Death benefits/death in service

[Hadi100]

Hello
My father was a regular user of this forum so I thought somebody here may be able to help me.
He sadly passed away a few weeks ago before taking any of his pensions and employed by RM (he has been in 3 - one pre 2012, one 2012 -24 and the collective since 2024).
I recieved a letter from his collective plan to say as there were no financial dependants, there is no payment due. Will there be a death in service from the 2012 - 2024 pension due as the benefits are retained?
I think its criminal that hes been such a long serving member of RM for over 25 years and all of his hard earned pension money has been swallowed up into this collective plan - how can this be reasonable?
I have contacted the pension providers but they say they will call me back in 48 hours and never do. Ive also contacted RM HR dept and his union rep for clarification who are yet to respond. Its all so confusing, made worse that hes not here to ask

[Hitcher]

Sorry for your loss.

Have you contacted, or heard from, either the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) or the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS)?
Both of these schemes will pay out even if your father never nominated one.

[RobertT]

I'm very sorry for your loss.
It's a difficult time and having to deal with these things must be very hard.

My understanding is that all death benefits with the Collective Plan(RMCPP), are only payable to spouses, civil partners and dependent children.

But with the RMSPS(upto 2012) and RMPP(2012-2024), the pension and death in service payments are treated separately.

While the same rules as above can apply to the pension elements of the RMSPS and RMPP, the death in service lump sum and Cash Balance can still be paid out even if there is no spouse or dependent children.
With the caveat that if the nomination forms were filled in by your father, it will make the process easier.

There will be separate forms for both pension and lump sum, from both RMSPS and RMPP. So 4 in total.
They and therefore the terms that apply to them, are available to view on the RMSPS and RMPP websites:

https://www.royalmailsps.co.uk/support/useful-documents
https://www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk/ ... e=14&text=

I hope everything works out ok for you.

[Hadi100]

Thanks both.
I have filled out forms for all 3, with the collective plan only coming back to say no death benefits are paid because of no dependants.

I understand an ongoing pension is only available to spouse/dependants and its not even really about the money, its about all the things he missed because all he did was work and at the moment looks like there is nothing to show. He deserved more and nobody seems to be very helpful or transparent.

I will have a look at the links provided, I just find all the terminology confusing and I wish he was here to help me. Thanks again.

[RobertT]

I would say, don't worry too much about not hearing from the RMSPS and RMPP as quickly as the RMCPP, as the customer service from both of them is notoriously bad.
But if you don't hear back within a reasonable amount of time, keep hounding them or even consider a formal complaint.

Try and read the various websites to familiarise yourself with how they schemes work and what benefits are paid out, when and to who.

I would particularly direct you to the RMCPP Handbook(on their website), where it says “death in service payments are paid from the RMSPS and RMPP first” – page 55.

Also the Cash Balance he accrued from 2018-2024 isn't a vague promise of a pension or payment on death – it's a pot of money with his name on it! See the RMPP website for more info.

RM pensions are stupidly difficult to understand – I've heard of IFA's who haven't got a clue, let alone the average person.

The whole process will be stressful and they don't make it easier, but please do persevere.

[Hadi100]

Thanks Robert, you've been so helpful.
May I ask, if a cash balance was accrued between 2018-2024 - what happened prior to this?

I did read that on the RMCPP booklet but I was unsure if the benefits still counted in the other pensions, including a death in service as in theory he wasn't actively contributing to those any more, he had moved into the RMCPP.

I will call the RMPP tomorrow and see if I can get past the 48 hour call back thats yet to come.

[RobertT]

Thanks Robert, you've been so helpful.
May I ask, if a cash balance was accrued between 2018-2024 - what happened prior to this?

Up to 2018 the scheme was a defined benefit(DB) pension and he would have accrued an annual retirement income based on his pensionable pay and length of service.
Basically the more he earned(basic + pensionable allowances) and the longer he stayed in the job, the higher his pension would be.

Before 2008 that was based on final salary and 2008-2018 was average salary.

I did read that on the RMCPP booklet but I was unsure if the benefits still counted in the other pensions, including a death in service as in theory he wasn't actively contributing to those any more, he had moved into the RMCPP.

As far as I'm aware, as long as he was employed at the time, the death in service payment should be payable along with the full Cash Balance. Which combined should amount to quite a large sum of money.

I will call the RMPP tomorrow and see if I can get past the 48 hour call back that's yet to come.

Good luck.