Your dependant will receive a pension of up to two-thirds of the pension you are receiving. The dependant’s pension is payable from the day after your death and is paid throughout the dependant’s life. Please read 'Death notification and how benefits are paid' below.

Different benefits apply to former Gas Scheme members. Please click here for more information.

The child’s pension is one quarter of the dependant’s pension for each child for up to four children. If you leave more than four children, the dependant's pension will be divided between the number of eligible children.

Different benefits apply to former Gas Scheme members. Please click here for more information.

If you die within five years of retirement, the lump sum will be calculated using your pension at the time you die and the balance of a five-year period from your retirement.

Lump sums are held under discretionary trusts for distribution by the NGE Group Trustee to members’ beneficiaries. Lump sums paid under discretionary trusts are currently not counted as part of your estate for inheritance tax or probate purposes. 

In order to assist the NGE Group Trustee, you are encouraged to complete an expression of wish form (available in the library below). In the event of your death, the NGE Group Trustee will normally distribute the lump sum in accordance with your wishes. However, the NGE Group Trustee is not legally bound to pay the lump sum to a nominated beneficiary and will take account of your circumstances at the time. It is important, therefore, that you keep your expression of wish up to date.

If you die five or more years after retirement, no lump sum is payable.

Please read 'Death notification and how benefits are paid' below. 

If you retired early and were granted an ill-health pension, you can find more information here. 

The following explains the process for what happens after a pensioner member’s death and how the payment of any death benefits due is made.

The benefits payable

After a pensioner member dies, there’s usually provision for the payment of a pension to an adult dependant and the member’s children. For pensioner members who die within five years of retiring, there may also be a lump sum payment. Once Broadstone is notified of a member’s death they will set up any dependant’s and children’s pensions payable and organise payment of any lump sum due. It’s important to inform them of a pensioner member’s death as soon as possible so that they can make these payments without undue delay.

The dependant’s pension

If you’re married or in a civil partnership at the date of your death, your legal spouse or civil partner will automatically receive the dependant’s pension (even if you are separated).

If you’re not married or don’t have a surviving spouse or civil partner, it may be possible for the Group Trustee to pay a pension to one or more people who were dependent on you. Please complete a Nomination form to notify the Group Trustee of any dependant(s) you may have. If you're a former Gas Scheme member, please complete this Nomination form.

Payment of the dependant’s pension

To set up the dependant’s pension following a member’s death, Broadstone will need some information from the next of kin (or person notifying them of the death). This is to establish what’s payable and to whom this should be paid.

Broadstone will require copies of the following documents (these will need to be provided as original or certified copies):

• The full death certificate
• The spouse or dependant’s birth certificate
• Their marriage certificate, if applicable
• Bank account details for future dependant pension payments.

When a pensioner member dies, their monthly payments will cease from the date they died. If a dependant’s pension is payable, this will be set up as soon as possible once Broadstone has received and processed the required information. The dependant’s pension is paid from the day after the member’s death, throughout their life.

Dependants’ pensions are paid in the same way as pensioners’ payments and on the same date, i.e., by Broadstone on the 24th of each month unless the 24th falls on a weekend or bank holiday, in which case the pension will be paid earlier. Dependants’ pensions are subject to annual increases in the same way as pensioners, e.g., based on the percentage RPI in September each year, capped at 5% subject to Company discretion, and applied from 1 April.

It’s important to let Broadstone know quickly if a pensioner or dependant dies, as any overpayments of pension to the deceased will need to be repaid by the estate or next of kin.

Payment of the lump sum

A lump sum may also be payable by the Group Trustee to the late pensioner member’s spouse, civil partner, children, relatives or other nominated beneficiary. Payment is made at the discretion of the Group Trustee, who will take into account the person or people nominated on the deceased member’s Expression of Wish form. This means the lump sum can be paid without delay.

The lump sum is currently exempt from inheritance tax; however, the government has announced plans to make certain pension scheme lump sums subject to inheritance tax from 6 April 2027. How this will work in practice is still being established, and we’ll update the website once more is known.

Pensioner members who are within five years of retirement should review their nominations regularly to ensure they remain up to date and complete a new form – available on PenNet – if they wish to update their nomination at any time. Expression of Wish forms can also be downloaded from the Library / Forms on the Group website and should be completed and returned to Broadstone.