Transport Friendly Society

Transport Friendly Society is a UK friendly society that offers tax-free savings and a Sickness Plan for people working in transport and logistics. It is owned by its members and not shareholders¹, and it is registered and incorporated under the Friendly Societies Act 1992 with register number 434F².

The society's registered office is 3rd Floor, Derbyshire House, St Chad's Street, London, WC1H 8AG². Money held with it is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme².

The Sickness Plan is open to UK residents under the age of 60 who are in good health at the time of the original application and who work for an employer that provides or is associated with the provision of transport and logistics facilities². The society does not assess your line of work, and contributions are the same whether you are a driver, engineer, clerical or catering staff².

What Transport Friendly Society offers

Transport Friendly Society sells two main types of product: tax-free savings accounts and the Sickness Plan. Both are designed around the society's membership, and when you take out a plan you become a member of the society².

The savings side works on the friendly society model, which means the tax treatment is different from a bank or building society account. The society also offers the Sickness Plan, which pays out if you are unable to work because of illness or injury. The society does not underwrite the insurance itself; the cover is provided by an insurer, and the society's own documents set out who that is.

Because the society is a mutual, it is owned by its members rather than by shareholders. That affects how it is run and who it answers to, but it does not change the basics of what you get: a savings account or an insurance plan, with the terms set out in the plan documents.

If you are comparing what is available across the wider savings market, the site's savings accounts guide sets out how different account types work. For the insurance side, the protection insurance guide explains how income protection and sickness cover fit together.

Tax-free saving outside your ISA allowance

The savings accounts are tax-free, which means the interest you earn is not taxable and does not use up any of your Personal Savings Allowance³. That is the same treatment ISAs get: the interest you earn on ISAs and other tax-free accounts is not taxable, so it does not count towards your Personal Savings Allowance³.

The difference is that friendly society savings sit outside the ISA system. ISAs are a way to save money tax free⁴, and savings in tax-free accounts like ISAs do not count towards the fixed tax-free allowance for savings interest⁵. Friendly society accounts work in a similar way on tax but are not ISAs, so they do not use up your ISA allowance either.

If you already hold ISAs, transferring money between them does not affect your allowance as long as the providers make the transfers and you do not withdraw the money⁶. That rule applies to ISA-to-ISA transfers, not to friendly society accounts, but it is worth knowing if you are moving money around.

The practical effect is that you can hold tax-free savings with the society alongside your ISAs without one affecting the other. The society's own website sets out the current terms, including how much you can put in and how the accounts work.

The Sickness Plan: who can apply

The Sickness Plan has specific eligibility rules. To apply, you must be in good health at the time of the original application, a UK resident, under the age of 60, and work for an employer who provides or is associated with the provision of transport and logistics facilities².

All four conditions apply:

• In good health at the time of the original application²
• A UK resident²
• Under the age of 60²
• Working for an employer who provides or is associated with the provision of transport and logistics facilities²

Being in good health at application matters because the plan is designed to pay out if you later cannot work through illness or injury. If you are not in good health when you apply, the society may not accept you, or it may accept you on different terms.

The age limit is under 60 at application. That is a common feature of sickness and income protection plans, because the risk of illness rises with age and the plan needs to be priced accordingly.

The employment condition is the one that catches people out. You do not have to be a driver. The rule is about your employer, not your job title: the employer must provide or be associated with the provision of transport and logistics facilities². That covers a wide range of roles, which is why the society says it does not assess your line of work.

If you are not sure whether your employer qualifies, the society's own website is the place to check. The plan documents will also set out what happens if you change jobs, and whether cover continues if you move to an employer outside the transport and logistics sector.

Your job does not change what you pay

One of the more unusual features of the Sickness Plan is that contributions do not vary by occupation. The society states:

That is different from most income protection and sickness cover, where the premium depends heavily on what you do for a living. Manual jobs and jobs with higher injury rates usually cost more to insure. Here, the society pools the risk across all eligible members and charges the same contribution regardless of role.

The practical effect is that if you work in a higher-risk transport role, the contribution may be lower than an equivalent plan elsewhere. If you work in a lower-risk clerical role, it may be higher. The society's approach is to treat the membership as a single group rather than pricing each person individually.

