DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY

DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY

We’re committed to supporting you throughout times of uncertainty. From the rise in the cost of living, protecting yourself from fraud and understanding the impact of global events on long term savings. We’ve put together information and insight to support you during times of market volatility.

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YOUR FUTURE WEBINAR SERIES

YOUR FUTURE WEBINAR SERIES

Join the Scottish Widows pension experts for a programme of live webinars and get the chance to ask them anything about your workplace pension.

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TAP ONTO YOUR PENSION

TAP ONTO YOUR PENSION

The new Scottish Widows App is available for download now. It allows you to see how much is in your pension and your recent payments, so you know if you’re on track. And it’s so easy to use. All you need to register is your National Insurance number and your pension number. If you don’t have your pension number, you can use your postcode.

 

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Learn about our mobile app
Florist on retirement

YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY

The experts at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association have published a set of retirement living standard to help you picture your retirement and what it might cost. They are pitched at three levels, (minimum, moderate and comfortable) based on a basket of goods and services, from food and drink to holidays.

Retirement Living Standards

Pension planning

Pension options

Meet your future self

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES AND BE MONEY WELL

Financial wellbeing has never been more important. With many people’s finances under pressure from the rise in the cost of living, we’re committed to supporting you during these challenging times, and to help you take control of your finances. When we are on top of our money, we feel better.

Our Be Money Well site can help you manage your financial commitments and plan for the future you want.

The site also has a dedicated section to develop your digital skills and help you manage your finances online.

TRANSFER YOUR PENSION

It can be easy to lose track of pensions.  

Maybe you've moved jobs or house a few times. There's lots you can do to make sure you're in touch with pensions that could boost your income when you retire. 

What happens when you transfer

First, we’ll tell you about what’s involved in a transfer, so you can decide if it’s right for you. If you go ahead, we’ll help you every step of the way.

How we manage your details

We’ll ask you to provide some personal details as part of this process. You can read about how we manage this information in our data privacy notice at www.scottishwidows.co.uk/legalprivacy.

If you change your mind

When you transfer pensions to us, we’ll send you a letter to confirm this has been done. If you change your mind, you have 30 days from the date you receive this letter to let us know.

If you decide to return your pension to your other provider, they may not accept it. You might have to set up a new pension with them. This may have different features and charges. You might even have to open a pension with a third provider.

Get started

TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO PLAN FOR THE 'WHAT IFS'.

TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO PLAN FOR THE 'WHAT IFS'.

Would you like to leave your pension to someone you care about? Or maybe there's a charity that you'd like to support?

It only takes a few minutes, just go to your 'personal details' page and add them as a beneficiary.

Log in to nominate

Tools & calculators

Government's Mid-Life MOT

Government's Mid-Life MOT

Visit the government’s Midlife MOT website for trusted services, tools and charity resources to help you think about work, health and money with future planning in mind.

Mid-life MOT Meet your future self

Investment Risk Assessment tool

Investment Risk Assessment tool

This tool provides information that you might find useful in choosing investments to help you achieve your retirement objectives. It’s designed to assess your attitude to risk and provide you with an example of a typical asset allocation that might be used by someone with the same attitude to risk.


This tool is provided by a third party and the content is not controlled by Scottish Widows. Once you click on the link to access the tool, you will leave Scottish Widows' website.

Investment Risk Assessment Your Risk Profiler Tool

PENSION FUNDS

PENSION FUNDS

You can find full details of fund choices in Your investment choices (PDF, 200KB)

Further information on your wider fund choices can be found here:


Pension funds

FUNDS AND INVESTING

FUNDS AND INVESTING

YOUR KEY DOCUMENTS LIBRARY

  • Fund guide (PDF, 3MB) This guide provides information on the different fund choices that are available to you.
    Introduction to investing (PDF, 3MB) This booklet explains the different types of investment choices available to you and how they work.
    Pensions Investment Approaches Guide (PDF, 700KB) This guide details the Pension Investment Approaches (PIAs) that are available to you.
    Investing Responsibly with your Pension (PDF, 2MB) This guide provides information on how Scottish Widows are investing responsibly.
    Investment choices (PDF, 200KB) This leaflet lists the pension fund choices that are available to you and the total annual fund charge for each fund.

    We may have provided links to documents and other information supplied by third parties (including your employer or scheme trustees, and their advisers), who are solely responsible for their content and accuracy. All statements, views and opinions contained in these documents and other information are those of the third parties, not Scottish Widows.

  • Helping You Prepare for Your Retirement (PDF, 1MB)

    This guide gives details of the options available to you when you want to start taking your benefits.

