These changes are to help make sure we can continue to operate in the most efficient way for our customers and our stakeholders.
Don’t worry there is no change to the Standard Life brand you know or the Standard Life experience you know us for.
We received approval for our proposals from the High Court and the Court of Session. The transfer of policies is expected to take place on 27 October 2023.
If you have a Standard Life Buy-In policy or a Standard Life Lifetime Income Plan, then this is provided by Phoenix Life Limited and is not transferring.
You won’t see any changes as a result of the transfer.
What this means for our customers
We received approval from the High Court and the Court of Session to transfer the policies of Phoenix Life Assurance Limited (PLAL) and Standard Life* to Phoenix Life Limited (Phoenix).
All of these companies are part of Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business.
Your Standard Life Buy-In policy or Lifetime Income Plan is already provided by Phoenix. It is not transferring and will remain with Phoenix.
*Standard Life refers to Standard Life Assurance Limited (SLAL) and Standard Life Pension Funds Limited.
There's no change to the Standard Life experience you know
You'll keep the same benefits
There will be no change to the benefits payable to you as a result of the transfer.
A familiar way to manage your money
Your policy or plan number, terms and conditions and day to day management will stay the same.
The same easy access
You can continue to contact us in the same way and benefit from award-winning customer service teams.
Our timeline
We applied to the High Court of England and Wales for permission to transfer the policies and to replace a number of previous Phoenix and PLAL Schemes. Standard Life applied to the Court of Session in Edinburgh for approval to the changes to their Existing Schemes.
We received approval for our proposals from the High Court and the Court of Session. The transfer of policies is expected to take place 27 October 2023.
May - August 2023
We wrote to all customers who were impacted by the transfer.
October 2023
We received approval from the High Court and Court of Session.
27 October 2023
Policies are expected to transfer to Phoenix.
What happens, when
Regulator Consultation
We consulted with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority to ensure they have no objections to our proposals.
Independent review
We appointed an Independent Expert to review our proposals. He concluded that there is no material adverse impact on customers.
Customer mailing
We wrote to impacted customers to let them know about our proposals, the process we followed and how they could raise concerns.
Customer responses
Our helpline answered questions and helped to resolve any concerns customers had. Concerns we weren’t able to resolve, and objections, were submitted to the High Court for consideration.
Supplementary Report
The Independent Expert completed a final review and prepares a supplementary report confirming that he still considered there to be no material adverse impact on policyholders.
Court hearings
We received approval from the High Court and the Scottish Court of Session. The final hearings were at:
High Court of England and Wales on 5 October 2023
Court of Session, Edinburgh on 3 October 2023
Policies transfer
All PLAL and Standard Life policies are expected to transfer to Phoenix on 27 October 2023.
Your Standard Life Buy-In policy or Lifetime Income Plan is already provided by Phoenix and will not transfer.
Important documents
This includes the Independent Expert report, the details of the Scheme, copies of information we’ve prepared for customers and more.
View documents
Learn more about the process