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Scottish Widows: Pension reviews

Name: Pension
Rating: 1.24 (67 reviews)

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1.14

Based on 67 reviews, last reviewed 21st Oct 2025

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

75% decrease 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

Scottish widows lost over 38K in one year of my har... Scottish widows lost over 38K in one year of my hard earned pension without consultation or information Reviewed on: 21st October 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 (67)

Review of the Scottish Widows, Pension:

Minus stars given....DO NOT use Scottish Widows

Minus stars given....DO NOT use Scottish Widows, if you want easy access to your own money as stated in previous reviews or in my case if you need to pay for a loved ones funeral. My mum paid into a pot to pay for her funeral in the innocent belief it would help her family out when she departed this life but we have now been ruthlessly placed into debt during the cost of living crisis by Scottish Widows, who will not release my mums money to pay for her funeral as stated in her last will and testament! This is blatantly going against a legal document, please do not use Scottish Widows at all, for anything unless you don't want easy access to your own hard earned money or to simply stay out of debt for trying to follow a loved ones last wishes. Now we are in debt until we manage to save up for probate...which then takes months to get. From this experience with this shoddy company, I will certainly never use them. I'd be better off if my mum had kept her money under her mattress, at least then I wouldn't be in debt, with no end in sight for months. This company needs investigating and placed under the same level of scrutiny as it's mislead customers are. I am mourning the loss of my mum and this all adds to the anxiety. I wonder if they would like to go through the awful experience of dealing with a company who refuse to part with other peoples money at a time when you need all the help you can get. Reviewed on: 21st July 2023

Very disappointed

Have lost more than 20 per cent of my savings in the so called 'Pension Protector' fund - I can't think of a worse name for a fund. Reviewed on: 21st February 2023

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

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