Who will receive benefits?

Your spouse

A spouse’s pension is payable automatically if you are married and living with your spouse. If your spouse is more than 10 years younger than you or if you marry within 6 months of your death the pension may be reduced.

Special provisions for young spouses

The Rules applicable to young spouses are dependent upon the section of the Plan in which you are a member.

• Closed TRW UK, ZF Great Britain, ZF Lemforder

  A spouse’s pension is payable to the person you were married to at the date of your death. If your spouse is more than ten years younger than you then their pension will be reduced.

• Closed Steering

  A spouse’s pension is payable to the person you were married to at the date of your death. If your spouse is more than ten years younger than you then their pension will be reduced. If you were to die within six months of the marriage, and the marriage took place after your pension commenced, their pension may be reduced regardless of any difference in age.

• All other sections

  A spouse’s pension is payable to the person to whom you are married to and living with at the date of your death. However, if you were to marry after your normal retirement date, your spouse’s pension may be reduced if your spouse is more than ten years younger than you. However, if you were to die within six months of marriage, and the marriage took place after your normal retirement date (or after you left the Company if you are a member of the Dowty section), their pension may be reduced regardless of any difference in age.

Your spouse if you are separated or no longer living with your spouse

The Rules concerning your spouse if you are separate or no longer living with your spouse are dependent upon the section of the Plan in which you are a member.

• Closed TRW UK, ZF Great Britain, ZF Lemforder

  A spouse’s pension is paid to your legal widow or widower.

• Closed TRW Steering

  A spouse’s pension is paid to your legal widow or widower, however if you have a partner and remained married the Trustee may divide the pension between those persons and in such proportions as it thinks fit.

• All other sections

  Under the Plan Rules a spouse is the member's widow or widower that is, at the date of the member's death, living with the member and is financially dependent upon the member to a substantial extent.

  If on death the member is still married but no longer living with, or separated from their husband or wife, the criteria required in order to pay a spouse's pension will not be met. The Trustee does, however, have discretion to pay all or part of the spouse's pension to the member's legal widow or widower (the member's husband or wife to whom they are still legally married but are separated from or no longer living with). They will be entitled to receive, at the minimum, the appropriate level of any Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) that is payable. If you were a member of the Plan between April 1978 and March 1997 it is likely that part of your pension will be GMP. The Rules which govern GMP are different to Plan pension and GMP must be paid to the person to which you are legally married.

Adult dependants

The Rules concerning the pension payable to what the Plan calls a Qualifying Dependant (such as an unmarried partner) are dependent upon the Section of the Plan in which you are a member.

• Closed TRW UK

  A spouse’s pension is payable to an adult dependant at the Trustee’s and Principal Employer’s discretion if you were living with them at the time of your death in a relationship closely resembling marriage.

• Closed TRW Steering, ZF Lemforder

  A spouse’s pension is payable to an adult dependant at the Trustee’s discretion if they were financially dependent on you or had a relationship of mutual dependence. If you are also married the Trustee may divide the pension between those persons and in such proportions as it thinks fit.

• ZF Great Britain

  If you do not have a spouse, a pension equal to the spouse's pension may be paid at the Trustee's discretion to an individual who is living permanently with you as if your spouse and who is financially dependent on you, or in a financial relationship of mutual dependence, or dependant on you due to physical or mental impairment.

• All other sections

  If the member dies and does not leave a spouse (as defined in the Plan Rules) but does leave one or more of what the Plan calls a qualifying dependants, the Trustee has the discretion to pay all or part of the spouse's pension to the member's Qualifying Dependants. If there is also a legal widow or widower the Trustee may still decide to pay some, or all, of the spouse's pension to the member's Qualifying Dependants.

Children’s pensions

The benefits payable to children are dependent upon the section of the Plan in which you are a member.

• Closed TRW UK, ZF Great Britain

  Where a member has no spouse at time of death but has surviving children, the spouse's pension will be divided between any children under age 18 that are left. It will be paid until the youngest child reaches 18.

• Closed TRW Steering

  Where a member has no spouse at time of death but has surviving children, the spouse's pension will be divided between any children under age 18 that are left. It will be paid until the youngest child reaches 18 (or 21 if in full-time education or 25 if incapacitated).

• ZF Lemforder

  Where a member has no spouse at time of death but has surviving children, the spouse's pension will be divided between any children under age 18 that are left at the Trustee’s discretion. It will be paid until the youngest child reaches 18 (or under 23 if in full time education).

• All other sections

  If you have children under age 22, a pension may also be paid to them in addition to the spouse's pension.

  • If there is one child, a pension of half the widow / widower's pension is payable. If there are two or more children, a pension equal to the spouse's pension is payable.
  • This pension is paid until the children reach age 16 (or 22 if in full-time education or receiving State disability pension) and not in paid employment.
  • For the children of a single parent, a notional spouse's pension is used to calculate the children's pension.