Manage your annuity policy

Please send us a signed letter with your updated bank name, sort code, account number, and roll number (if you have one). The account must be held in your name as either a sole or joint account.

Payments can either go into your UK bank account or, if you’re moving abroad, we might be able to pay directly into your overseas account.

You might need to include your annuity in divorce or separation proceedings. Even if nothing changes when it's settled, it might still impact your policy. Please get in touch to discuss this further.

Your annuity payments are usually taxed as income by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). We'll figure out your income based on HMRC's tax code.

More information can be found on the government website.

To find out if you'll have to pay tax while living abroad, or to ask for your annuity to be paid without tax deductions, visit the HMRC website.

Every year, if applicable, you'll get a P60 statement showing which tax code was used and how much tax was paid from your annuity income.

Statements won't be released until after the UK tax year ends on 5 April.

When you set up your annuity, you'll have chosen one of these options to decide how your payments increase:

1. The Retail Price Index (RPI) (Government set rate)
   - Based on inflation. If RPI is negative, we won't reduce your annuity payments.
2. The Limited Price Index (LPI) (Government set rate)
   - Based on the RPI of September the previous year. It won't rise more than 5% in any one year.
3. Fixed escalations (your payments increase by a set amount)

The statement you'll get in May will confirm which one you chose.

It's a type of annuity linked to our with-profits funds, so your income is based on their performance.

Even if an annuity decreases, it won't drop below the guaranteed minimum payment you selected.

You can convert a with-profits pension annuity to a conventional annuity after the first year.

If you're having trouble managing your pension you can choose someone to help or even make the decisions for you. This is known as ‘power of attorney’ and it's an effective way to deal with decisions around health, welfare and financial matters. If you're no longer able to make important decisions, and you don't hire an attorney, a deputy will be appointed by the Court of Protection.

We recommend speaking with a solicitor, and visiting your local government website for information about power of attorney.

England & Wales

Scotland 

Northern Ireland

These are documents that show a solicitor or financial adviser what a dependent (for example, a family member) is due. When the policy owner dies, only a dependent with power of attorney can provide this information.

The dependent can give us a signed letter if they want us to contact a solicitor or financial adviser. It must include all policy numbers, along with the name, date of birth, and address of the person giving authority.