My last surviving daughter died of cancer aged 56 last May and I have been sorting out her affairs as executor.
Most organisations have been helpful, but I am hitting a brick wall with Aviva over her pension. I have asked if most of the policy can be paid to her two brothers.
But nothing gets done. More worrying is that on various calls there are insinuations that only part of the pension may be paid, or even nothing. This is all very upsetting. Please can you help?
B.B., London.
Sally Hamilton replies: Dealing with bereavement is hard enough but when bureaucracy holds things up it makes the task more daunting. You are aged 78 and tell me four of your six children have pre-deceased you and now you are in poor health so could have done without the protracted pension process.
It can be hard sorting out a pension like this. If a person dies with a defined contribution private pension, like your daughter’s, and it doesn’t state in the records who it should be passed on to – in an ‘expression of wishes’ – it is up to the trustees (here, Aviva) to decide who should benefit.
Delays: Aviva has been dragging its feet in helping an elderly reader transfer her late daughter’s pension
They consider requests from the executors and family, but are not obliged to meet them. Their duty is to find any dependants who should have first dibs.
Your daughter faced difficulties in later years and came to live with you. When she died, you used savings for your own funeral to fund hers – some £4,500. You live on a state pension and benefits.
Keen to replenish your funeral pot, you asked Aviva if you could have £4,500 of the £37,600 pension, with the remaining £33,100 split between your two sons. This seemed reasonable to me, but the process was taking a long time.
Once, when you queried the delay, Aviva said they were trying to track down her father, your husband. But if they had asked you that directly you could have said he passed away 30 years ago. Aviva sent £100 as an apology.
I asked Aviva to speed up the distribution of funds. On investigating, they found that forms had been sent to your sons, asking how long they had been dependent on their sister. But these were not returned as they did not depend on her financially. Your sons have now confirmed they were not financially dependent.
An Aviva spokesman says: ‘We’re very sorry for the family’s loss and the delay. Unfortunately, our processes do require us to establish whether anybody is dependent on the policyholder before a claim can be settled.’
Aviva has sent the full £37,600 to you. You have kept £4,500, and passed £33,100 to your sons.
This case is a useful lesson for us all on the importance of stating who we wish to benefit from our pensions on death.
With private pensions, you can nominate anyone you wish on the expression of wishes form with the pension provider. This can be updated at any time.
Currently, pensions can be passed on free of inheritance tax (but this will change in April 2027). If the plan holder dies before age 75, as in the case of your daughter, there is no income tax to pay either, unless the lump sum and death benefit allowance of £1,073,100 is breached. If a pension saver dies at 75 or over, the beneficiaries must pay income tax on money taken out of the pension at their marginal rate.
DVLA won’t replace paper driving licence
I have held a full UK paper driving licence since 1972. The DVLA now says that as my 70th birthday is approaching I must apply for my first photo driving licence.
The application form I received listed what documents were required. I sent several from the list but they still won’t issue my licence. Please help.
G.S., Northumberland.
Sally Hamilton replies: The paper driving licence you refer to is the one issued until July 1998 for new drivers and March 2000 for existing holders.
It’s not to be confused with the paper counterpart issued with photocard licences introduced in 1998, but scrapped in 2015.
There are four million paper driving licences still in use. They are valid if the holder still lives at the address on the original document. If they need to be replaced or updated for any reason, drivers will be sent a photocard version.
Drivers reaching 70, like you, must reapply, using a D46P form three months before their birthday, declaring that they are fit to drive.
Licences must be renewed every three years thereafter. There is no fee for the over-70s.
You completed the forms and sent the DVLA various documents to prove who you were. One was your birth certificate – and this is where your application hit a roadblock.
All the documents you supplied gave your name as G.S., except your birth certificate which has it as G.T. The T was your birth father’s surname. But your mother remarried when you were aged three and ever since then you have been known as G.S.
All the other documents – including the paper licence you were surrendering – referred to you by the name you have used for 67 years. You wrote a covering letter to the DVLA to explain. This did not cut the mustard.
I asked the DVLA what you should do. The agency called you, suggesting an option was to supply a deed poll to prove your change of name. Anyone can change their name by deed poll for free (find this at gov.uk) and have it signed by two witnesses.
A more official alternative is to ‘enrol’ a deed poll. It means your new name will be on public record with the Royal Courts of Justice. Find the forms at gov.uk and the arrangement costs £50.32. You chose to get a solicitor to set up the latter at a cost of £90.
Last week you told me that your photo licence had finally arrived.
- A spokesman for DVLA says: ‘Applications for a first photocard licence must be supported by original identity documents that provide a clear link from the applicant’s birth name to their current name. Our identity checks are in line with government policy to help combat welfare and identity fraud.’
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email [email protected] — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
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