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Are your affairs taken care of?

Aug 11, 2025
Although it’s not something we like to think about, there may be a time where we may lose our mental capacity.

This isn’t something strictly age-related, as accidents and illnesses can happen at any time. There are things you can put in place, like a Lasting Power of Attorney, to ensure that you are taken care of if this happens. 

This article applies to members living in England and Wales. If you live in Scotland, there’s a different way to make a power of attorney. You can find out more here.

An LPA a legal document that gives one or more people you trust the power to manage:   

  • your property and financial affairs 

  • your health and welfare  

As a property and financial affairs attorney, your appointed person can help to make decisions about things like: 

  • money, tax and bills 

  • bank and building society accounts 

  • property and investments 

  • pensions and benefits 

 As a health and welfare attorney, your appointed person can help make decisions about things like your:  

  • daily routine, including eating, washing and dressing 

  • medical care 

An LPA is like a ‘living will’ that allows someone to deal with your affairs on your behalf if lose your mental capacity. This can give you more control over what happens to you if you have an accident or an illness and cannot make your own decisions. 

Why complete an LPA? 

If you lose capacity and don’t have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, this could stop your pension payments. The process of reactivating them would have to go through court protection, which can take years to get through. This could prove to be a real problem for members dependent on their pension for care home fees, or anything else.  

Applying to register an LPA costs £82 unless you get a reduction or exemption.  

Your appointed person should only send this into us if you have lost capacity  

You can complete a Lasting Power of Attorney at any age. However, this should only be sent to us once you have lost capacity. Otherwise, we’ll no longer be able to deal with you directly about your pension. 

If you want someone else to speak to us about your pension, you can call us on 0800 ​012 1117 with your appointed person on the call.