What an expression of wishes is
An expression of wishes — sometimes called a nomination or death-benefit nomination — is the form you give your pension scheme to say who you'd like to receive the pension if you die.
Most pensions sit outside your estate, so they pass under the scheme's rules, guided by that form, rather than under your will. The trustees keep final discretion, but a clear, current nomination is what they work from.
Your will may name who inherits. Your pension usually doesn't read it.
This is information, not financial or tax advice. It helps you record what exists and keep it findable — decisions about who to nominate, pension structure, or tax belong with a qualified financial adviser.
What to record, per pension
Six things to capture for each pension you hold. Not the money — the route to it: the scheme, the nomination, and how someone reaches it.
Scheme and type
The scheme's name and what kind it is — workplace defined-benefit or defined-contribution, a personal pension, a SIPP or SSAS. Each behaves differently on death.
Provider and contact
Who administers it and how to reach them — the provider name, a phone number or portal, and your adviser if one manages it.
Your member or policy number
The reference the scheme needs to find your record quickly. Masked in your own notes; the full number stays with the scheme.
Is a nomination on file?
Whether you've completed an expression of wishes (sometimes called a nomination or 'death benefit nomination') — and the date you last did. An old or missing one is the most common failure.
Who you've named
The people or trust you've nominated to receive the death benefit. This is what the scheme works from — not your will.
Where the confirmation is kept
Where the completed form or the scheme's confirmation lives, so someone can prove the nomination exists when it matters.
When to revisit it
An old nomination is the most common pension mistake — naming someone you've since divorced, or a beneficiary who has died. Revisit it whenever life moves.
How Valoren helps
Valoren keeps the pension layer of your records in one place — each scheme, whether a nomination is on file and when it was last updated, the provider contact, and where the confirmation lives. So the question "is my pension going to the right person, and can my family find it?" has an answer that stays current.
A pension nobody can trace is a pension your family may never receive.
Free blank template
Every pension provider has its own nomination form — but the information they need is the same. This blank template sets out the standard fields: beneficiary names, relationships, percentages, and contact details. Complete it before approaching your provider; the provider's own form becomes the final submission.