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Scottish Widows: Pension reviews

Name: Pension
Rating: 1.24 (66 reviews)

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1.14

Based on 66 reviews, last reviewed 31st Aug 2025

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

300% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

4 star

3 star

2 star

94%

Latest highest rating:

5

Great customer and digital services Switched all my pensions to my workplace pension with Scottish Widows. Such a smooth process, I was kept well informed throughout. Their app is great,... Read more Reviewed on: 12th January 2022

Latest lowest rating:

1

58% loss in Scottish Widow's P.ension I have lost 58% of the value of my Scottish Widows Pension in the last 5 years, and in writing Scottish Widows have advised they see no issue with the... Read more Reviewed on: 31st August 2025

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About this product

Scottish Widows pension reviews written by Smart Money People like you. For many of us, our pension is an important part of our financial future. Finding a pension provider that you can trust and rely on is a must for many people. Take a look at our Scottish Widows pension reviews to find out what life at Scottish Widows is really like. If you hold this pension, we'd love you to write an honest review here too!

Scottish Widows Pension reviews (66)

Review of the Scottish Widows, Pension:

Scottish Widows incompetency

I have been in dispute with Scottish Widows since 2020 over the extremely poor performance and management of the company Pension fund in relation to other pensions over a similar period. If you have a Company pension scheme with Scottish Widows, I strongly suggest you ask some questions on the performance, carry out a performance review plus administration charges soon. To Give you an idea, my pension pot bombed by nearly £20k in 2 years. From experience, the pension pot is moved to a safer “lifestyle” policy, these are a “bonds” based investment which have also bombed. Scottish Widows, when you look into the scheme are “Advisors, Administrators ” and Trustees”. (How that works I do not know) all taking a fee from your pension pot one assumes. Scottish Widows will not reveal what these charges are which depletes your pension pot. Be assured your pension needs to perform well, it will not be long before Pensions are means tested. There is a Scottish Widows Complaints Platform set up on Facebook which highlights issues others have had and some guidance. Do not be “fobbed off” by “it’s the markets” Reviewed on: 12th February 2025

Awful in every way!

Appalling customer service - no actual help just passed around ‘department s’ for hours. People from the ‘back room’ who apparently can actually help never call back. They have taken huge amounts of money and no explanation given. I think it’s being used to fill the black hole of funds they’ve lost through mid-management. I’ve written but no response. The ombudsman will have another call today. Please move your pension if you can - I think this shop is sinking! Reviewed on: 1st February 2023

Value rises a little and then drops like a lead brick

I have been watching my pension lately as retirement is getting closer. I am just a few pounds better off now than I was 8 months ago. The payments go in, the pot drops. Its goes up a little, then the pot drops. If I add up just the payments in over 8 months I should be £4000 - £5000 better off. I am not. It has increased in value recently by £1200. I am still out of pocket. Seriously considering just paying it into a high interest account. I am willing to bet Scottish Widows are still taking their fees for loosing me money. Reviewed on: 25th January 2023

Poor communication, website not interactive

The scheme currently run by Scottish Widdows is not fit for purpose, the website is poor to access and to navigate, gives no control to port funds, the phone line is constantly busy and just passed from one operative to another, we will be moving our fund as soon as possible Reviewed on: 24th January 2023

LOST MY MONEY

RANG UP WAS PASSED AROUND WAS ON THE PHONE FOR 2 HOURS AND STILL COULD NOT FIND MY PENTION MONEY A JOKE Reviewed on: 20th January 2023

Scottish Widows MERRY GO ROUND

Dreadful Customer Service . Long waits on phone then you don't get any where because THEY DON'T KNOW WHATS GONE WRONG, BUT THEY'RE VERY SORRY!!! Passed from dept to dept, complaints fall on deaf ears , IF YOU EXPECT TO GET YOUR PENSION PAID OUT DON'T TRUST THIS COMPANY Reviewed on: 11th January 2023

Utter joke

No concept of allowing investors to mitigate risks in business cycle and ALL about funnelling funds into their poor asset managers without any choice. Shameful. Reviewed on: 28th December 2022

dreadful performance, appalling investment returns, no communications

I retired at seventy and had an employers pension of £39000 that was held in a pension preservation pot , It grew to £47000 but has now collapsed to less than £33000 in just under five years. I can never touch this now , will have to leave it to my kids ! may be over twenty years it might grow, or pigs might fly! their communication skills are zero , ignore letters , the telephone is a circular tour that just goes nowhere, do not touch this company with a bargepole. Reviewed on: 23rd December 2022

Unbelievably incompetent

I have just receive my annual Retirement Account Statement and discovered that my pension fund has fallen in value by over 33% in just 12 months. We all know that the market is "volatile" but for a "Pension Protector"fund to drop by a third in less than a year requires more than market volatility. I retire in less than 12 months and have been putting as much into my pension as I can afford every month - it's just disappeared. Reviewed on: 20th December 2022

Pension Protector fund - what a scandalous misnomer!

My Pension Fund certainly wasn't "protected" by Scottish Widows. Being able to see the value of my pension every time I logged into my LIoyds Bank account, I watched the value of the fund fall over the past two years and then take a nosedive through this summer. When I cashed-in the fund in late September this year, the value had been eroded by around 30 per cent. The poor performance of my fund was matched by the service I received from Scottish Widows staff. Several telephone hours were spent being passed from person to person and holding on their telephone service. This caused many days delay to activating the termination of my fund, whilst its value was continuing to fall. Further incompetence and lack of professionalism was displayed in errors to my final confirmation letter from Scottish Widows. This appalling custodianship of peoples' pensions is scandalous. Reviewed on: 19th December 2022

A joke of a company

I moved jobs in Sept 22. My employer has a pension with SW. I filled in forms my employer sent and these were sent over to SW - 3 times now as of yesterday! My employer has made 2 monthly contributions on my behalf so far (Oct and Nov). However, SW have no policy number for me having emailed, filled in forms and spoken to them on the telephone countless times since i started my new job, its now 07 Dec 2022. I was given a different email address today to contact: lpc.aftersalesATscottishwidows.co.uk I was unable to deliver your message to the following addresses: lpc.aftersalesATscottishwidows.co.uk Reason: 550 #5.1.0 Address rejected. All I want is the number so I can transfer my previous employment's pension in. If I had a choice I wouldn't have a pension with this company - if you do have a choice AVOID Reviewed on: 7th December 2022

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