private pension - what does spouse receive on death of partner

[bbound]

Hi,

Spouse does not have a pension, just me. If I die before spouse, then what does she receive from my pension pot? Is it the full amount or a percentage? And does it differ for occupational pensions and pensions from uk employment?
thanks

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I’ve no idea how a UK pension would be treated.

For an Irish occupational scheme, it depends whether the person dies while in service or not. If they’ve left employment, it’s paid out tax-free to the spouse. If they’re in service, four times final remuneration is paid out tax-free plus the value of whatever the individual paid in himself/herself, with the balance used to buy and annuity.

 

[Conan]

it all depends on the rules of your particular scheme.
If you are a member of an Occupational Pension and if you die in service, then generally a lump sum (Life Assurance) amount is paid out. How much that might be again will vary from scheme to scheme. Typically a multiple of salary (up to say 4x Salary).
If you die having already retired, then any benefit payable to a spouse will depend on a number of factors:
- if you retired from a Defined Benefit scheme, it might (or might not) make provision for the pension to continue to be paid to your spouse at say a 50% level.
- if you retired from a Defined Contribution scheme, then it depends on what you did with the residual fund - ie whether you bought an Annuity or invested into an ARF.
If you detail what type of scheme you have (and are you still working or retired) I can expand on the answer.