If you die as an active member of the Cornwall Pension Fund (CPF), the scheme provides protection for your family.
Depending on your circumstances the following may be payable:
- A lump sum death grant
- A widow's, widower's, cohabiting or civil partners pension
- Children's pension
In order to ensure your family are protected it is essential that you have completed the relevant form:
- Expression of wish for lump sum death benefits form
- Nomination of cohabiting partner for survivors pension form
Before completing the nomination of cohabiting partner for survivors pension form, please read the notes on the reverse of the form, as it only applies to certain individuals.
Please note: If your circumstances change, for example if you get married or enter into a civil partnership you will need to complete a new form.
Find out more details about the different payments by clicking on the titles.
If you die as a contributing member of the scheme, a lump sum of 3 x your actual pay is payable, regardless of your length of service in the scheme.
Although it is very important to ensure that your expression of wish form is up to date, the Fund has the ultimate discretion over who a lump sum is made payable to. Therefore the lump sum will not form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.
If you were to die whilst in service an ongoing pension is provided for your:
- spouse or,
- registered civil partner or,
- subject to certain qualifying conditions, your eligible cohabiting partner.
This pension is:
- payable immediately after your death
- payable for the rest of their life
- will increase every year in line with the cost of living.
The pension benefits payable are generally calculated as below:
For your spouse (from an opposite sex or same sex marriage) or civil partners pension
Your membership from 1st April 2014
- 1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionable pay you received in each year
- plus a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your pension account plus,
- an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death to your Normal Pension Age.
Your membership up to 31st March 2014
-
1/160th of your final pay X the period of your membership up to 31st March 2014
For your eligible cohabiting partner
Your membership from 1st April 2014
-
1/160th of the pensionable pay or assumed pensionsable pay you received in each year plus,
-
a proportion of any transfer of pension rights credited to your account plus,
-
an enhancement equal to 1/160th of your assumed pensionable pay for each year of membership you would have built up from your date of death if your Normal Pension Age.
Your membership up to 31st March 2014
-
1/160th of your final pay X the period of your membership from 6th April 1988 up to 31st March 2014, plus
-
any membership before 6th April 1988 if you elected to pay additional contributions to make it count.
An election to pay to additional contributions to make membership before 6 April 1988 count towards the calculation of cohabiting partner's pension must have been made before 1st April 2014.
For a cohabiting partner to be entitled to receive a survivor's pension your relationship has to meet certain conditions laid down by the LGPS. For information about these conditions and for further information on death in service benefits, visit the LGPS members website.
If you die as an active member of the Cornwall Pension Fund, the scheme provides protection for your family including a pension for eligible children.
Eligible children are:
- Under the age of 18
- Under the age of 23 and in full time education or in training for a trade, profession or vocation
- The child must not have left education at any point in order to be eligible. However, in some cases the Pensions Section may ignore a break in education
- A dependant child of any age who is disabled
- In all cases children must have been born within a year after your death
What will eligible children receive?
This depends on how many children you have:
- If a survivors pension is being paid to your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner, a child would receive 1/320th of your pensionable pay multiplied by the total membership you would have built up to your normal pension age. If there is more than 1 child the benefits would be shared equally between them.
- If a survivors pension is not being paid, one child would receive 1/240th of your pensionable pay multiplied by the total membership you would have built up to your normal pension age. If there was more than 1 child, the benefits would be shared equally between them.