As such, she asks the pension scheme administrator to consider paying Ben’s benefits straight to Tina instead. The administrator can agree, but because of Ben’s expression of wishes Tina will only be able to receive a lump sum.

Someone may ask whether it is better not to complete an expression of wishes at all, if an outdated one presents such risks. However this is also potentially problematic: in the above example, if Ben had not made an expression of wishes the outcome would have been the same, as Fiona would still have been a surviving dependant.

The best solution is to make sure that individuals complete robust expressions of wishes that cover the unexpected, and keep them up to date as soon as their circumstances change.

One way of making sure an expression of wishes works in unexpected situations is to also provide a back-up plan. In the above example, for instance, Ben’s expression of wishes might have asked the administrator to consider Fiona first and foremost, but also stated that if for whatever reason this was not followed, Tina should be considered instead. This way Tina would have had the option of drawdown as she would have been named on Ben’s expression of wishes. 

Jessica List is pension technical manager of Curtis Banks Group