Phoenix Life

Phoenix Life is the brand that looks after a large book of older pensions, life insurance policies, investment bonds and mortgage endowments. Many of its policies were originally sold by other companies and later transferred in: its own website lists previous providers including Abbey Life, Alba Life, Allianz Cornhill, Britannia Life, Legal & General, NPI and National Provident Life, Pearl Assurance, Scottish Mutual, Scottish Provident, Sun Life and Swiss Life (UK), among many others¹. If you have an old policy with one of those names on the paperwork, Phoenix Life may well be the company administering it today.

The brand sits within a wider group whose brands include Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life, ReAssure, Phoenix Wealth and Phoenix Corporate Investment Services². Phoenix Life itself is largely a closed-book administrator: it manages existing policies rather than competing for new business, and much of what it does is help customers understand old plans and take their benefits. Its guides cover how your pension is paid for, how the decisions you make affect the charges you pay, and how the State Pension works³.

Phoenix Life policies: pensions, life cover, investment bonds and endowments

Phoenix Life administers four broad kinds of policy, and the restrictions that come with an older plan can affect all of them, including pensions, life products and investment bonds⁷.

Pensions are the biggest part of the book. Most Phoenix pension plans offer a range of funds from low to higher risk funds⁵. Many are older types of pension that were not designed to offer the full range of options available on newer plans, which is why Phoenix Life publishes separate guidance on what your particular plan can and cannot do². Its pension guides can help you work out the retirement income you want, check your current plan's estimated worth and find answers to common questions³. For background on how pensions work generally, see our pensions guide.

Life cover includes whole-of-life and term policies taken out with the predecessor companies. Claims on these policies are paid as a lump sum to beneficiaries, and Phoenix Life runs a dedicated claims process after a death, described later on this page. If you are weighing up whether cover of this kind still fits your circumstances, our protection insurance guide explains the types available.

Investment bonds are single-premium investments linked to funds which may include stocks and shares⁸. Costs and charges vary depending on the funds you are invested in and the type of policy you hold⁸.

Mortgage endowments are older with-profits savings plans originally intended to repay a home loan. Many are now paid up or approaching maturity. If you still hold one, the with-profits rules in the next two sections matter, and our mortgages guide covers what an endowment was meant to do.

How the investment funds work, and switching them for free

Most Phoenix pension plans offer a range of funds from low to higher risk funds⁵. Lower-risk funds typically hold assets such as cash and bonds, while higher-risk funds invest in assets such as shares, which can grow more over the long term but fall in value too. Where your money sits between those extremes shapes both the returns you might get and the swings you will see along the way.

You can usually switch existing investments and change where future payments are invested for free⁵. That means if your attitude to risk has changed, or your plan is still in a fund that no longer suits you, moving money between funds does not itself cost anything. Any switch changes what you are invested in, not the value of your pot, and the usual investment risks apply afterwards.

One feature of older plans deserves particular attention: lifestyle switching. This gradually moves your pension savings out of higher-risk funds, investing in assets such as shares, into lower-risk funds as you approach your chosen pension date, and it normally starts five years before that date⁵. Phoenix has decided to turn off lifestyle switching for new arrangements because of recent changes to how people access their pensions⁹. Where lifestyle switching has already kicked in, it continues unless you ask for it to be turned off⁹.

Charges on transferring out and on with-profits funds

There may be a cost to transfer your plan to another provider. This is usually capped at 1% of your plan's value, depending on the type of plan you have and when you choose to transfer². The same cap is stated in Phoenix Life's own retirement options material⁴, so it is the figure to work from, but the exact charge depends on your plan, and Phoenix Life's website carries the current terms.

With-profits funds carry their own rules. If you are invested in with-profits funds and transfer before the retirement date on your plan, a market value reduction may apply². A market value reduction reduces what you get out of the fund to reflect how the underlying investments have performed, and it exists to protect the investors who remain. You also will not be able to remain in your with-profits funds when you transfer to a new plan, and there may be an exit charge for taking tax-free cash only².

On charges generally, Phoenix Life's Independent Governance Committee publishes detailed costs and charges information, including the ongoing charges and transaction costs for all funds that Phoenix customers can invest in, plus example illustrations for eleven of the most popular funds⁸. Costs and charges can vary depending on the funds you are invested in and the type of policy you have⁸, so the published documents are the place to check what your own plan costs.

