Fire Pension Scheme

If you were to die in service as an active member of the FPS 2015, a lump sum death benefit would be payable. This would be a lump sum equivalent to 3 times your final pay as at the date of death. Your Final pay is normally the greater of:

• the amount of the member's pensionable pay and assumed pensionable pay during their last 365 days of continuous pensionable service; or
• the amount of the member's pensionable pay and assumed pensionable pay during their last 3 years of pensionable service, divided by three.

If you have more than one active pension account, a lump sum death benefit is payable in respect of each of those accounts.

If you were to die within 5 years of your pension coming into payment, there would be a lump sum death benefit equivalent to the difference between 5 times the annual amount of pension and the amount of pension already paid i.e. a 5 year balance.

• Survivor Benefits

  In the event of the death of a Scheme member (whether before or after retirement) provided they had at least 3 months' qualifying service, a pension will be paid to an eligible Surviving Partner.

  A person is a Surviving Partner if they are:

  • the spouse or civil partner of the member; or
  • co-habiting with the member and not married or in a civil partnership with that member or any other person, and could enter into a marriage or civil partnership with that member under the law of England and Wales, but have not done so, and financially dependent on the member or is, with the member, in a state of mutual financial dependency, and in a long-term relationship with the member i.e. a relationship that has continued for a period of at least 2 years at the time the question of status needs to be considered (or a shorter period at the discretion of the Fire & Rescue Service).

  Providing the surviving partner at date of death is not more than 12 years younger than the member, a surviving partner's pension following the death of an active member, would be 50% of the pension which the member would be entitled to draw if, at the date of death, they had retired on the grounds of ill-health with a higher tier ill-health pension.

  Or, following the death of a deferred member, a surviving partner's pension would be 50% of the member's deferred pension; or following the death of a pensioner member, would be 50% of the pension payable to the member immediately before their death (this would be the pension after any commutation or allocation, but before any reduction made for early retirement).

  If the surviving partner at date of death is more than 12 years younger than the member, a reduction will be made to the pension payable of up to 50% of the pension.

  Please Note

  A surviving partner's pension is payable for life. It would NOT cease on marriage or re-marriage or upon entering into a new partnership.

  For the first 13 weeks following the death of a member, a Bereavement Pension may be paid to a Surviving Partner.

• Children's Pensions

  In the event of the death of a Scheme member (whether before or after retirement) provided they had at least 3 months' qualifying service, a pension will be paid to an eligible child.

  A 'child' in relation to a deceased member means a natural child, stepchild or adopted child of the member; or the natural child, step-child or adopted child of the member's spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner; or any natural child of the member who was born after the member's death and with whom the child's mother was pregnant at the date of the death.

  The child is an 'eligible child' if:

  • financially dependent on the deceased member at the date of the deceased member's death (or would have been if born before the death);
  • not married or in a civil partnership; and
  • the child is under age 18, or they are in full-time education or on a course of at least one year's duration and have not reached the age of 23, or they were dependent on the member, because of permanent incapacity of mind or body, at the date of the member's death.

  Following the death of an active member, an eligible child would be entitled to 25% of the pension, which the member would be entitled to draw if, at the date of death, they had retired on the grounds of ill-health with a higher tier ill-health pension.

  Following the death of a deferred member, an eligible child would be entitled to 25% of the amount of pension in the member's deferred account plus half of any added pension in the member's added pension account; and in the event of the death of a pensioner member, an eligible child would be 25% of the rate of pension payable to the member immediately before the death (this would be the pension after any commutation or allocation but before any reduction made for early retirement).

  If there is more than one eligible child it is 50% of any of the three pensions mentioned above, divided between the children equally; if one of the children ceases to be an 'eligible child' the half pension would be reapportioned between the others.

  Please Note

  If, at the date of death, the member's benefits had been reduced because of a Pension Sharing Order, the specified portion would be based on the member's pension as if the reduction had not been made.

  Sometimes there may be an eligible child or eligible children, but no person entitled to a surviving partner's pension. In these circumstances, the pension that would have been paid to the surviving partner will be paid to an eligible child, or apportioned between eligible children and paid in addition to their eligible child's pension.