Personal Pension

[Panic Button]

If you have a bog standard personal pension plan (say Prudential), and you die - what happens to the funds:

if you die before retirement, and if you die after?

If you are single or married?

[dasherman]

You might find this helpful:-

http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pers onal_and_stakeholder_pensions/death_benefits/

[tamborine]

In Practice.....surviving spouse have a long fight to get payout; am still waiting after 2.5y with legal costs rising!

[factor-fiction]

Can't be a straightforward case then, tamborine (but I wouldn't expect anything else for you- you seem to like a challenge). Pension plans I have seen have been clear on the options.
Have you read the policy/plan details Panic Button. It will be set out in the terms and conditions.
If you have it just in your name it will stop paying out when you die (after all, it's not much use to you after that). That will fund the pensions of those who live until they are 100.

[buildersmate]

It will be clearly laid out in the terms of the policy but typical clauses may include:
A lump sum paid to whoever you named as the beneficiary, if you die before retirement starts
a spouses pension (again paid to whoever you named as the beneficiary) in the event of death after retirement. Often paid for the remaining life of the spouse (but at a lower rate - say 50% of the pension-holder's pension). Or a clause that pays it only for a fixed length of time afterwards.

[Panic Button]

Thanks everyone.

I hate reading small print - my eyes glaze over