – no probate required; Scottish Widows will advise on specific timing |
| Life insurance (not in trust, under £150,000) | Several weeks once documents received |
| Life insurance (not in trust, over £150,000) | Depends on probate – typically 16+ weeks from grant |
| Pension death benefits | 4–8 weeks once all documents received; longer if no expression of wishes on file |
| Investment accounts (under £150,000) | Several weeks once documents received |
| Investment accounts (over £150,000) | Depends on probate timeline |
Source: Farra bereavement guide and Scottish Widows bereavement team information, verified April 2026.
The most common cause of delay is incomplete documentation. Providing the death certificate and any expression of wishes paperwork as early as possible avoids unnecessary back-and-forth. Scottish Widows will contact you if they need anything further.
Things to watch out for
Check for an expression of wishes form. For pension claims, this is the single most important document. If the deceased had a financial adviser, the adviser may hold a copy. Check any pension statements, welcome letters, or online pension account – many providers allow you to update this electronically. Without it, the trustees must make their own enquiries and the process takes longer.
The two-year tax-free window for pensions. If the deceased was under 75, pension death benefits are generally tax-free if paid to a nominated beneficiary within two years of notification. This is a strong reason to contact Scottish Widows promptly.
Group notification may cover multiple entities. Scottish Widows is part of Lloyds Banking Group. If you notify Lloyds or Halifax first, they may update Scottish Widows as part of the same notification – ask the bereavement team to confirm which group entities have been covered. Do not assume this has happened without checking.
Direct debits may continue after death. Premiums on life insurance policies or pension contributions may continue to be collected from the deceased’s bank account after death if notification is delayed. Contact Scottish Widows and the deceased’s bank promptly.
Not all policies are in trust. Many people assume their life insurance payout will skip probate, but unless a trust deed was completed at the time the policy was taken out, the payout forms part of the estate. Check any paperwork carefully.
You do not need everything before you call. Scottish Widows can log the notification and advise on next steps with just the basic details. Documents can follow. There is no reason to wait.
Sources
- Scottish Widows bereavement contact information – verified via Life Ledger and Settld, April 2026
- Scottish Widows probate threshold increase – Health & Protection, July 2023
- Expression of wishes guidance – Scottish Widows Platform glossary
- Pension death benefit tax rules – gov.uk – tax on a private pension you inherit
- ISA rules on death – gov.uk – ISAs: if you die
- Probate application – gov.uk/applying-for-probate
If the deceased held accounts with other Lloyds Banking Group companies, see our guides to notifying Lloyds and notifying Halifax.
If the deceased held a SIPP, ISA, or investment account through Hargreaves Lansdown, see our guide to notifying Hargreaves Lansdown when someone dies.