Death in service benefits are a valuable part of an organisation’s reward offering, but employers and trustees can be exposed to significant legal, tax and reputational risk if they are not administered correctly.
Experience shows that many of the most serious issues arise not from complex points of law, but from common and avoidable pitfalls in trust documentation, decision-making and communications with beneficiaries. These issues can lead to disputes, financial liability, unexpected tax charges and prolonged distress for those involved.
To help employers, trustees and scheme administrators strengthen their approach, we are hosting a practical webinar: Death in service schemes: 9 common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
During the session, our experts will explore nine recurring problem areas relating to lump sum death in service benefits payable from group life insurance schemes and pension schemes, including:
- Missing or outdated trust documentation
- Automatically paying benefits to a nominated beneficiary or “next of kin”
- Failing to identify and investigate all potential beneficiaries
- Errors in the decision-making process and record-keeping
- Inappropriate or insufficient communications with beneficiaries
- Delays in concluding cases
- Paying benefits to children in an unsuitable or non-compliant way
- Failure to register schemes with HMRC
- The often-overlooked 10-year anniversary inheritance tax trap
The webinar will focus on practical lessons, drawing on real-world scenarios and recent experience, and will be relevant to HR, reward, pensions, legal, finance and governance professionals across both the public and private sectors.