Your pension's protection

Maybe you’re thinking about taking out a pension. Our main pensions page includes information on how we protect different types of pension products - as our protection does vary. It can be difficult to understand at first as pensions are complicated, but if you're stuck, you can contact us for help.

We can't give you advice on your choices, but we can help you with questions about our protection and compensation limits. 

Thinking about getting financial advice?

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

We also have some useful questions (pdf 215KB) that you can ask any provider if you’re considering taking out a pension with them. They’ll help you find out if FSCS can protect your money and, if so, how much. This is an important part of any financial decision.

If you need general advice about any money matters, including pensions, visit MoneyHelper – its support and guidance are free. 

Your final salary pension is known as a 'defined benefit' scheme. These are protected by the Pension Protection Fund. But if you're thinking of changing your pension, your new pension may not be protected. It’s up to you to find out what protection your pension has. To find out, follow the ‘Check’ steps below.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

Your defined contribution workplace pension could be set up to be trust-based, contract-based, or group-based. FSCS protection would depend on how your particular scheme was set up. It’s up to you to find out what protection your pension has.

Visit MoneyHelper to learn more about this type of pension.

If you've already retired, and used the funds from a defined contribution workplace pension scheme to buy an annuity from a UK-regulated provider, FSCS protects this at 100%.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

If your SIPP provider fails, the funds are generally safe as they're ring-fenced and can't be used to pay creditors. Shortfalls in assets or money may be covered by FSCS up to £85,000.

If a firm that provided a product within the SIPP failed, FSCS may still be able to protect your money. The level of protection depends on the type of product. Investments, insurance products, or cash in a deposit account all have different protection levels.

Individual SIPPs vary, and it’s up to you to find out what protection your pension has. To find out, follow the ‘Check’ steps below.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

If your personal pension provider fails, the funds are generally safe as they're ring-fenced and can't be used to pay creditors. Shortfalls in assets or money may be covered by FSCS up to £85,000.

If a firm that provided a product within the personal pension failed, FSCS may still be able to protect your money. The level of protection depends on the type of product. Investments, insurance products, or cash in a deposit account all have different protection levels. If your pension is structured as a 'contract of long-term insurance', protection may be 100%.

Individual personal pensions vary, and it’s up to you to find out what protection your pension has. To find out, follow the ‘Check’ steps below.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

Our annuity protection is 100% with no upper limit. Your annuity must be with a PRA-authorised insurer, as shown on the FCA register, and it must be classed as a ‘contract of long-term insurance’ to be eligible for FSCS protection.

If you’re unsure if your annuity is a ‘contract of long-term insurance’, ask your provider. Use our key questions (pdf 215KB) to help. It’s up to you to find out what protection your pension has.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

If your lump sum is saved as cash with a UK bank, building society, or credit union - for example in a normal savings account - you're protected up to £85,000. Remember that the limit applies to each banking licence, and some banks share a licence across different brands. This will affect how much of your money we can protect. Use our bank and savings protection checker to check your accounts are covered.

If you’ve re-invested some of your pension pot to provide an income (known as ‘pension drawdown’), then FSCS may protect your money under our investment cover.

This type of product doesn’t provide a guaranteed income, and FSCS can’t protect you if your investments simply don’t perform as you'd hoped. We can only step in if the provider has failed and they acted negligently in some way.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

Our annuity protection is 100% with no upper limit. Your annuity must be with a PRA-authorised insurer, as shown on the FCA register, and it must be a ‘contract of long-term insurance’ to be eligible for FSCS protection. If you’re unsure if your annuity is a ‘contract of long-term insurance’, ask your provider. Use our key questions (pdf 215KB) to help.

Many people use their lump sum to pay off their mortgage or treat themselves to a dream holiday. If instead, you choose to invest or save it, you may be protected by our investments or deposits cover, up to £85,000.

If you’re going to seek financial advice, and the adviser is authorised by the FCA, we can protect you if things go wrong. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the bad advice they gave you, we may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.