Group & excepted life assurance schemes

Death in service benefit decisions can be complicated and personally difficult to make. Using PSGS as independent trustee to your group life or excepted life scheme relieves that burden and responsibility.

Many employers use a life cover only trust to provide death in service benefits to employees, particularly those who are not members of a trust-based pension scheme. For employees affected by the pension lifetime allowance, an excepted life scheme can be used.

Exercising discretion over who should receive the benefit from a group life assurance or excepted life trust can be fraught with pitfalls. Take a look at our briefing note to see how Pensions Ombudsman rulings on death complaint cases show this can be a minefield.

Are you sure your group life and excepted life claims and discretion processes are effective and efficient, with:

• the correct steps being taken at the correct time?
• the right questions being asked of the right people?
• all relevant information collected swiftly and accurately?
• sensitive liaison with the individuals’ relatives?
• claims administration and communications handled promptly and professionally?

PSGS life assurance master trusts

Our master trust solution helps employers navigate a safe and cost effective path through the death in service benefit claims and discretions process. The benefits of using PSGS' group life master trust and excepted life master trust include:

• peace of mind that difficult death in service benefit decisions are being handled by an experienced, independent professional
• certainty your claims management process follows best practice guidelines
• confidence that rational and non-conflicted decisions are being made

Why use a master trust for death in service benefits?

Group life and excepted life assurance schemes come with compliance and governance issues that can lead to tax charges and Ombudsman complaints if not handled correctly.

PSGS' group life and excepted life master trusts provide a simple solution for employers to use to provide death benefits for all employees, including those affected by the pension lifetime allowance.

The PSGS master trust will help you:

• ensure compliance and avoid periodic tax charges and exit tax charges
• manage the risk of making improper decisions
• remove the need to re-establish your excepted life assurance trust every time you change insurer

To learn more about how a PSGS master trust could help you manage the risks and complexities of providing death benefits to some of your most valuable employees, please contact us or download our service flyers:

PSGS group life master trust

PSGS excepted life master trust