← Learn/Pensions · Death benefits
Part of the Pensions, IHT & death benefits guide →
Pension death-benefit nominations: why the expression of wish matters
A nomination tells the scheme administrator who should receive a pension on death. It also decides the form: discretion keeps the fund flexible, but a missing nomination can close off drawdown for the people a member would have chosen.
Based on HMRC’s Pensions Tax Manual (PTM072410, PTM071000).
5 min read · Last reviewed
— In short
A death-benefit nomination, or expression of wish, tells the scheme administrator who a member would like to receive their pension on death, and guides but does not bind the administrator's discretion. That discretion is what has historically kept the fund outside the estate for inheritance tax. The nomination also shapes the options: a non-dependant can be offered nominee's flexi-access drawdown only if the member nominated them, so without one they may be limited to a lump sum.
Put the rule to work
Run the calculation
Use the Lump Sum & Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA) calculator with your figures and see the working. Free, with no sign-up required.
A nomination, or “expression of wish”, tells the scheme administrator who a member would like to receive their pension on death. It looks like a formality. It is not — the form shapes both the tax position and the options open to the people left behind.
Discretion, and why it matters
Most modern pensions pay death benefits at the scheme administrator’s discretion, guided by the member’s nomination but not bound by it. That discretion is what has historically kept the pension outside the member’s estate for inheritance tax — the member never had a right to direct the money, so it was not theirs to give away (PTM071000). For deaths on or after 6 April 2027 that estate treatment changes, as set out in pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027; the discretionary mechanics, though, are unchanged.
What a nomination unlocks: drawdown, not just a lump sum
The nomination does more than name a recipient. It can decide how they take the benefit. A dependant (broadly a spouse, civil partner, or a child under 23) can always be offered a dependant’s drawdown. A non-dependant — an adult child, say — can be offered nominee’s flexi-access drawdown only if they are an individual the member nominated. Where there is no dependant and no nomination, the administrator can nominate someone. But where a dependant exists, an un-nominated non-dependant can be shut out of drawdown and left with a lump sum (PTM072410).
That is the cost of a stale form. The money rarely goes to the wrong person — the administrator’s discretion usually prevents that. But the right person may be unable to keep the fund in the tax-efficient drawdown wrapper, and a successor may be unable to inherit the drawdown in turn.
What this guide does not do
Whether a nomination should be made, changed, or directed to a trust rather than an individual is an advice question, and it interacts with the two-year rule and the death-benefit tax rules — a lump sum to a trust, for instance, can attract the 45% charge. This guide explains how nominations work; it does not recommend how to complete one. For planning and illustration only; not advice.
For the numbers the nomination leads to: a tax-free lump sum on a death before 75 tests against the lump sum and death benefit allowance, which the LSDBA calculator measures, and from 6 April 2027 the fund itself can bear inheritance tax, priced by the Pension IHT calculator.
PTM072410 (nominations · beneficiary drawdown) · PTM071000 (death benefits overview)
Common questions
- What is a pension death-benefit nomination?
- It is the member’s expression of wish telling the scheme administrator who they would like to receive their pension death benefits. In a discretionary scheme it guides — but does not bind — the administrator’s decision, which is what has kept the fund outside the estate for inheritance tax.
- Why does a nomination affect whether a beneficiary can use drawdown?
- A non-dependant can only be offered nominee’s flexi-access drawdown if they are an individual the member nominated (or, where there is no dependant and no nominee, one the scheme administrator nominates). Without a nomination, a non-dependant the member would have chosen may be restricted to a lump sum instead of keeping the fund in drawdown.
Sources & grounding
Discretionary distribution + the expression of wish (nomination): most modern schemes pay death benefits at the administrator’s discretion, guided by but not bound by the member’s nomination — the feature that has historically kept the fund outside the estate for inheritance tax (changing for deaths on/after 6 April 2027, see the IHT spoke). PTM071000.
Primary sources:PTM071000
Who can take what: a dependant can always be offered beneficiary (dependant’s) drawdown; a non-dependant can be offered nominee’s flexi-access drawdown ONLY if they are an individual nominated by the member, or — where there is no dependant and no nominee — nominated by the scheme administrator. Without a nomination, a non-dependant the member would have chosen may be limited to a lump sum. A successor continues drawdown after a beneficiary dies. PTM072410 / PTM071000.
No figures: this spoke is conceptual (nominations + beneficiary options), so it carries no worked example and no calculator; it links the LSDBA calculator and the two-year-rule / IHT spokes for the tax consequences.
For planning and illustration purposes only. Verify all inputs against source documents. This explainer does not constitute financial or tax advice.
Next
Put this to work on a real case.
Open the Lump Sum & Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA) calculator with the worked example above already filled in. Lump Sum & Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA) calculator
A free account saves the calculation to a client record and renders the branded compliance annex PDF — 3 a month, no card.
Create free account