What is death-in-service benefit?

The short answer

Death-in-service is life insurance your employer pays for. If you die while employed by the company — for any reason, not just at work — it pays your loved ones a lump sum, typically a multiple of your salary. Two to four times salary is common; generous schemes pay up to eight times.

How it works

Your employer covers the cost — it's free to you. The payout usually goes through a discretionary trust, which generally means it's tax-free for your beneficiaries and doesn't have to wait for probate. The key admin step: complete your employer's nomination form (sometimes called an "expression of wish") so the scheme knows who you'd want the money to go to. People often forget this, especially after big life changes like marriage or divorce.

What the multiple is worth

On a £40,000 salary, 2× cover pays £80,000; 8× cover pays £320,000. That's a huge difference between two otherwise similar offers — equivalent private life cover could cost a healthy person hundreds of pounds a year, and far more if you have health conditions. If you have a mortgage or dependants, the multiple genuinely matters.

What to check with an employer

Ask the salary multiple, whether cover starts from day one, and whether it's linked to joining the pension scheme — at some employers, opting out of the pension also reduces or removes your death-in-service cover.

How OfferWise treats it

Toggle life insurance on for an offer in OfferWise and it counts towards the offer's score — because an employer who protects your family is offering real value beyond the payslip.

Comparing job offers? OfferWise scores every offer on salary, pension, life insurance and more — free.