Death benefits
A pension fund can form a significant part of a person’s wealth, so it makes sense to consider protecting the value of that asset for the benefit of a spouse, partner or dependants after death.
Optional death benefits can be selected at outset to protect a proportion of the income payments, Guaranteed Maturity Amount or even the original investment itself during the Plan term. The options are:
- Spouse/Civil Partner Benefit
- Value Protection
- Guaranteed Period
Living Time strongly recommends that all clients consider carefully whether or not to purchase death benefits as they cannot be added to the Plan once it has started. Without them, there will be no further income payments or Guaranteed Maturity Amount payable after the client's death.
Any death benefits selected are paid for by reducing the Guaranteed Maturity Amount the client gets back at the end of the Plan term. This in turn will reduce the level of income they can secure when their Plan ends. Lump sum death benefits may be subject to a tax charge (currently 35%).
Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change.
IFAs can get a breakdown of how each of the death benefits works by clicking here »
Death benefit options
- Click the headings below for a brief description of each death benefit option. Please refer to our Key Features Document or download our 'Death Benefits Matrix' for more information.
(literature downloads »)
Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change.
Spouse/Civil Partner Benefit »
- This ensures that, in the event of their death during the Plan term, a chosen percentage of the client's income continues to be paid to their spouse/civil partner for the rest of the Plan term, or until their death, if sooner.
Please note that for Protected Rights Plans, this benefit must be set to 100% if selected. For Non Protected Rights Plans this can be anything from 1% to 100%.
If the client's spouse/civil partner survives until the end of the term, they will also receive the same percentage of the Guaranteed Maturity Amount, which must be used to reinvest in an appropriate pension product.
Value Protection »
- On the client's death during the Plan term, this pays a lump sum - equal to the initial investment, less gross income payments made to the point of death and tax (currently 35%) - to their estate or nominated beneficiary(ies).
Please note that for Protected Rights Plans and the Personal Investment Plan, this benefit is automatically included and cannot be deselected.
Guaranteed Period »
- This guarantees that the client's income will continue to be paid to their spouse/civil partner following their death, for a period of your choice - from one month up to a maximum of 10 years (or until the end of the Plan term if sooner).
For single life cases, the currrent value of any remaining guaranteed income will be paid as a commuted lump sum, less tax (currently 35%).
This site and its content is designed for professional advisers only. It is not approved for use by individual consumers.
Alico is the insurance company that provides Living Time Plans.
Living Time Limited is an appointed representative of American Life Insurance Company (Alico). Living Time Limited is registered in England with company number 04750947 and has its registered office at 1 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XA. American Life Insurance Company is a private limited company incorporated with limited liability in Delaware, USA number 0123730. Head Office: One Alico Plaza, Wilmington, Delaware, USA 19801. Branch Office: 22 Addiscombe Road, Croydon CR9 5AZ. Registered in England number BR000230. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA reference number 139417).