Meet the team: Bereavements
A pension is for life and USS includes some valuable life assurance elements. This month we talk to Martin Gains who manages the Bereavements team. His team compassionately and efficiently look after our member’s beneficiaries.
What team do you run?
I manage the Bereavement Team and our responsibility is to finalise the correct payment of death benefits to the appropriate beneficiary or beneficiaries without delay.
Can you tell us what you like about working at USS?
I enjoy working within a team together with forming strong working relationships with our institution contacts and colleagues.
I have worked in the pensions department at USS for over 30 years and have managed the Bereavement team for over 10 years. I’ve been supported throughout this time and continue to be offered support in my role by our senior management team. There is a strong team ethic here.
Tell us about the role of the Bereavements team, what do they do?
USS includes valuable life assurance benefits and a pension payable for the life of the member. The Bereavement team settles benefits (pensions and lump sum) to a spouse, civil partner, eligible children and possible dependant’s in the event of the death of a member.
We look after the benefits payable for deaths in service, after retirement and in deferment. We are also responsible for ceasing a pension should a beneficiary member die.
We review the payment of pensions to children in full time education ensuring pensions do not continue to be paid beyond the end of their respective course or age.
Who is on your team?
My colleagues on the team are:
Stephanie Lauro: Assistant Team Manager
Jane Hughes: Technical Expert
Amy Williams: Senior Administrator
Helen Charnock: Senior Administrator
John Devine: Administrator
The team and I attain real job satisfaction from providing a service that is second to none and making sure that our member’s beneficiaries are very well taken care of at a difficult time. There is always a member of the team available during office hours to help with any questions or difficulties that may arise.
What’s a typical day like for you and your team?
Of course we have stringent SLA’s to adhere to, however, our focus is on providing a personal service to beneficiaries. We deal daily with bereaved callers and will take the time to talk through our requirements and ensure that the caller feels valued and that they know that we are here for them should they need further guidance throughout the process of finalising their benefits.
For death in service, it is unusual for the team to be initially contacted by the family, it is usually the employer who will call to alert us and the relevant paperwork will follow in due course.
Every day we receive several notifications by telephone. We obtain key information to allow us to register the death on our records and confirm to the caller the information we need in writing to progress matters. This telephone call would allow us to cease a pension should it be a retired member of the scheme who has passed away.
We aim to pay the beneficiary their initial pension payment within 24 hours of receiving full written details of the death and the beneficiary details.
We take great care to make sure that the process runs as smoothly as possible for our beneficiaries.
The majority of the day on the team is spent processing and authorising casework, whether it be calculations or seeking trustee recommendations in relation to the payment of any discretionary lump sum.
What’s the most important thing that members should be doing in relation to the life assurance aspect of their benefits?
Prior to finalising any discretionary death lump sum, the team must ensure that all potential beneficiaries have been considered and while an expression of wish form does not mean an immediate payment to the person or persons named on the form, it is a very important part of our process. I would encourage all employers to reinforce this in contact they have with our members. A current expression of wishes form on our records can help tremendously in settling a discretionary lump sum payment and clearly demonstrates a member’s intent regarding who they wish to receive a death lump sum payment.
I would also extend this to registering a potential dependant should a member be single but have a partner who is financially dependent on them. Consideration to a dependants’ pension may also be given should there be someone who has a physical or mental disability and is dependent on the member.
Both expression of wishes and registration of potential dependant forms are available on our website.
We work in partnership with employers, do you have any special requests of our clients to make our processes work even more smoothly?!
I would ask that the employer continues to keep us up to date if they’re requesting information from families in relation to a death in service. This helps to avoid any duplication of requests from our end. Should it be more appropriate for the team to pick up enquiries at any point in the process, please let us know.
We will always help and support the employer in obtaining the relevant information from a bereaved family to progress the settlement of benefits promptly.
The death in service forms are currently under review and I appreciate the feedback received so far. Please feel free to let me know if you have any additional feedback.
If our clients have any particular queries, who should they contact?
In the first instance, please contact myself (0151 4787070, martin.gains@uss.co.uk), or my Assistant Manager, Stephanie Lauro (0151 4787114, stephanie.lauro@uss.co.uk).
Our team email is DeathBenefits@uss.co.uk and our team telephone number is 0151 5560620.
And finally... The Quick Fire Favourite Five!
Share with us your favourite:
Film: Star Wars: Episode 4 A New Hope (1977)
Musician: All things classical
Drink: Diet Pepsi
Food: Pasta
Holiday destination: Australia