Stopping premiums on a with-profits policy has lasting consequences. If your policy becomes paid up, your bonuses stop and you will not receive any future guaranteed bonuses¹⁰. This cannot be reversed once the policy is made paid up¹⁰. You will not be able to pay back your missed premiums; instead, the amount of outstanding premiums owed is deducted from the final amount paid out on a claim¹⁰. If your policy has not been made paid up, future bonuses are not impacted and will continue, fixed and guaranteed after the fund closes¹⁰.

Your options at retirement: tax-free cash, annuity, drawdown or a mix

When you come to take your pension savings, you can normally take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum². What you do with the rest is a choice with long consequences, and Phoenix Life sets out the main routes.

• An annuity converts your pot into a guaranteed income for life. Once you have bought an annuity, you usually cannot change your mind², so the decision is one-way.
• Drawdown leaves your money invested while you take an income from it. Official guidance describes this as drawing an income directly from your pension fund as a drawdown pension¹¹. Your money stays exposed to investment risk and can run down.
• A scheme pension is a secured pension for life paid out of scheme assets or purchased from an insurance company¹¹, an option on some older defined benefit arrangements.
• A mix of these, combining tax-free cash with an annuity for essentials and drawdown for flexibility.

For context, when you retire from a defined benefit scheme you can take some of your pension as a tax-free cash lump sum¹², and the same 25% principle applies across most pension types. Because an annuity cannot usually be undone², and because older Phoenix plans were not designed to offer every option², Phoenix Life recommends taking impartial guidance and advice to understand your options and make sure your plans are right for you³. Free guidance is available from Pension Wise, and MoneyHelper can point you to regulated advisers. Our pensions guide explains each option in more detail.

Taking your pension: the retirement pack comes first

The retirement date on your pension plan is not a deadline. You do not have to do anything with your pension savings when you reach that date if you don't want to⁴. You can usually start accessing your pension savings from age 55, or 57 from 6 April 2028⁴.

Before anything happens, Phoenix Life sends a retirement pack. This is the document that sets out your plan's value and the options open to you, and Phoenix Life will not process a request to take benefits until you have it. That retirement pack sits at the end of a wider journey that starts years earlier. Pension providers issue a wake-up pack to policyholders approaching 50, which includes a government-backed step-by-step guide on how to take your pension¹³. Before that, you receive a letter showing the current value of your pension¹³.

The State Pension is separate from your Phoenix Life plan, and Phoenix Life's guides explain how it works, when you can claim and how much you will get³. If you defer claiming the basic State Pension, you get your first payment at the end of the first full week in which you want to start getting your pension¹⁷. Check your State Pension forecast on GOV.UK alongside your Phoenix Life pack so you can see the whole picture.

Tracing a lost policy with Phoenix Life

If you find paperwork with a company name that no longer exists, the dropdown on Phoenix Life's death claim and contact pages is the quickest way to identify who now holds the policy: choose the name of the company the policy was with before it became part of Phoenix Life, and it shows the contact details for the customer centre team responsible for it¹. The list includes Abbey Life, Britannia Life, Pearl Assurance, Scottish Mutual, Scottish Provident, Sun Life and many others¹. Sun Life policies were transferred to Phoenix Life CA Limited in August 2026¹.

The government's free Pension Tracing Service can also help locate lost pensions, and the same principle applies to life policies: old documents, bank statements showing premium payments and employer records are all useful evidence. Once traced, ask Phoenix Life for a current valuation and a summary of the policy's terms, including whether it is with-profits and whether any guarantees apply.

Two ombudsman cases show why it pays to check what an old policy actually is. In one, a whole-of-life policy had been reviewed three years earlier and the provider had assumed the customer wanted to keep premiums the same and reduce the level of cover; the provider later agreed to reinstate her original level of cover, with premium increases backdated, because her health had not changed¹⁸. In another, a consumer complained that she had been led to believe she had taken out life insurance when the policy was actually personal accident insurance¹⁹. The ombudsman's work on underinsurance and non-disclosure also shows that what is disclosed when a policy is taken out affects whether a claim is paid²⁰. If a traced policy is not what you expected, complain first to Phoenix Life and then to the Financial Ombudsman Service if needed.

