Announced sale of scottish widows bulk annuities portfolio

Bulk annuity policies start with a BA reference, in the format BAXXXXXXXXXX. If your Scottish Widows policy number does not start with a BA, the announced sale of the bulk annuity business has no impact to your policy, it remains with Scottish Widows, or service.

About the changes

  • On 13th March 2024, Lloyds Banking Group announced the intended sale of its Scottish Widows’ Bulk Annuities portfolio to Rothesay. Under the terms of the sale, all Scottish Widows bulk annuity policies will transfer to Rothesay, subject to regulatory and court approval.

  • If your policy number does not start with a BA, the announced sale of the bulk annuity business has no impact to your policy or service.

    If your policy number does start with a BA, your policy will transfer from Scottish Widows to Rothesay in due course. This transfer will be subject to regulatory and court approval. We’ll write to you with more information as the approval process progresses.

  • The transfer of Scottish Widows Bulk Annuities business will be subject to a UK court process, known as a Part VII, and subject to approval by the appropriate Regulators. This typically takes 9 to 18 months.

  • No. There will be no change to your pension payments, these will continue to be paid as normal in line with your policy terms.

  • No. There will be no change to the benefits you’re entitled to, these will continue to be due in line with your policy terms.

  • No, you do not need to do anything. We’ll write to you with more information as the approval process progresses.

  • We’ll continue to service your policy as normal and we’ll keep focused on delivering an excellent service. We’ll write to you with more information as the approval process progresses.

  • You can still get help from Scottish Widows as you always have, using the same contact methods.

    You can ‘Raise a Question’ online at www.contactpensionsadmin.com/scottishwidowsbulkannuity. This service can be accessed from a laptop, PC or mobile device.

    Or you can call us on 0345 0712 713 (local rates apply). If you’re calling from abroad it’s +44 1243 522290. We’re open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm excluding Bank Holidays.

  • The Bulk Annuities business is different in nature to the rest of our retail consumer-focused businesses. The sale will enable us to focus on growing retail lines of business, such as workplace, individual pensions, retirement and investments, through direct and intermediary channels.

    We believe the sale will have a positive outcome for our bulk annuity policyholders as they will be transferred to a leading provider with ongoing growth ambitions and a track record of delivery.

  • Rothesay is the UK's largest pensions insurance specialist, purpose-built to protect pension schemes and their members’ pensions. Rothesay secures the pensions of almost one million people and pay out, on average, approximately £2.5 billion in pension payments each year. Rothesay is dedicated to providing excellence in customer service. Once transferred, our customers will continue to benefit from being part of a business that has a proven track record of delivering for policyholders.