Armed forces death in service benefit comes from two schemes. The Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) pays a tax-free lump sum of four times final pensionable earnings, plus pensions for a partner and children, and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) adds payments where service caused the death.

If you are reading because someone in your family has died in service, the section on claiming and support is the one to start with, and the rest can wait. An FCA-authorised broker can later help you weigh personal cover against these benefits, and the form on this page arranges that introduction, free of charge.

What does the Armed Forces Pension Scheme pay if you die in service?

Veterans UK's guide to AFPS 15 (May 2023) says:

The lump sum is 4 times your final pensionable earnings and will be paid regardless of whether you have completed at least 2 years of qualifying service.

The pensions carry a condition the lump sum does not: "Dependants’ pensions are only payable if you have completed at least 2 years of qualifying service." Where they are paid, a spouse, civil partner or eligible partner receives "an immediate pension paid for life", worked out "in the same way as a Tier 3 enhanced ill-health pension", and receives "62.5% of this amount". It stays "payable for life, irrespective of remarriage". The guide to AFPS 05 (July 2020) gives the same lump sum, condition and 62.5%.

SectionLump sumPartner's pension
AFPS 154 times final pensionable earnings62.5%, after 2 years' qualifying service
AFPS 054 times final pensionable earnings62.5%, after 2 years' qualifying service
AFPS 753 times representative payHalf, for a spouse or civil partner

The AFCS policy document (updated 30 September 2026) says "From 1 April 2022, all active service personnel are members of AFPS 15", so AFPS 75 rules mostly concern older records. The AFPS 75 guide (July 2020) adds a short-term pension before the long-term half, and says members who moved to AFPS 15 in 2015 get none, but "the lump sum you receive is increased to equal 4 times your final pensionable earnings."

For children, the AFPS 05 and 15 guides count a child under 18 who was financially dependent, under 23 in full-time education or vocational training, or of any age if unable to work because of an impairment, paid "for as long as he/she remains eligible". Alongside a partner's pension, "An only child will be eligible to 25% of your pension benefits"; with no partner, children share the whole pension "subject to a maximum of 33.3% per child". AFPS 75 gives up to a quarter of the pension for one child, or half shared between several, normally to age 17 or longer in education.

Who qualifies as a partner, and who receives the lump sum?

Spouses and civil partners qualify, but the AFPS 15 guide says "If your marriage or civil partnership took place within 6 months prior to your death, the award of a pension to your surviving spouse or civil partner will not be automatic." A former spouse or civil partner whose divorce or dissolution is complete is not eligible.

Unmarried partners can qualify in AFPS 05 and 15 where there is no spouse or civil partner, "providing that a substantial and exclusive relationship existed with financial dependence or inter-dependence, and there was no legal reason preventing you from getting married or forming a civil partnership." The Veterans UK factsheet (September 2026) adds: "Living together alone should not be assumed to guarantee entitlement." In AFPS 75, the July 2020 guide says an unmarried partner may receive a pension only "if your death is attributable to Service".

The lump sum can go to people or organisations a member nominates in AFPS 05 and 15, though "You cannot nominate someone to receive your pension." The AFPS 15 guide says a valid nomination "will take precedence" even over a spouse or partner. Without one, the default order is anyone entitled to a partner's pension, then to a child's pension, then personal representatives. "Any marriage or civil partnership entered into on or after 1st December 2018 will revoke the existing nomination." In AFPS 75, "you cannot nominate". A policy written in trust is a separate way to direct a payout, explained in life insurance trusts.

What does the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme add if service caused the death?

The AFCS policy document says "Where the death of an individual was caused by service in the UK Armed Forces, the AFCS pays benefits to the individual’s dependants", and that where a death is not wholly caused by service, compensation is "only payable if service is the predominant cause of the death". For deaths caused by service before 6 April 2005, GOV.UK (12 September 2024) points instead to a War Widow(er)'s Pension.

  • Survivors’ Guaranteed Income Payment: "An ongoing taxable income stream paid for life to an eligible partner". It is a salary-based amount multiplied by "a factor of 0.6", reduced by "75% of any amount paid to the partner" under the pension scheme.
  • Child Payment: "A taxable income stream for eligible child(ren)". With a partner, "15% of the maximum calculated GIP is payable as a CP for each of the first two children, and 10% of the GIP for the third child".
  • Bereavement Grant: "A one-off tax-free grant of up to £37,500". For a death in service under AFPS 05 or 15 it is the difference between a salary below £25,000 and £25,000: "If their salary at date of death was above £25,000 then no BG is payable". For a death after service it is £37,500. It goes to the eligible partner, or is shared between the children if there is none.

The AFCS partner test differs: a marriage or civil partnership must have been "in place for at least six months before the bereavement", and an unmarried partner must have "lived with the deceased as partners in a substantial and exclusive relationship", been free to marry or form a civil partnership, and been financially dependent or interdependent.

