Death benefits

The firefighters’ pension scheme 2006 provides valuable life cover and financial protections for your family and loved ones. These could include:

• Lump sum death grant
• Survivor's pension
• Children's pensions

Death in service
If you are also building up benefits in firefighters’ pension scheme 2015, you can read about what benefits would be paid if you were to die in service in the death benefits section. The firefighters’ pension scheme 2006 no longer provides death in service benefits, as it is closed to active members. 

If you die after your pension has started to be paid, the survivor's pension would be half the value of your pension (before any reduction for early payment, but after commutation of lump sum).

Note that if your husband, wife, civil partner, or cohabiting partner is more than 12 years younger than the member, the survivor's pension would be reduced by 2.5% for every year or part year above the 12 years, to a maximum of 50%.

A survivor's pension is payable for life, even if the survivor remarries or forms a civil partnership or a subsequent civil partnership. Also, there is no difference in treatment according to whether the marriage/partnership took place before or after the scheme member's retirement.

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

If a member of the firefighters’ pension scheme 2006 dies after retirement, a pension will be paid to an eligible child.

A child is someone who is financially dependent on the member and is their natural child, step-child or adopted child, or any other child who is either related to the member or a child of their husband, wife, civil partner or cohabiting 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 a survivor's pension is in payment.

• Following the death of a pensioner member the child's pension would be one quarter of the deceased's pension - that is the value of the pension before any reduction for early payment but after commutation of lump sum. Where there is more than one eligible child, the pension would be one half of the deceased's pension divided between the children.
• Following the death of a firefighter, or former firefighter entitled to a deferred pension which was not in payment at the date of death the child's pension would be one quarter of the deferred pension; where there is more than one eligible child, the pension would be one half of the deferred pension divided between the children.

If the deceased leaves no eligible survivor (husband, wife, civil partner, or cohabiting partner), but there is an eligible child or children, the pension paid to the child/ren would be equivalent to that which would have been paid to the survivor. If there is more than one child, the pension would be divided equally between the children.

This includes any bereavement pension payable for the first 13 weeks following death, which tops up the survivor's pension to the level of the firefighter's pensionable pay or pension (if they are already receiving benefits).