Payment of Benefits
Pensions are usually paid in arrears in monthly instalments by the Fire & Rescue Service (FRS). Lump sums by commutation are paid by the FRS as soon as possible after they become due.
If the pension is payable at Normal Pension Age (60), an active member must make a claim for payment; if the claim is received before employment ends, payment will begin on the day after the end of employment. If a claim is not received until after employment has ended, the pension will be paid from a date after the claim is made – the FRS would notify the member of this date.
If an active member has chosen the partial retirement option, the pension is payable from the day after the date on which the partial retirement option was exercised. The first period for which an ill-health pension is payable is the day after the date on which the member's Scheme employment is terminated.
Pensions for a surviving partner and eligible children will be paid from the day after the date of the member's death. In the case of an eligible child born after the death of the member, payment would commence from the date of the child's birth.
You can nominate who you would like to receive the lump sum death benefit, but the FRS has absolute discretion as to the recipient(s), including legal Personal Representatives, as named in Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
If only a small pension is payable and is less than limits set by HM Revenue and Customs, subject to certain other requirements of the tax rules being satisfied (e.g. the age of the pensioner), the FRS may commute the pension to a lump sum, or they may decide to pay a small pension at less frequent intervals than the intervals at which they normally pay pensions.