Death benefits

If you have at least two years' pensionable service in the firefighters’ pension scheme 1992, a survivor's pension will be paid to your husband, wife, or civil partner when you die, as long as you are not living separately. 

Calculations:

• If you are already receiving your pension: half of the pension, as calculated before any reduction was made for taking a lump sum and/or allocation;
• If you have not started to receive your pension (known as a deferred pension): half of the pension.

If the member had worked part-time, this would be taken into account when the survivor's pension is worked out.

Pensions are not paid to unmarried partners.

Payment of the pension would stop if the survivor got remarried or entered a civil partnership. Except where this took place after 1 April 2015 and the death of the member was caused by an injury on duty or they were travelling to or from work.

The pension may be reinstated at the fire and rescue authority’s discretion if the new marriage or civil partnership ends due to death of the other party.

As well as the survivor's pension, a bereavement pension may also be payable.

Worth knowing…
The survivor pension may be less than half if:

• You were a firefighter with service before April 1972; or
• the member is living apart from their survivor at the date of death; or
• the marriage or civil partnership takes place after retirement. 

Your administrator will be able to give you further details.

 

If a member of the firefighters’ pension scheme 1992 dies (after retirement), a pension will be paid to an eligible child.

If you are also building up benefits in firefighters’ pension scheme 2015, death benefits would also be payable from that section. You can find out more in the 2015 death benefits section.

Within the rules of the scheme, ‘child’ means a legitimate or illegitimate child, a step-child or adopted child of the member, and any other child substantially dependent on the member who is either related to them or a child of their husband, wife, or civil partner.

A child will normally not be eligible if they:

• are age 18 or older;
• have ceased full-time education and are in paid employment; or
• have married or entered into a civil partnership.

However, a child aged 18 or over will be eligible if:

• they are under age 23 and in full-time education or attending a course which lasts for at least a year, or
• they were dependent on the (former) firefighter at date of death because of permanent disablement.

The amount of a child's pension due would depend upon the number of eligible children and whether or not the child or children have a surviving parent.

This is a provision dating back to when scheme rules did not offer the current level of dependants' awards. In most circumstances nowadays, the husband, wife, civil partner, or child of the member will be entitled to an award under the main provisions of firefighters’ pension scheme 1992.

The dependent relative’s gratuity is paid at the discretion of the fire and rescue authority. It can only be paid to a relative who was substantially dependent on the member at the date of death and who is not entitled to any other award under the scheme. For this rule, relative means a husband or wife, civil partner, parent, grandparent, child of the member or any child of these relatives.

The award can be of any amount as long as the total does not exceed the total contributions paid into the scheme by the member.