Life cover – How to protect your dependants

If you complete an Expression of Wish form, it gives you the opportunity to capture in writing who you wish to benefit from a life cover or pension payment following your death.

The decision on who will receive a payment, following your death, is made at the complete discretion of the Trustees of each scheme.

It is a great help for the Trustees to know what your wishes are so that they can take these into account when they decide who should receive a payment, or payments, if you die

The RNLI has a new Life Cover Expression of Wish form for the life cover benefit that the RNLI provides to all employees.

View and complete the new Life Cover Expression of Wish form.

You can complete a new form at any time. It helps the Trustees to know your current wishes, so if you have had a change in circumstances, such as a marriage, a Civil Partnership, a divorce or children, please complete a new form. The most recent form will supersede any forms already saved in your file.

Keep a copy of your completed form and keep it with your important life papers, such as your Will.

Yes.

The Life Cover Expression of Wish form will tell the Trustees of the RNLI's life cover arrangement what your wishes are, if you die while you are an RNLI employee.

If you have already completed an RNLI Expression of Wish form, the old form captured your wishes for your Defined Contribution pension scheme too.

The new Life Cover Expression of Wish form is just for life cover.

You are likely to have a lifelong relationship with your pension provider, and for data governance reasons, it is best that you keep all your pension scheme providers updated with your wishes as they change.

The payment(s) from a pension scheme following your death will depend on the rules of each pension scheme. The payments will also depend on when you die, in terms of whether you have already started to be paid any pension benefits.

The relevant links to the RNLI's pension scheme providers can be found at the end of this document.

As there are now separate forms for life cover and pensions, please complete new forms.

The most recent form will supersede any forms already saved in your file.

It is good to complete a new form regularly, especially when your circumstances change, so that the Trustees have confidence that the form reflects your current wishes.

The most recent form will supersede any forms already saved in your file.

Please keep a copy of your newly completed form with your other important documents at home, such as your Will.

Yes. Lump sum life cover and pension payments are normally paid from a 'Trust', so they do not normally form part of your Estate. These payments will not normally be subject to Inheritance Tax however, a life cover payment from the RNLI to the beneficiaries of a UK employee will count towards the Lifetime Allowance of the person who has died. For more information on the Lifetime Allowance, click here.

Depending on the size of the payment and all the details at the time, the recipients of the payment will need to make their own checks on whether the payment is subject to any tax deductions.

If you do not complete an Expression of Wish form, the Trustees will not know your wishes. It may also delay the time that it normally takes to process a life cover or pension payment, compared to the time that it takes when recently completed paperwork is available.

If your beneficiaries are entitled to a payment, based on the rules of the life cover or pension scheme when you die, the Trustees of each life cover or pension scheme will make the final decision in terms of who should receive any relevant payments.

The Trustees will want to take your wishes into account before they make their decision on who the payment(s) should be made to.

If you die, the Trustees will check to see if you have completed an Expression of Wish form for their scheme. The Trustees will also ask the person who is managing your Estate to confirm the names of all your known beneficiaries so that the Trustees have a current view at the point that you die.

No one can give you a guarantee that everyone named on an Expression of Wish, Nomination, or Beneficiaries form will receive a payment, because your circumstances may have changed. For example, you may have got married, had a civil partnership, become divorced or had children since you completed a form. However, the Trustees will always take your wishes into account.

It is very likely that a life cover payment would be paid into a Trust. The life cover payment would be invested, and the child(ren) would be able to access the money when they reach a certain age, which is normally age 18. The cost to set up the Trust would come out of the relevant life cover payment, unless you have set up a suitable Trust before you die, as part of your Estate planning.

All employees have at least 1 x salary life cover. Employees who have joined an RNLI pension scheme have a higher level of life cover.

For more details on the RNLI's life cover policy, see Compass / Working at the RNLI / Benefits / Life Cover.

When you leave the RNLI, you will no longer have life cover as this is an employee benefit. If you need to have life cover for any reason, for example to pay off your mortgage, then you need to arrange your own life cover as soon as you leave the RNLI.

Expression of Wish (or Nomination/Beneficiaries) form(s) for RNLI pension scheme(s)

You are likely to have a lifelong relationship with your pension provider, and for data governance reasons, it is best that you keep all your pension scheme providers updated with your wishes as they change.

The payment(s) from a pension scheme following your death will depend on the rules of each pension scheme. The payments will also depend on when you die, in terms of whether you have already started to be paid any pension benefits.

Please complete the relevant form(s) for the pension scheme(s) that you are a member of

Please send your completed form(s) to the relevant pension provider.

Please do not send completed Pension Expression of Wish forms to the RNLI.