Death and dependant’s benefits

What happens if you die?

If you die after leaving Diageo, your family will receive your retirement account value.

How do I let you know my wishes?

What’s paid to your nominated beneficiaries will depend on the Scheme Rules and the discretion of the Trustees but by making sure your Expression of Wish Form is up to date; you can let the Trustee know your wishes and help influence the decision. You can update your Expression of Wish by signing in to the Online Portal.

If you have previously filled in a paper Expression of Wish form, then your wishes will be held on your record but may not show on the Online Portal. Any updates made online will replace previous nominations made on paper forms.

What happens after we are notified of a member’s death

The timeline below shows each step we take after we're notified of a member's death, so you can see what happens, when, and what to expect at each stage.

1. Tell us a member has died

Try and get in touch with Capita as soon as possible so we can start looking at what benefits might be payable.

The team will normally respond within three working days of you contacting them. However, it will take longer to let you know if any benefits are payable and the team may request additional information from you.

If you need to let us know that a member has died, please either contact Capita or, if you’d prefer to complete the process online, fill in the online Bereavement Form and a member of the team will be in touch via email.

The first thing you’ll need to do is get a medical certificate. If the death was expected the GP will issue a medical certificate stating the cause of death. If the death was unexpected, the GP may need to report the death to the coroner; the coroner will give you the documents you need, or they’ll send them direct to the registrar.

You’ll need to send a copy of the death certificate to Capita.

2. We send you an information form and you return it

We’ll issue an information form 5 working days from receiving a copy of the death certificate.

We’ll ask you to complete an information form and also ask you to provide evidence to validate your identity, such as a copy of your driver’s licence or passport.

This will help Capita to determine if you are eligible to be considered as a beneficiary.

3. We confirm what benefits might be paid

You’ll receive confirmation of any benefits payable within 5 working days of Capita receiving your information form.

There may be a need to request further information from you at this stage if we don’t have everything we need.

Once Capita have received a copy of the death certificate, your completed information form and identity documentation we will write out to confirm if there is a benefit due to you.

4. We pay you any benefits you are eligible for

The payment is made as soon as possible after we have received your bank account details.

Once all the checks are completed, we will calculate and pay the benefit due.

5. Other things you might want to consider

There are other organisations you may need to contact to let them know about the member’s death.

You may want to:

Contact the deceased's bank, mortgage lender or landlord, insurance companies, other pension providers and utility companies as soon as possible
Redirect any post using a special circumstances form from Royal Mail so you can watch out for anything you might’ve missed