Beacon Credit Union

Beacon Credit Union is a not-for-profit savings and loans co-operative for people who live or work around Runcorn and Widnes. Members save into it, and that money is lent back out to other members at a fair rate rather than used to make a profit for shareholders¹. It runs branches in both towns, and it is known on the high street as Beacon Savings & Loans².

Two features matter most to families. Savings are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the same scheme that protects bank and building society deposits³. And the credit union runs a Bereavement Fund: members get £500 of cover on their savings from the day they join, and once a member has saved over £500 the fund matches pound for pound up to a maximum of £5,000².

Membership is open to people in the local area, and joining normally means a small joining fee or a set amount saved, with £2 or a £10 saving given as typical examples across credit unions¹. You will need two recent documents proving your identity and address¹.

What Beacon Credit Union offers members

A credit union is a not-for-profit financial provider that helps people access banking products such as accounts and savings, and it is run by its members to benefit the community rather than to make a profit¹. Members are connected by a "common bond": they might live or work in the same area, work for the same employer, belong to the same trade union, or belong to the same church or association⁵. For Beacon, the bond is local, which is why its branches sit in Runcorn and Widnes².

Credit unions as a group exist to provide access to fair and affordable credit for people with a poor credit history, and to help those who cannot access mainstream credit or who may not know affordable providers exist³. Their stated aim is to help members who need financial support⁵. That shapes who tends to use them: people who want a small loan, a straightforward savings habit, or a lender that will look at their circumstances rather than only a credit score.

Beacon's own permissions with the FCA are for accepting deposits⁴. In practice that means savings and loans, which is what all credit unions offer⁶. Larger credit unions sometimes add Christmas savings accounts, ISAs, budgeting accounts, current accounts and debt management, though features vary between firms⁶.

If you are not in Beacon's area, the same model exists across the country: most local areas have a credit union, and a finder service can point you to the one that covers where you live or work⁵. Our guide to credit unions explains the model in more detail.

Savings with Beacon and how dividends are decided

Savings at a credit union are usually called shares. Your money is pooled with other members' savings and used to fund loans to members who qualify to borrow⁸. You are not lending to the credit union as you would with a bank deposit; you are a member of a co-operative, and your savings are your stake in it.

The return works differently from a bank account. A credit union normally pays a dividend once a year, and the amount depends on how much you have saved and how much profit the credit union has made⁹. Profit is shared evenly among savings accounts as a dividend, with some kept back and reinvested to improve services⁶. Dividends are usually paid annually⁶, and are described as profit shares distributed among members each year¹⁰.

Two things follow from that. First, a dividend is not a rate of interest: it is not fixed in advance, it is not guaranteed, and it can vary from year to year with the credit union's results. Second, because members own the organisation, the dividend is a decision for the membership rather than something set by an outside shareholder. If you are comparing this with a bank or building society account, our guide to savings accounts sets out how interest-bearing accounts work, and ISAs covers the tax-free versions.

The Beacon Bereavement Fund: how cover builds with savings

Beacon runs a Bereavement Fund that pays a lump sum linked to how much a member has saved. Members get £500 of cover on their savings from the day they join. Once a member has saved over £500, the fund matches pound for pound up to £5,000, which is the maximum coverage².

The value of the payment is directly linked to the member's savings behaviour and balances: generally, the more a member has saved, the higher the payment². That makes it a savings-linked benefit rather than a fixed sum insured, and it means the payout grows as the balance grows, up to the cap.

There are limits. Cover limits and restrictions apply based on balance, age at death and pre-existing conditions, and individual limits and restrictions may vary over time². Anyone relying on the fund should check the current terms with Beacon directly rather than assume the maximum applies to them.

The fund also deals with borrowing. If the deceased member had an outstanding loan balance, the Bereavement Fund clears the member's loan to offset the outstanding balance so that it is not passed on to their loved ones². That is a meaningful difference from an ordinary unsecured loan, where a debt normally forms part of the estate.

Separately, credit unions commonly provide free life insurance covering the value of a loan, so the loan is repaid if the borrower dies before paying it back in full⁶. If you are weighing up protection more broadly, our guide to protection insurance covers life cover, income protection and illness cover.

What happens to a member's savings and loan after death

When a member dies, two things need sorting out: the savings, and any loan. On the loan side, Beacon's Bereavement Fund clears an outstanding loan balance so it is not passed to the member's family². On the savings side, the money forms part of the member's estate and is paid out according to the rules set out below.

Beacon also has a legal right it calls "lien of shares", which allows it to apply a member's shares against money owed to the credit union². In practice this means that if a member dies owing the credit union, their savings can be used to settle that debt before anything is paid to anyone else. Members should know this exists, because it affects what a family actually receives.

For comparison, the position at a bank or building society is different in structure. At NS&I, for example, when an account holder dies the account stops accepting deposits, the balance becomes part of the estate, and the account continues to earn interest while the estate is settled¹¹. The principle that the balance belongs to the estate is the same; what differs is the savings-linked Bereavement Fund and the lien over shares.

If the member was receiving benefits, some bereavement payments work alongside them. Bereavement Support Payment does not affect entitlement to other benefits including Universal Credit, and does not count towards the household benefit cap¹². Our guide to benefits covers what else may be available.

Nominating someone to receive your savings

A member can nominate a person to receive part of their savings when they die. Under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, credit unions can pay the first £5,000 to the person nominated by the member before their death². This is a specific legal route that sits alongside a will, and it can be quicker than waiting for a grant of probate.

