Death in service

A cohabiting partner is described in the regulations as a partner you are living with who, at the time of your death, has met all of the conditions for a continuous period for at least two years.

The conditions are:

• The member and their cohabiting partner are, and have been, free to marry each other or enter into a civil partnership with each other.
• The member and their cohabiting partner have been living together as if they were a married couple, or civil partners.
• Neither the member or their cohabiting partner have been living with someone else as if they were a married couple or civil partners.
• Either the member or their cohabiting partner is, and has been, financially dependent on the member or they are, and have been, financially interdependent on each other.
• The cohabiting partner will be asked to provide documents such as utility bills to confirm eligabilty.

An ‘eligible child’ is defined under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations as:

1. The natural child of the member – please ask for the long birth certificate in order to verify the child’s parentage and their date of birth.
2. The adopted child of the member – please ask for the adoption certificate as well as the birth certificate.
3. The ‘step-child’ or ‘child accepted by the deceased as a member of the family’ and was dependent* on the member at the time of their death – please ask for evidence that the member financially supported the child’s upbringing, such as documents showing the child lived at the same address as the member (eg letter from school/doctor) and any other evidence that the child was financially dependent on the member (eg bank statements showing that the member contributed to the household bills at the address the child lived at). If the child lived at a different address, you should ask for any evidence to show that the member financially supported the child.

* Dependent is described in the regulations as a person who, at the date of the member’s death, is financially dependent on the member or whose financial relationship with the member was one of mutual dependence. It can also be a person who was dependent on the member due to physical or mental impairment. There are further notes for guidance on the P74d form.

If an employee dies whilst still an active member, a minimum death grant of three times their pay (or assumed pensionable pay) may be payable, no matter how long they have been in the Scheme.

If the member had multiple periods of membership with GMPF or any other LGPS benefits that were on hold or in payment, further information would be needed to determine which death grant is payable and the amount to be paid. The Local Government Association (LGA) Bulletin 128a provides further information on this area. 

Once the death in service documents have been provided to us, we will gather information about any potential eligible beneficiaries at the time of death. We will write directly to all parties concerned.

Tameside MBC (as an administering authority via the Pension Fund Management Panel) have absolute discretion to pay the death grant to, or for the benefit of, the member’s expression of wish, personal representatives, or any person appearing to the authority to have been a relative or dependent of the member.

We ask that you:

• do not confirm to any potentially eligible beneficiary that they will receive a lump sum death grant payment
• inform those you have had contact with that GMPF will assess the eligibility of each party and then will contact them directly
• do not disclose details of the members expression of wish to other parties or give any timescales as this can sometimes be a lengthy process.

GMPF has two years from the date of notification of death, even if this was verbal, to exercise our discretion and pay the death grant. If we are unable to pay it within that time, tax charges of 45 per cent will apply. As such, any delay in providing the paperwork or answering our queries could have an adverse financial impact on the family and/or beneficiaries.