What happens to your pension if you die intestate?

Dying intestate means dying without a will. In the U.K., only 25% of the population have written a will, which means that there are family members and good causes who won’t benefit from the assets that you leave behind.

However, your pension isn’t covered by your will, so as well as making sure that you have an up-to-date will, you need to deal with your pension separately.

Very few people know your pension isn’t legally part of your estate (what money and other assets you leave behind at death).

Each pension scheme has its own guidelines around how you can nominate beneficiaries (the people that you’d like to receive your estate). You will need to contact your scheme administrators, trustees or the financial advisor that you have bought the pension through in order to make this official.

Most pension schemes are run under discretionary guidelines, so that if you die without leaving an expression of wishes, they may not be obliged to pay anything to the beneficiaries named in your will. Even when you have named beneficiaries, any payout is entirely at the discretion of the Trustees. Also, you can only leave your pension to your family if there is still money in the pot that hasn’t been used to buy an annuity.

Even if you don’t have any direct beneficiaries, the best way to retain control of what happens to your money when you die, is to write a will. If you don’t want your money to go to the Royal Family or the taxman, make sure that you prepare a will. With pensions, if you don’t do anything, sometimes the Trustees will pay your pot to whoever is looking after your affairs when you die. This could be a solicitor’s firm or a relative who has the relevant paperwork. 

At Grafton Genealogy and Grafton Asset Research, we can trace heirs both within the U.K. and internationally. In this way, when heirs are found, the Treasury and The Crown won’t have any legal claim to the estate, and this is upheld by U.K. law. We will also ensure that we provide beneficiaries with all the relevant paperwork for any pensions that you have remaining.