your money
Helping you spend wisely and save more, with money expert Faith Archer
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If you and your long-term partner aren’t married, prioritise the paperwork to protect yourself financially should the worst happen.
Check the nominations and forms for pensions and life insurance are up to date, so that if one of you dies, the money actually goes where you want it to go.
The big issue is that if you aren’t married or in a civil partnership, you don’t automatically count as a ‘dependant’.
Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual said, “If one or both partners are members of defined benefit schemes, it’s important to check what level of survivor’s pension would be payable to a cohabiting partner, as this will vary between schemes.”
Meanwhile, if your partner doesn’t put your name on the expression of wish form for a defined contribution pension scheme, the trustees would normally pay any death benefits to living dependants such as their children.
Sean said, “Similarly, issues may arise with ‘death in service’ schemes provided by an employer, where the deceased has left other dependants but not named their partner as a potential beneficiary.”
If you have life insurance policies, check if any trust paperwork allows for benefits to be paid to the cohabiting partner.
