We’re so sorry that you’re going through a loss. Call us on 0333 091 8612 and we’ll talk you through the process, step by step.

What to expect when you call us

We’ll ask for the deceased person’s details

We’ll ask for the full name, date of birth and National Insurance number of the person who has died – so it’s worth getting these together before you call. You’ll find their National Insurance number on a payslip or P60, or on letters or emails from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). It’s in this format: QQ 12 34 56 Y.

We’ll ask who’s dealing with their affairs

If this is you, we’ll ask you to send evidence of your identity.

If it’s someone else, please give us their contact details.

We’ll need information about the deceased person’s family and dependants

To pay money from the deceased from the person’s now:pensions account, we’ll need information about their family and dependants.

We’ll make this easier by sending you a form setting out exactly what we need. Once we’ve got the form back, we’ll check the information. This can take a couple of weeks.

We’ll work out who the money should go to

This can take a few weeks, depending on the information we’ve got.

The now:pensions Trustee has the final say over who gets this money. Under the current rules, this means it can be paid without inheritance tax (although this is expected to change from 6 April 2027). The Trustee will usually take into account any instructions the person left about who to pay the money to.

If we find you should get some or all the money

We’ll ask you to send evidence of your identity if you haven’t already.

We’ll also need bank details so we can pay the money. We’ll make all this easier by sending you a form setting out exactly what we need from you.

This can take up to a couple of months, depending on the information we’ve already got and what we need. 

Will you have to pay tax on the money?

If it’s been two years since the date we were told about the person’s death their pension savings will be taxed according to HM Revenue & Customs rules. There’s no tax to pay if we manage to pay out the money less than two years after the person’s death.

Are there any other time limits?

If we haven’t paid all the money from the now:pensions account within six years of the date of the person’s death, the now:pensions rules say we can’t make any more payments.

What about State Pension?

If the person who has died was getting a State Pension, you’ll need to tell the Pension Service they’ve died. Call the helpline on 0800 731 0469.

Log in to now:u and go to Pass it on.  

You’ll be asked to put in details for the people you want to pass your savings on to.  They don’t have to be people – you can also pass money on to organisations, such as charities.  

If you’ve got more than one person or organisation, you’ll also need to say what percentage of your pension savings you want them to have. Please make sure your percentages add up to 100%.  

Keeping up to date 

Once you’ve named who you want to pass your pension savings on to, please keep it up to date. Things like marriage, divorce, having children, bereavement – these can all change who you want your pension savings to go to.  

Every three years you’ll get a reminder to log in to now:u and check you’re still happy with the people or organisations you’ve named. If you don’t change anything, you’ll be asked to confirm your wishes haven’t changed. This is because the more up to date your information is, the more certain the Trustee can be that these are your final wishes.   

Who decides where the money goes?   

The now:pensions Trustee has the final say over where the money goes, although they’ll usually follow your wishes.  

This means your pension savings can be paid without inheritance tax, because they aren’t treated as part of your estate – the money and belongings you leave when you die. 

This changes from 6 April 2027, when pension savings left over when you die will be included when working out inheritance tax, although we don’t have finalised legislation yet.

Every three years. But don’t worry, you’ll get a reminder to log in to now:u and check you’re still happy with the people or organisations you’ve named.

If you don’t change anything, you’ll be asked to confirm your wishes haven’t changed. This is because the more up-to-date your information is, the more certain the Trustee can be that these are your final wishes.  

If you’ve previously sent us an expression of wish form to say who you want to get your pension savings if you die, we will still have a copy of the paper form, which we’ll still use. But it won’t show up in now:u.

So, we suggest you put the people or organisations you want to get your pension savings in to now:u. Log in to now:u, go to Pass it on and follow the instructions. Doing this will replace any expression of wish forms you’ve sent in before.

We’re asking everyone to update who they want to pass their pension savings on to more often. So every three years you’ll get a reminder to check who you’ve named.

The Trustee has the final say over who gets the money, so your pension savings can be paid without inheritance tax. (This changes from 6 April 2027, when pension savings left over when you die will be included when working out inheritance tax – although we don’t have finalised legislation yet.) It’s easier for the Trustee to decide if they know what you wanted. The more up to date your instructions are, the better.

To find out more, go to How do you pass your pension savings on to dependants?

Yes. The more up-to-date your information is, the more certain the Trustee can be that these are your final wishes. 

This is why, every three years, you’ll get a reminder to log in to now:u and check you’re still happy with the people you’ve named to get your pension savings.

If you don’t change anything, you’ll be asked to confirm your wishes haven’t changed.

Remember, the Trustee currently has the final say on who benefits get paid to. This is due to change from 6 April 2027, when pension savings left over when you die will be included when working out inheritance tax, although we don’t have finalised legislation yet.