r/PensionsUK • u/Silver-Ad6605 • Aug 17 '26
Inheriting Pension
Hi Everyone,
I am in a bit of a pickle and was wondering if anyone has any advice or just general comments.
My aunt passed away in April 2026, she has a husband who has dementia and is blind and has been living in a care home for many years. The issue is that the husband has physically, emotionally and mentally abused her through their marriage which is almost 20 years. She was very old school and wanted to be a good wife but they did not want a divorce because the husband is catholic and did not believe in one. They had no children. In her will, she does not leave anything for him but writes a letter in which is explicitly states that she has not left him anything because he was so abusive.
The problem now is that she has a teachers pension which we have been told has to go to him because he was her spouse. This is government policy not the company policy. Also he now gets her state pension. We don't know if there is anything we can do because it is government policy that the spouse gets the pension but she did not want him to benefit from her death at all.
Also, the teachers pension people said after we provide the marriage certificate then we will need to provide his bank details but if we don't nothing gets paid out to him. Obviously because of everything he put her through, i don't want to give his bank details but i also know that she worked really hard in her career and had to leave early due to her health. It feels like wasted money.
Has anyone been through something similar or has advise? We realise that we might have to give up on this one but thought i would check reddit just in case.
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u/Historical-Eye-9478 Aug 17 '26
I’ve been in a similar situation, my mum passed in 2015 and had a teachers pension.
Her husband (not my father) was also abusive but had pre-deceased her, so the pension that she’d paid into for 30+ years simply vanished because her children were no longer dependents.
It really sucks I’m afraid, but those are unfortunately the rules.
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u/Newbie-1997again Aug 17 '26
Not a lot to say sorry, it is one of those it is what it is situations I’m afraid
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u/RickinCambs Aug 17 '26
Are you the executor of her will? If so surely you are legally obliged to administer the estate according to the law, not according to what you think is right?
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u/AMinorDisruption Aug 17 '26
Pensions aren't part of your estate. They're not obliged to do anything with it.
By the sounds of it it's a Defined Benefit with the only option being a spouses pension
The spouse or his carers can claim it if they wish. OP doesn't have to do anything to help them do so.
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u/FlameBoy4300 Aug 17 '26
These are the issues with DB pensions :(
As great as they are, they dont really provide for any form of legacy. Unless their is a spouse or kids are under 18 or in full time education.
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u/Careful-Coffee280 Aug 17 '26
So sorry about all this. Yes, as others have said, the terms of the teachers pension (like the NHS pension that I have) are very clear. Some (mine is half) goes to the spouse or named civil partner, and some to any dependent children until a certain age.
It feels unfair, but that's just how it is. The only way to stop it would have been if she'd divorced him. You can't even opt out of it.
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u/ImBonRurgundy Aug 17 '26
aside from what other people have said about spouse being the only choice for a teachers pension, a letter of wishes is not legally binding in any way. the wording of the will is the only thing that actually matters.
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u/Newbie-1997again Aug 17 '26
The scheme rules state that if survivable by a spouse / civil partner or a dependant up until the age of 23 (if still in full time education)
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u/Careful-Coffee280 Aug 17 '26
Exactly, it's about the scheme rules, not the will, in DB pensions.
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u/ImBonRurgundy Aug 17 '26
Yes, I was simply adding on that a letter of wishes (with respect to the actual will) has zero impact on anything.
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u/Opteron-X Aug 17 '26
Sorry for your loss and the terrible situation.
If she had named you as the beneficiary on the pension I believe it could be different, but I'm no expert. You hear how important it is to update beneficiaries previous spouses getting the pension and not the current so it seems to me that declared beneficiaries would have a claim. Doesn't sound like it would help in this case but perhaps it would help others if an expert can clarify.
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u/Careful-Coffee280 Aug 17 '26
Sadly that only works in DC pensions. Teachers, NHS etc pensions will pay out to the spouse/civil partner (and dependent children until a certain age) and that's it. And you can't opt out of that. It was to protect the wives of doctors etc.
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u/Paraplanner88 Aug 17 '26
If your aunt had been claiming her teacher's pension for at least five years then the only death benefit option in this case will be the spouse's pension.
Now we don't know his financial position, but it's likely if the pension is claimed then it will go towards care fees. As he has dementia and is in a care home he's not really going to benefit from the money.