Dead Ex's pension

[almondflake]

Hi , I divorced from my ex 15 years ago and because I was financially secure I didn't go for half of his pension .
He died 2 years ago and his pension went with him . I believe there could be about £200,000 still there .
Our daughter could really do with this amount of money as she is splitting up with her partner .
Would it be possible for me to apply to his work place (university) for this pension so I could pass it on to her ?
Has anyone any idea or experience of this ?
Many thanks .

I doubt if you would be entitled to anything as your divorced but your daughter might be able to stake a claim, I think younshould speak to a specialist solicitor

His pension wouldn't have gone, most likely at least his contributions (maybe not the whole amount in the pot) should have gone to his next of kin as a lump sum or as a claimable payment. Is she his only child? Was he remarried?

In any case assuming she's over 18, she needs to deal with the trustees rather than you. She should contact the university to find out who to talk to.

If his pension was a defined benefit final salary pension like the Teacher Pension provides, then there isnt a ‘pot’ of money to be had. The only people who can benefit from his pension in this case would be a spouse or partner who’s financially dependent on him, or a child who’s still in full time education.
If, however, it was a defined contribution pension where you accumulate a pot of money, then it’s up to the pension provider to determine who gets any remaining pension. This would have been sorted out when they were notified of his death.
Did he have a will?

If it’s a public sector pension, he will have had to have filled out a form nominating his beneficiary. My husband has named me/our kids should we die together. If he didn’t, if I understand it correctly it goes back to the exchequer.

Wondering why he didn’t nominate your daughter when he was asked, which he would have been by HR.

That’s not totally correct. Teachers, for example, can only nominate someone for their death in service benefits, but if they don’t, the money goes into their estate. Any pension that could be passed on will only go to applicable beneficiaries - these cannot be nominated as such. So I cant nominate my adult DDs to receive my pension when I die, my DH will receive a portion of it as a spousal beneficiary.

Thank you all , for your replies . My ex didn't leave a will and my daughter is over 18 .
I didn't have anything to do with his finances as he was financially abusive ,that's one of the reasons we divorced .
I will see if we can speak to someone in the university regarding this .
Many thanks again .

As A pp has already said, Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution are two different types of pension. DB guarantees you a pension for life based on your final salary. It’s not a big pot of money as such, and may expire on death if you don’t have a wife to get the widows pension. Your kids would need to be in full time education to get a child’s pension.

DC pension is a pot of money, so if your ex hasn’t already drawn it all down, there may be a balance remaining.

Had your ex retired before he died? There may be a Death in Service lump sum if he was still working.

Also, if he died intestate, your DD should be a beneficiary of his estate. Did he have a house and money in bank? Had he remarried or had more children?

@JimberlyJo , thanks for your reply . My ex had retired before he died and had take half in a lump sum , he did die intestate and his estate, savings and house went to both our children .
He didn't re marry and there were no further children .
I think after your advice and the advice from other posters we'd need to contact the university to see what type of pension he had and if there is actually anything left .