NHS: Conditions of Employment

(asked on 22nd April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing death-in-service benefit to all NHS workers.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 1st May 2020

The NHS Pension Scheme provides death in service cover of two times annual pay to active members who are yet to retire, to support a member’s partner and dependents, should they die before claiming their retirement benefits. Membership of the pension scheme is voluntary and is available to all eligible staff in the National Health Service. Around 90% of NHS staff are active scheme members.

Staff who have recently retired from the NHS will have already received a tax-free lump sum from the NHS Pension Scheme and are therefore entitled to less generous death in service benefits should they re-join the scheme after retirement, but their family will receive additional death benefit if they die within five years of their retirement date, as well as partner and dependent pensions.

The Department is considering whether to offer further support for the families of all staff providing frontline NHS services, including those who are not in the NHS Pension Scheme.

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