Making a claim after a death

Tell Phoenix Life as soon as you can after the policyholder dies, so it can stop sending correspondence and taking policy payments and start the claims process¹. To find the right customer centre team, choose from the dropdown the name of the company the policy was with before it became part of Phoenix Life¹. You will need the death certificate and the policy documents.

A payout from a life policy affects other money matters, so it is worth dealing with benefits and estate matters at the same time:

• If the person who died was receiving benefits, use the Tell Us Once service to report the death²¹.
• Housing benefit claims should be updated as soon as possible, as the amount you are entitled to may change²².
• In Scotland, a Funeral Support Payment might need to be paid back if there are funds from an insurance policy paid out on death²³.
• Before applying for a Funeral Support Payment in Scotland, register the death of the person the funeral is for²⁴. Applications can be made after the person died, and up to six months after their funeral⁷.
• In Northern Ireland, more information about Funeral Expenses Payment, and an application form, can be accessed at nidirect²⁵. Don't wait to make your claim, even if you don't have all the evidence yet²⁶.

If the policy was linked to a workplace pension that has since transferred into the Pension Protection Fund, members can nominate an eligible beneficiary to receive payments after they die²⁷. The PPF exists to compensate members of failed defined benefit schemes, and its website explains what membership means.

Powers of attorney and managing someone else's policy

When someone loses the capacity to manage their own policy, an attorney can act for them, but the paperwork must be registered first. The attorney should get in touch with the Office of the Public Guardian and send them the power of attorney document, any certified copies and a copy of the death certificate if relevant²⁸. In Northern Ireland, if or when the person loses capacity, an enduring power of attorney must be registered with the Office of Care and Protection²⁷. Once the registration is in place, contact Phoenix Life with the details so the attorney can be recorded against the policy.

Moving abroad with a Phoenix Life policy

Phoenix Life's UK and offshore products taken out in the UK are aimed at UK residents⁷. If you are no longer resident in the UK, restrictions can affect a number of savings products you may hold, including pensions, life products and investment bonds⁷. Setting up a new plan, which may include accessing drawdown from a different type of plan, paying money in or taking money out, and tax planning may not be simple or possible⁷. Phoenix Life's advice is to review your savings and take appropriate advice before moving abroad, as you may not be able to carry on with everything you hold⁷.

Other rules change too. If you want to live in an EU country, check the country's living in guide for information about your rights, as you may need a visa²⁴. You can keep paying National Insurance while abroad to protect your State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances²⁵. One benefit that stops is pension credit: you cannot get pension credit if you move abroad permanently²¹. Our money abroad guide covers the wider picture.

Scams, complaints and how your money is protected

Pension scams are a real risk around older pots. Warning signs include offers to free up your pension pot before the age of 55²⁹. Never hand over money or personal details in response to an unsolicited call, email or text about your pension. If you have given bank details or sent money, contact your bank immediately²⁹, and report fraud to the police through the Report Fraud website²⁹. Loan fee fraud, where a fee is charged up front for a loan that never appears, should be reported to Action Fraud³⁰.

If something goes wrong with the policy or the service, complain to Phoenix Life first. If you are unhappy with its final response, or eight weeks pass without one, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at the complaint. It handles complaints about personal pensions³¹, complaints about a range of insurance products³², and complaints about the way a financial business has dealt with a scam involving unauthorised payments, stolen details or identity theft²³. The ombudsman is free and its decisions can be binding on the firm. If you have been a victim of fraud, also report the fraudulent activity to the police by calling 101, or 999 if you feel threatened or unsafe²⁶.

On protection, Phoenix Life CA Limited is authorised by the FCA, reference 110481, with status effective from 1 December 2001⁶, and appears on the Bank of England's list of insurers incorporated in the UK authorised to carry out contracts of insurance³³. The company, number 00959082, was incorporated on 28 July 1969 and is active³⁴. Long-term insurance such as whole-of-life assurance is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which pays 100% of a claim for this class of insurance³⁵. The FSCS protects consumers when authorised firms fail; it does not cover investment losses from market falls. Our consumer protection guide explains the full scheme, and our scams and fraud guide covers how to spot a pension scam.