In sept-24‚ POʼs brother passed away leaving behind important pension arrangements for their disabled sister. The brother had made a smart-yet-sacrificial choice — accepting lower pension pay-outs from Friends Life (now part of Aviva) to ensure his sister would receive life-long support
The situation got complicated when the company didnt honor the dual-life annuity worth £1‚458 per-year. The brother had properly filled-out forms listing his 61-year-old sister as a dependant relative (which matches gov-uk guidelines that include siblings as valid dependants)
The care-home residentʼs brother had set-up everything correctly; however the company made things difficult by rejecting the claim without proper explanation. This denial meant nearly £30k in lost future support for someone who really needs it — his sister who deals with significant disabilities and dementia
If you choose you can provide a pension for your husband‚ wife‚ civil partner or dependents when you die
After thorough re-examination Aviva fixed its mistake and started back-payments directly to the care facility. The company offered compensation which PO chose to donate for the care homes christmas celebrations; showing how sometimes bureaucratic mix-ups can have happy endings