    MoneyHelper guide - Your pension: your choices (PDF, 2MB) This guide, from the independent MoneyHelper, is also designed to give details on the options available to you when you start to think about taking your benefits.
    Hub Financial Solutions Flyer (PDF, 147KB) Hub Financial Solutions are a retirement specialists.  This leaflet provides information on their Annuity Service.
    Things to Think at Retirement (PDF, 62KB) This leaflet provides information on the things to consider prior to taking your pension.
    Your guide to flexible income (PDF, 306KB) This guide explains the ways in which you can access your pension using the flexible income option.
    Flexible income fund range (PDF, 983KB) This guide is designed to give you an understanding of the funds you can invest in if you wish to take a flexible income.
    Investment pathways: your guide to investment options for flexible income (PDF, 355KB) This guide explains the investment pathways available to you if you decide to take a flexible income.

    We may have provided links to documents and other information supplied by third parties (including your employer or scheme trustees, and their advisers), who are solely responsible for their content and accuracy. All statements, views and opinions contained in these documents and other information are those of the third parties, not Scottish Widows.

  • Pension transfer guide (PDF, 200KB)

    This guide describes the potential benefits of transferring existing benefits to your Retirement Saver and highlights some of the things to consider.

    Transfer in form (PDF, 1MB) If you decide to transfer please complete this application.

    We may have provided links to documents and other information supplied by third parties (including your employer or scheme trustees, and their advisers), who are solely responsible for their content and accuracy. All statements, views and opinions contained in these documents and other information are those of the third parties, not Scottish Widows.

Member guide (PDF, 3MB)

This guide should answer most of the questions you might have about your plan.

Key features illustration (PDF, 200KB) This illustration shows our standard charges and how they could affect what you might get back. Your actual charges may be different from those shown, please see your personalised illustration for details of these.
Key features of your plan (PDF, 300KB) This contains important information about your plan which you need to read.
Terms and conditions (PDF, 400KB) This contains details of the terms and conditions of the plan.
Pension tax (PDF, 3MB) This guide gives information on how your plan is affected by current tax legislation.

We may have provided links to documents and other information supplied by third parties (including your employer or scheme trustees, and their advisers), who are solely responsible for their content and accuracy. All statements, views and opinions contained in these documents and other information are those of the third parties, not Scottish Widows.

WOMEN IN RETIREMENT REPORT

WOMEN IN RETIREMENT REPORT

Our latest Women and Retirement report dives deeper into some of the reasons behind the gender pension gap, showing that deep-seated structural inequalities remain on pay and employment.

Read the report (PDF, 4MB) opens in a new tab

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

  • Many employers provide a workplace pension for their staff. Workplace pensions can be a good option as most employers will also make a regular contribution to your pension.

    HOW DOES A WORKPLACE PENSION WORK?

    Watch our short video to find out more about your workplace pension.

  • Under automatic enrolment, there is a minimum total contribution that must be paid into your pension. The amount is set by the Government and is made up of your and your employer’s contributions, as well as tax relief on your contribution.

    WHAT IS TAX RELIEF?

    Tax relief is just one of the benefits of a pension. In this video, we explain how tax relief works and what it could mean for you. The tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances. Your circumstances and tax rules may change in the future.

    CAN YOU COMBINE YOUR DIFFERENT PENSION POTS TOGETHER?

    Merging your pension pots can make managing your pension much easier, but you may lose access to certain benefits if you do so.

    Can you combine all your pensions?

    Learn more about workplace pensions

  • No matter how close you are to retirement, you still have time to boost your pension savings. You can top up your existing pension contribution by paying in a lump sum or increasing your regular contributions. The retirement benefits you receive will depend on a number of factors including the value of your plan when you decide to take your benefits which isn't guaranteed, and can go down as well as up. The value of your plan could fall below the amount(s) paid in.

    HOW MUCH SHOULD I SAVE FOR RETIREMENT?

    When you start saving for your future it's important to consider how much money you should save.

  • You can find out more about your investment choices in the Key Documents section of the scheme infosite. You may want to review your current investment choice and be comfortable that these are still aligned to your attitude to risk. If you are still unsure what to do you could speak to a financial adviser to help you. Please note, you’ll need to pay for this.

    DO I NEED A FINANCIAL ADVISER?

    Financial Advisers can really help you make the most of your money and plan for your future. We also look at some of the other options available.

    Find a financial adviser

    Learn more about saving for your future

  • Retirement calculators help you to understand what each pension option could mean to you. You can also explore how tax will be applied when taking all or some of your money out.

     

    Go to calculators

    You can also log in to use more tools

    WHEN SHOULD I TAKE MY PENSION?

    When planning for your future, it's important to know when you can access your pension pot.  You can normally take your benefits from age 55, however the Normal Minimum Pension Age will be changing from 55 to 57 from 2028.

    See your pension options

    WHAT IS A STATE PENSION?

    There are a number of differences between the State Pension and a private pension, including when you can get it and how much you'll get. Our Retirement Expert Alison explains more in our short film.

We want to make sure we keep you updated so you’re in control of your retirement plans. Let us know your communications preferences so we can keep you informed.

Keep in touch

Contact us

By phone

0800 032 1260

 

CALLING FROM ABROAD

+44 113 366 0159

 

OPENING HOURS

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

By post

Scottish Widows Workplace Savings
PO Box 24173
69 Morrison Street
EDINBURGH
EH3 1HP