Who inherits my pension?

Unlike the rest of your assets, your pension scheme is not included as part of your general estate. It is therefore important that you consider your options and decide who should receive any benefit payments from your pension scheme when you die. Otherwise, you risk the money being paid out to someone other than those you intended.
 
Nominating a beneficiary means deciding who should receive any disbursements from your pension scheme in the event of your death.
 
When we establish your pension scheme, we automatically enter your ‘next of kin’ as beneficiary.
This means that any disbursements in the event of your death will go to your spouse/registered partner if you are married or have entered into a registered partnership. If you are not married or in a registered partnership, any disbursements will go to your cohabiting partner, cf. definition below. If you do not have a cohabiting partner, your issue (your children and their descendants), etc., will receive the benefits, cf. the order of priority below.
 
If you prefer that the disbursement, or part of it, should instead go to someone else, you have to inform us of this by completing and submitting a nomination of beneficiary form. This allows you the freedom to secure those you designate.
 
You should pay particular attention to whether your beneficiary nomination is correct if you have not previously decided this or if your life situation changes. For example, if you have children, if you marry, or if you get divorced.

Next of kin – in order of priority

• your spouse/registered partner
• your cohabiting partner, if you live together and have done so for at least two years or are expecting, have or have had children together
• your issue (i.e. your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – though not stepchildren)
• your heirs according to your will
• your heirs according to the rules of the Danish Inheritance Act

This prioritised list does not apply to children’s pensionor spouse's pension.

Special conditions apply to Whole life annuity schemes (Livsvarig livrente) 

If you have a Whole life annuity scheme, please be aware that disbursement in the event of your death before benefit payments have commenced will always be made to your spouse/registered partner, irrespective of who you have nominated as your beneficiary/-ies. This may also include former spouses. If there are no (former) spouses/registered partners, the savings will be disbursed to the nominated beneficiary/-ies.

The difference between inheritance and beneficiary nomination

Velliv’s Head of Insurance Law, Dorte Christensen, guides you through the differences between inheritance and beneficiary nomination, how to check who your pension will be disbursed to in the event of your death, and in which situations drawing up a will may be a good idea.