The contribution is set by the society and is the same for all members on the same plan. The society's website sets out the current contribution levels and what the plan pays out. Because the society does not publish rates on this page, you would need to check its own documents for today's figures.

If you are comparing this with other forms of protection, the protection insurance guide explains how income protection, critical illness cover and sickness plans differ, and what each one typically pays out.

Becoming a member when you take out a plan

When you take out a plan with Transport Friendly Society, you become a member of the society². That is how friendly societies work: the customers are the members, and the members are the owners.

Membership brings rights. As a member, you have a say in how the society is run, and you are entitled to the society's member benefits. The exact rights depend on the society's rules, which are set out in its governing documents.

It also means the society is accountable to its members rather than to outside shareholders. There is no separate group of investors taking a profit out of the business. Any surplus is retained for the benefit of members or returned to them in some form.

When you take out a Plan with TFS you become a Member of the Society and are subject to its rules, a copy of which is available on request¹. The FCA Register lists two previous names for the society: Transport Friendly Society, and before that London Transport (Central Road Services) Employees Friendly Society².

If you want to understand how mutuals and member-owned financial firms differ from banks, the banks and building societies directory lists the main providers and what they offer.

How the society is run for its members

Transport Friendly Society is a mutual, which means it is run for its members rather than for shareholders. The society's rules set out how decisions are made, how the board is appointed, and what rights members have.

The friendly society model has a long history in the UK. Friendly societies were originally set up to provide sickness and funeral benefits to working people who had no other safety net. Many of them later moved into savings and insurance. Transport Friendly Society grew out of that tradition, and its original name, London Transport (Central Road Services) Employees Friendly Society, reflects its origins among transport workers¹.

Being a member means you can attend meetings and vote on certain matters. The society's own documents set out the detail. In practice, most members join for the product rather than for the governance, but the structure matters because it affects how the society behaves: it does not have to maximise profit for outside investors.

The society is owned by its members and not shareholders¹. That mutual structure means it is run for its members rather than for outside investors, in the same way as other member-owned societies.

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman Service

If you are unhappy with the service you have received from Transport Friendly Society, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR, telephone 0800 023 4567².

The Financial Ombudsman Service is free to use⁷. It is an independent service that looks at complaints about financial firms, and it can consider complaints from consumers as well as from microenterprises and small and medium-sized businesses⁸. The service describes itself as "a free, independent and accessible route to redress"⁹.

The ombudsman can look at complaints about a wide range of products, including bank accounts and bank cards, insurance for your home, car or travel, and problems with loans¹⁰. It can also look at complaints about savings and investments, including individual savings accounts and ISAs⁴, and about insurance misrepresentation and non-disclosure¹¹.

If your complaint is about a claims company rather than about the society itself, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are unhappy with the service you have received, for example the results of your claim or the fees they have charged you¹².

The ombudsman's service is free and easy to use⁷. You fill in a complaint form, and the service will look at whether the firm has treated you fairly. Consumers, friends and families supporting them, charities and advice centres can bring cases directly to the ombudsman free of charge¹³.

How your money is protected: FSCS cover

Transport Friendly Society is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)¹. The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation scheme for financial services, and it can pay compensation if a firm fails and cannot meet its obligations.

The FSCS can only protect claims against mutuals and friendly societies that are regulated by the PRA and/or the FCA, and where the firm was carrying out a regulated activity for the customer¹. Transport Friendly Society meets both conditions: it is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)².

For insurance claims, the FSCS protection level depends on the type of cover. For travel claims, the FSCS pays 90% of the claim¹⁴. Different limits apply to different types of insurance, and the FSCS's own guidance sets out what is covered and what is not.

For deposits, the FSCS protects money held in accounts with banks, building societies and credit unions. The society's permissions include accepting deposits¹, which means savings held with it fall within the deposit protection framework.

The FSCS does not cover everything. It cannot protect claims against firms that were not regulated for the activity in question, and it does not cover losses from investments that simply perform badly. It is there for the specific situation where a firm fails and cannot pay what it owes.

If you want to understand how FSCS protection works across different products, the consumer protection guide sets out the limits and what they cover.