If you have death in service benefit at work, whether you also need your own life insurance turns on a handful of things: how the lump sum compares with what your household would need, whether it stays with you if you change jobs, who the trustees decide to pay, and how easy cover would be to buy later. This page sets out those factors on both sides so you can weigh them; it does not tell you which way to go.

Want your workplace cover looked at beside a personal policy? The enquiry form on this page asks for your contact details, and an FCA-authorised broker then phones you at no cost. Everything below is general information, read in October 2026.

How much does death in service pay, and who decides?

Aviva’s consumer guide (updated 5 June 2026) describes death in service as "a workplace benefit that your employer usually funds, and only applies while you’re employed", paid as a lump sum if you die while still working there. The employer decides whether to offer it at all, and how many times salary it pays.

That multiple varies a good deal. Legal & General (24 February 2026) says a lump sum is "often between two and four times your annual salary". Aviva says most companies "choose a number, like 2, 4 or even 8 times your salary". Canada Life’s undated page for employers tells them they can cover staff by a multiple of salary "up to 10 times their salary". So the figure in your own contract or benefits statement, not a typical one, is the number to work with.

Public-sector schemes set their own pay multiples and add pensions for a partner or children, which their pages set out: NHS, teachers, civil servants, local government, police, firefighters and the armed forces. How an employer buys group cover is in death in service insurance for employers.

Eligibility is the employer’s call too. Aviva says you need to be actively employed and "may need to be a member of your employer’s pension scheme to qualify", and Legal & General notes that employers are not legally obliged to offer the benefit.

Would death in service cover a mortgage or what your family needs?

A salary multiple is not built around your debts or your household costs. Legal & General says a death in service payment "isn’t designed to repay a mortgage", although the money can be used for any purpose, and lists some things to check before relying on it:

  • the benefit could be more or less than the outstanding mortgage;
  • you would need to work for an employer that provides it for the length of the mortgage;
  • it covers you as the employee, not your partner, which it says could leave a protection shortfall unless you or your partner have made other arrangements.

In Legal & General’s own example, a £150,000 benefit set against an outstanding £300,000 mortgage "won’t cover the ongoing costs". Aviva’s guide makes a similar point: a fixed multiple might not stretch to a mortgage, childcare or day-to-day bills. And MoneyHelper’s guide (as archived in August 2025) raises a separate question, whether a payout would reduce means-tested help that your dependants could otherwise claim.

The case can run the other way too. That same archived MoneyHelper guide also says you might not need an extra policy at all, depending on what the workplace benefit is worth. Aviva’s comparison table notes that death in service is usually funded by your employer, so you pay nothing for it, and Legal & General says it is often possible to get it even when your health would make an individual policy hard to obtain. Someone with a generous multiple, no mortgage, few dependants or a partner on a good income may find the workplace benefit goes a long way.

The sums to compare are yours: what you owe, who relies on your income and for how long, and what your partner earns. Ways of sizing cover are in how much life cover you need, life insurance for a mortgage and family income benefit, which pays an income rather than a lump sum. Should you want a broker to set those numbers beside your workplace cover, note them down as you complete this page’s form; they can then be worked through on the free call-back.

What happens to death in service when you leave your job?

It ends. Aviva says your death in service benefit "usually stops straight away" when you leave, whether to retire, switch employer or take a career break, because it is tied to employment rather than being a personal policy. Legal & General says the same.

Paying to keep it going yourself is not something every scheme allows. In its guide for employers on its Flexible Group Life Assurance product (May 2025), Legal & General answers the question directly: "No, a member cannot continue cover at their own expense if they stop working for you." That is one insurer’s product, so the position under your own scheme is for your employer to confirm.

A new job does not carry the benefit across. Legal & General says a new employer may not offer death in service, or the multiple could differ, and Aviva suggests checking, when you move, whether the new employer offers it and how it compares. Canada Life lists part-time employees among those it can cover, but its page for employers makes clear that the employer chooses who is included. Anyone going freelance can read what self-employed people can use instead of death in service.

If you expect a spell between jobs, a broker can walk you through, free on the call-back, how that would fit with a personal policy.

Does the money go to the person you name?

Not automatically. Legal & General says that in almost every case death in service is set up under a trust, and "the trustees have a discretionary power to decide who will receive the lump sum." You can name someone on an expression of wish (or nomination) form from your employer. Legal & General calls it "a request rather than a binding obligation", while adding that it would be unusual for trustees not to pay as you asked.

Aviva’s guide puts it in similar terms: trustees usually follow your wishes unless there is a strong reason not to, such as a nominee who is an ex-partner no longer in your life. It adds that when payment does not go to the person nominated, an out-of-date form is often why, so keeping yours current after a marriage, separation or a new child matters.

A personal policy works differently. Aviva’s comparison table says you choose the amount yourself, and if the policy is held under trust, the trustees receive the money for the beneficiaries you chose. What a beneficiary is and how trusts work are in what a life insurance beneficiary is and what a life insurance trust is; the tax side is in is life insurance a taxable benefit.

Could age or health changes make cover harder to buy later?

They can. Legal & General says that if you have relied on death in service and later apply for life insurance, it "could be more expensive as life insurance generally costs more as you get older", and that "it may also be difficult to obtain cover if your health changes." Aviva’s comparison table says the same about price: new cover costs more as you get older.

Insurers differ in how they would weigh your particular age and medical history, and that is a question the broker can answer for you, at no charge, once you have been in touch.

The two kinds of cover also start differently. Aviva says a personal policy is underwritten, so what you pay can depend on your health and lifestyle, while death in service is not underwritten unless the benefit goes over a limit set by your employer. For how age feeds into price, see whether life insurance premiums rise with age; for how insurers look at health problems, see life insurance with medical conditions.

What to ask your employer, and what a broker can check

Legal & General suggests checking with your HR department whether you have any protection. A short list to take with you:

  • How many times salary is paid, and which pay counts towards it?
  • Do you need to be in the pension scheme to be covered?
  • Is the benefit written in trust, and is your expression of wish form up to date?
  • What happens to cover if you leave, are made redundant or are off work for a long time?
  • Is there any cover for a partner, or a pension for dependants?

With those answers, the questions for a policy of your own, if you decide you want one, are how much, for how long and for whom. Whenever you are ready, add your contact details to this page’s form, and the broker’s call-back can cover what a personal policy might add. Costs in general are in what life insurance costs, and the wider question is in do I need life insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Is life insurance through work enough on its own?

For some people it may be, and for others it falls short. A large multiple, little debt and no one relying on your income point one way; a mortgage, young children, a partner without cover or a likely job move point the other.

Do part-time employees get death in service benefit?

That depends on the employer and the scheme. Canada Life’s page for employers lists part-time employees among those it can cover, but it is the employer who chooses who is included, so HR can tell you whether it applies to you.

Can I keep my death in service cover after I leave the company?

Aviva and Legal & General both say it usually ends when you leave. Legal & General’s employer guide for its Flexible Group Life product says a member cannot carry it on at their own expense, whereas a personal policy is not tied to your job.

Can self-employed people get death in service benefit?

Legal & General says you do not qualify for this cover if you are self-employed. Options for people who work for themselves are in death in service for the self-employed.

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