How does a family claim, and where can they get support?

For a death in service, the AFCS policy document says "DBS will automatically consider whether the death was due to service", paying from the day after death; a child with no surviving partner, or not living with one, needs a claim form. After service, "dependants will need to make a claim", and where death within seven years of leaving was caused by service it "must be made within three years of the bereavement". The DBS helpline is 0808 1914 218, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.

For the pension scheme, the factsheet says "Contact Veterans UK so the full service and pension record can be checked", on freephone 0800 085 3600. GOV.UK says that if the veteran was receiving compensation, call "the Ministry of Defence bereavement line" on 0800 169 3458, and that AFPS-only members' deaths are notified to Equiniti.

GOV.UK also lists Veterans Services, whose welfare managers "help bereaved families by arranging access to all appropriate services", the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, which manages "practical needs following the death of a person in service", and the Purple Pack guide. SSAFA's Forcesline is "a free and confidential telephone helpline and email service that provides emotional support and a listening ear", on 0800 260 6780 (the number on SSAFA's contact page), open 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and 09:00 to 16:00 on Friday.

Is armed forces death in service benefit taxable?

The AFPS 15 guide describes "a one-off lump sum (tax-free) and a taxable pension". The tax factsheet (September 2026) adds that "Tax rules also limit the amount of certain pension lump sums that can normally be paid tax-free", including death benefits; Veterans UK or a tax adviser can say whether that touches a given payment. AFCS income payments are taxable; the Bereavement Grant is not.

Inheritance tax on pensions changes for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, when, in the words of HMRC's technical note (updated 29 May 2026), "most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be brought within the value of a deceased person’s estate". A death in service is handled differently: "Death in service benefits that meet these conditions are treated as excluded benefits for Inheritance Tax purposes", the condition being that the member was "in employment or other work of a particular description, immediately before their death". Dependants' scheme pensions that meet the same conditions are excluded too. The death-in-service exclusion does not reach payments from a scheme the person "was a deferred member" of, which can matter after leaving. That is HMRC's account of the rules, not tax advice, and the rules can change. For private policies, see whether a life insurance payout is taxable.

Is the scheme enough, or do service personnel consider personal cover?

Whether the scheme leaves a gap depends on each household; who needs cover and death in service and life insurance look at that generally. Questions a family might ask, none of them advice:

  • How does four times pay compare with the mortgage, rent and outgoings? How much life cover you need sets out a method.
  • Are the right people recognised? An unmarried partner has to meet the conditions above.
  • What if a death were not caused by service? The AFCS would not apply.

Some personnel look at personal cover for the gaps. Legal & General's page on jobs and life insurance (20 June 2023) says "Legal & General policies do not usually exclude war risks, but you may be charged higher premiums if you carry out activities such as bomb disposal or aviation." That is one insurer's position; others set their own. Life insurance for the military covers how serving members get cover.

If you would like your own position looked at, you can ask for an introduction through the form on this page. An FCA-authorised adviser then contacts you, at no cost and with no obligation to buy.

Frequently asked questions

Do the Army, Royal Navy and RAF get life insurance?

The death in service benefit described here comes through the pension scheme, by AFPS section rather than by service. Veterans UK's factsheet says under AFPS 15 "an eligible death-in-service lump sum is normally four times pensionable pay".

Does it stop when you leave the forces?

The four-times lump sum is for a death in service. After leaving, the AFPS 15 guide gives a lump sum of three times the deferred pension for a death in deferment, and "5 years of pension" if death follows within five years of drawing the pension.

Does the AFCS pay for every death in service?

No. It pays where service caused the death, or was its "predominant cause". Veterans UK's AFPS 75 family benefits booklet (February 2015) gives examples of deaths not related to service: "off duty road traffic accident, illness, natural causes".

Sources

  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015: Your Pension Scheme Explained (May 2023), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (AFPS 15)
  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005: Your Pension Scheme Explained (July 2020), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (AFPS 05)
  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975: Your Pension Scheme Explained (July 2020), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (AFPS 75)
  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 Family Benefits (February 2015), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (AFPS 75 family benefits)
  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Death & Survivor Benefits factsheet (September 2026), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (factsheet)
  • Veterans UK, Armed Forces Pension Tax and Allowances factsheet (September 2026), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (tax factsheet)
  • Ministry of Defence, JSP 765: Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Statement of Policy (updated 30 September 2026), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (JSP 765)
  • Office for Veterans' Affairs, What to do when a veteran dies (12 September 2024), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-when-a-veteran-dies
  • SSAFA, Forcesline and Contact us, read 18 October 2026. ssafa.org.uk/get-help/forcesline; ssafa.org.uk/contact-us
  • HM Revenue & Customs, Technical note: Inheritance Tax on pensions (updated 29 May 2026), read 18 October 2026. gov.uk (HMRC technical note)
  • Legal & General, Does your job affect your life insurance? (20 June 2023), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com