Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Rothesay is the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist, protecting over a million pensions.

We are dedicated to providing financial security for our policyholders, investing over £70 billion according to our cautious, long-term investment strategy. Our number one priority is to make sure that we pay our policyholders the correct amounts, at the right times, every time.

We pride ourselves on our customer service, with 96% of our policyholders who responded to a survey rating our service as Good or Excellent. 

We are here to help and the policyholder section of our website also provides helpful information and guidance. 

Click here to go to our policyholder section

Scottish Widows wrote to transferring policyholders in January 2025 regarding the proposed transfer of their bulk purchase annuities long-term insurance business to Rothesay. The example letter and transfer guide that Scottish Widows sent to transferring policyholders can be found on their website by clicking on the link below.

www.scottishwidows.co.uk/bulk-annuities.html

The letter you recently received from us confirms that the High Court has approved the proposed transfer and welcomes you to Rothesay. The transfer takes effect on 11 June 2025.

As set out in the letter and transfer guide from Scottish Widows, following a strategic review, Scottish Widows made the decision to sell the bulk purchase annuities part of the long-term insurance business as it is different in nature to the rest of their retail consumer-focused businesses. In March 2024, Rothesay announced that it had agreed to acquire this part of the long-term insurance business of Scottish Widows. The proposed transfer was subject to approval by the High Court which was granted on 14 May 2025. The transfer is effective from 11 June 2025. As a result, from 11 June 2025 your policy will be with us, and we are responsible for administering and paying your pension.

No - not now the transfer has been approved by the High Court.

No. Your policy will be transferred to Rothesay with effect from 11 June 2025 and we will be responsible for administering and paying your benefits from that date. You can find details about the transfer including the legal process that was followed by clicking on the link below: 

Transfer from Scottish Widows to Rothesay

The legal document effecting the transfer is referred to as 'the Scheme'. The final version of this document was appended to the final Court order which can be accessed by clicking the link below. It will be available on this website for at least 3 months from 11 June 2025.

The final Court order

In January 2025, Scottish Widows wrote to policyholders whose policies would transfer to Rothesay if the High Court approved the transfer, with information about the proposed transfer and in particular to let them know they had the right to object to the transfer. All objections received prior to High Court hearing on 14 May 2025 were shared with the Court, the FCA, the PRA and the Independent Expert, and were taken into account by the judge before he approved the transfer.

No, if your pension is in payment, your payment will not change so you’ll receive the same amounts from us on the same dates as you would have done as if Scottish Widows was still paying you. If you are not in receipt of your pension, the guaranteed deferred pension amounts due to you will not change.

If your spouse was entitled to a pension under your policy, then this will remain the case when the policy transfers to Rothesay as long as your spouse survives you. Your benefits, and policy terms and conditions will not change as a result of the transfer.

No, there will be no changes to your PAYE reference.

You will receive a P60 from us which will show Scottish Widows payments made in the 2025/26 tax year as well as payments from Rothesay. Your Scottish Widows payments will be shown in the ‘In previous employment or from another pension provider’ box. If you’re completing a tax return, you’ll need to add the two figures together and show the combined total on your tax return.

Scottish Widows has passed all of your data and information about your policy to us so we will be able to answer your queries or deal with any dispute.

Under the terms of the transfer as set out in the Scheme , all personal and financial data relating to your policy, and any associated consents previously granted to Scottish Widows in respect of your personal data, transfers to Rothesay on 11 June 2025.

We take collection and management of your personal data very seriously. For details of how we look after and process your data, as well as your rights under data protection laws, you can visit our privacy notice for individual policyholders by clicking the link below.

Policyholder's policy notice

Aptia administered your policy on Scottish Widows’ behalf. They are also one of Rothesay’s administration partners and will be administering your policy on our behalf. We have worked with Aptia to develop a new Rothesay-branded online service for you to access your policy and associated information online. Please see your welcome letter for more details.

If you have a question about tax, we suggest you contact Tax Help or HMRC (please see the next question for details).

The contact details that you should use for other questions and requests regarding your policy, were all set out in your welcome letter and are as follows:

Contact Rothesay (our secure online portal): www.contactpensionsadmin.com/rothesay

Phone: 0800 009 4155 (UK) or +44 (0)207 806 6175 (overseas)
Lines are open between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Calls may be recorded and monitored for quality purposes.

Email: rothesay@aptia-uk.com

Post: Rothesay, Maclaren House, Talbot Road, Stretford, Manchester, M32 0FP

If you have any questions about tax, you can contact Tax Help for advice. Tax Help is a service from the charity Tax Volunteers, funded by HMRC, the tax profession and a number of insurance companies, including Rothesay. It provides free, independent and expert help and advice regarding tax. You can contact them and view more information using the following details: 

Phone: 0333 207 5652

Website: www.taxvol.org.uk/index.php/Rothesay

If you have a question about your tax code and you are registered with HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) online 'Personal Tax Account' service, you can query your tax code via this service. Alternatively, you can contact HMRC using the following details:

Phone: 0300 200 3300 (UK) or +44 135 535 9022 (overseas)

Post: Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment, HM Revenue & Custom, BX9 1AS

Website: www.hmrc.gov.uk

Yes it will.

If Scottish Widows held a letter of authority or a power of attorney in respect of your policy, this still stands meaning you do not need to take any action in relation to this. If you received letters from Scottish Widows in an alternative format such as Braille, large print or audio, you would still receive letters from us in that format.

In the highly unlikely event that we are unable to meet our financial obligations, all eligible policies are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS provides compensation to eligible customers of authorised financial institutions (such as banks and insurers) in the event they are unable to pay. At present the FSCS’s compensation to eligible policyholders of long-term insurance, which includes annuities, is the full amount without limit.

Further information on the FSCS can be found at fscs.org.uk or alternatively from their helpline on 0800 678 1100.