Make your pension work for you
Just because you've left your employer, it doesn't mean that you've left the pension you had with them. It's still your pension - you can make payments into it. You also choose how your pension is invested. And we're here to help you.
We want to help make sure your retirement plans are on track. It’s not always easy to know what’s important when you’re reviewing your pension and thinking about your retirement. Making a change now might make a difference to the money you receive when you start to take benefits from your pension.
Here, you can:
- View and manage your pension online
- Learn more about bringing your pensions together
- Use our calculators to see what you could earn from this pension
- Find out how to make your pension work for you
- Restart payments (PDF, 610KB) into your pension plan.
Manage, combine or plan
View and manage your pension online
Managing your pension with us is easy. You can register to do this online.
All you need is your National Insurance number, email address and pension plan number. Then you can quickly login at any time and:
- Check your current plan value
- Find out what your plan might be worth in the future
- Review the payments into your plan
- Decide who you'd like to benefit from your plan after you die
- Change the funds your plan is invested in.
Bring all your pensions together
Many people are likely to work multiple jobs throughout their career. If you've moved from job to job throughout your career, it’s possible that you’ve also joined several employer pension plans.
You could bring all your plans together into your pension with Scottish Widows, or with another pensions provider. This:
- might reduce the hassle of managing paperwork
- could save you on pension charges
- may allow you to benefit from a wider choice of options at retirement.
Transferring other pensions you may have to this pension can be easily done online, but may not be right for everyone. You may wish to consider seeking financial advice before transferring.
We won’t charge you for combining your plans with us. You can also find out more about whether this is right for you by clicking the link below.
Are You On Track For Retirement?
You can currently start taking benefits at any age from 55, although the Government has confirmed that this ‘normal minimum pension age’ is increasing to 57 from April 2028.
To find out more about what you might get from your pension plan, use our Pensions Calculator.
If you check your future plan value and find it doesn't support what you hope to do when you retire, you may still be able to afford the retirement you want by paying more into your pension. Making a small change now might make a big difference later.
Please be aware that the figures on our calculators and tools are for illustrative purposes only. They are not guaranteed. Remember, the value of investments can go down as well as up. You may not get back what you pay in.
Pensions are a long-term investment. The retirement benefits you receive from your pension plan 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.
We recommend that you get advice on your long term pension plans, or if you’re considering making any changes to your pension payments which may affect your financial future. You will normally be charged for this advice.
Case studies
Keep on paying into your pension case study
Josh is in his early thirties, and built up a series of small pensions.
Although he’s moved employers, Josh is making additional payments into his Scottish Widows pension. What’s more, saving an extra amount into his pension now could make a big difference later.
Combining to one pension plan case study
Having recently changed employer, Emma is also starting to think about retirement. Combining the pensions she's built up with previous employers may help her meet her goals.
Planning for retirement case study
Sheila's always been careful about saving for retirement, but, having just turned 54, she's surprised to learn of the options she'll have with her pension when she turns 55.
If you want to find out more about planning your future, please visit our Questions Hub page
Accessing your pension
Learn more about the options you have when you access your pension benefits.
Want to find a lost pension?
If you want to check if you do have pensions that you might have forgotten about, you can use the Pension Tracing service.