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• More than 1,600 bereavement and death-in-service cases were over 100 days old at the end of September.
• Some pension death-benefit lump sums must be paid within two years of a scheme being notified of a death to qualify for tax-free treatment.
• The government says compensation may be available if administrative delays cause a tax charge.

Bereaved families waiting for civil service pension payments could face an unexpected tax bill because of delays in processing death benefits, according to reporting by BBC Radio 4’s Money Box.

The issue centers on a two-year deadline for certain pension lump sums. Under HM Revenue and Customs rules, where a person dies before age 75, a lump-sum death benefit is generally tax-free only if it is paid within two years of the pension scheme first becoming aware of the death and the payment falls within the relevant tax allowance.