Beacon also goes further in straightforward cases. Where a claim is straightforward, such as when the nominee is also the next of kin, it will look to process the next £5,000 as well². So a nominee who is also next of kin may see more than the statutory £5,000 paid without a grant.

Nomination is not the same as a will, and it does not cover everything. Writing a life insurance policy in trust can help make sure the payout goes to the right people, but it does not deal with everything else you leave behind¹³. A will is still needed for the rest of an estate, and a will can set up trusts¹⁴.

For state pensions there is a separate nomination process: you can nominate someone to collect State Pension after your death, and most banks, building societies and other account providers allow a third party access to your account, for example with a second card¹⁵. That is a different mechanism from a credit union nomination and does not move ownership of the money.

When probate is needed and the documents to bring

Probate is the legal authority to deal with someone's estate. Beacon states that when an estate is valued at over £5,000, including property, probate grants the legal right to close accounts and sell assets². Any value over that threshold, or a claim that is not straightforward, will require either a grant of probate or a letter of administration².

If a member dies without a will, probate may be required to claim the savings held with the credit union². That is the point at which the intestacy order matters. Beacon sets out the order in which inheritance rights fall:

1. Spouse or civil partner²
2. Children, with legally adopted children equal to biological children and grandchildren splitting their parent's share equally²
3. Parents of the deceased²
4. Siblings, with their children inheriting their parent's share²
5. Half siblings²
6. Grandparents²
7. Aunts and uncles, with their children inheriting their share²
8. Half aunts and uncles, with their children splitting their share equally²
9. If none of those exist, the Crown estate receives the funds²

The practical consequence is blunt. Legally, common law partners have no rights of inheritance under intestacy laws unless they are named in a will². The same risk applies more widely: without a will, assets are divided according to intestacy rules, which could leave out a partner, including life insurance payouts not held in trust¹⁶.

To make a claim, Beacon asks for the following:

• A death certificate²
• Identification proving your identity²
• A will or grant of probate (any grant of probate or letter of administration)²

All claims, whatever their value, require an indemnity form completed and witnessed by a solicitor, who may charge a fee for that service². If you cannot attend a face-to-face appointment, Beacon can arrange a video appointment, but the original documents are still required to process the claim².

Banking with Beacon: Runcorn and Widnes branches

Beacon serves members through branches in Runcorn and Widnes, and you can call in to either one². That local presence is the practical expression of the common bond: the credit union is set up around an area, and members deal with it where they live.

Credit unions generally offer a mix of access channels, including online and phone banking, a payroll partnership with an employer, a local branch or service point you can walk into, or a combination of all three¹⁷. Which of those a particular credit union offers varies, so it is worth confirming what Beacon provides before joining if branch access matters to you.

To become a member you need to visit or call the credit union to confirm what information you need to join⁷. You will usually need to provide two recent documents to prove your identity and address, such as a passport, driving licence, student or work ID card, bus pass, birth certificate, bank statement or energy bill¹. Credit unions normally ask for a small joining fee or a set amount saved, with £2 or £10 given as typical examples, though the exact requirement is set by each credit union¹.

If you are outside Beacon's area, a finder service can help you locate the credit union that covers you⁶. Our guide to current accounts explains what to look for in a day-to-day account, and getting started with your money covers the basics of setting up.

Making a complaint to Beacon and taking it further

Start with Beacon itself. FCA-authorised consumer credit firms must have a formal complaints procedure¹⁸. If the complaint is about borrowing and you believe the lender did not assess affordability properly, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at it: if the lender does not uphold the complaint, or does not acknowledge it, you can escalate it to the ombudsman¹⁹.

There is a wrinkle specific to credit unions. Most of the loans credit unions provide are specifically exempt from the FCA's Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC)²⁰. Where CONC does not apply, the standards a lender is expected to meet, for example the level of checks before lending, will typically be lower than those imposed on lenders and loans covered by CONC²⁰. That does not remove your right to complain, but it does change what the lender was required to do in the first place.

If you are turned down for an account, the rules on refusal are specific. Where an application for a payment account with basic features is refused, the institution must advise the consumer how a complaint against the refusal may be made to it, and of the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service²¹. Refused applicants must also be told how to complain to the institution and to the ombudsman, with the relevant contact details²². Independent guidance is consistent that if you believe you have been turned down unfairly, you may be able to complain to the ombudsman²³.

The ombudsman publishes complaint volumes by product, which gives a sense of scale: in Q1 2026/27 it opened 2,103 complaints about personal loans, 5,783 about credit cards and 62 about business credit cards²⁷. The ombudsman service is free to consumers, and consumers may complain to the firm and seek redress from it, referring the matter to the ombudsman if the firm does not satisfy the complaint and it is appropriate²⁸.

Our guide to debt covers what to do if borrowing has become unmanageable, and consumer protection explains the wider complaint system.

How your savings with Beacon are protected

Savings and loans at credit unions are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme³. All shares, meaning savings, in an affiliated credit union are eligible for protection under the FSCS⁸. That protection is the same scheme that covers bank and building society deposits, and it applies per person per institution.

The FSCS limit is a single figure across the firms that share a licence, so if you hold savings with more than one credit union or bank, it is worth knowing which ones count together. Our guide to consumer protection explains how the limits work in practice.

Beacon's regulatory position is straightforward. It is authorised by the FCA under reference 213805, with a status effective date of 2 July 2002, and its permission is for accepting deposits⁴. It also appears on the Bank of England's list of UK-incorporated credit unions regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority²⁹. You can check the FCA Register yourself using the reference number.