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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:

Scottish Widows Avoid at all costs.

SW transferred 30% of my pension into cash. They charge for managing the fund and they pay 0% interest. Couple this with inflation at 12%. So what do SW do with the money, stick in in a cardboard box under the desk? I think not, they are using my money to make money and are charging me for the priviledge. Total scam however as they are part of Lloyds banking group why am I surprised. As to Pension Protector 2. SW had a clear warning that there was an issue with this scheme in 2021 when there was a sudden massive dip, which recovered, however the alarm bells should have gone off. SW did nothing. This scheme is now 25% down and there is no guarantee that it has hit rock bottom or the time scale for any meaningful recovery Normally a balanced portfolio would be considered to be 60% stocks 40% bonds. SW transferred my money into 60% Bonds 40% cash. They clearly take no notice of the mantra that they trot out "past performance is no guarantee of future returns". Their total complacency has cost me dear. SW has not managed my money in a professional way, incompetent would be my word of choice. I am now working an extra year to make up the shortfall. I should have retired a month ago. Reviewed on: 9th August 2022

Great Eco Product

I got pension 25 years ago and it slowly rose in value, with climate change it surged nearly 25% this year. Ethical investing pays. Reviewed on: 9th October 2021

Very poor in all aspects.

I have two pensions. One with Scottish Widows (Clerical Medical), the other with Aviva. In comparison, SW/CM were exceptionally poor on all fronts, when compared with the competition. Over 20 years their investment return was a fraction of others, their record keeping and sharing of investment data is secretive, and suspiciously absent, and now their customer service provides delays and lip service. Mark Radin. Reviewed on: 28th September 2020

Par Excellence

First class customer service, clear honest transactions, future advice and transparency. Options discussed, and a tailor made service to meet your needs. Reviewed on: 4th February 2019

Don't waste your money

Dug meat company don't waste your time or your money with a company which does not invest in its staff or technology. Lloyds banking group try to run this as a bank and do not invest any time or resources into this once successful firm Reviewed on: 17th July 2018

Straight forward

Nice clear website and communications from this company Reviewed on: 5th September 2016

Distressing

I was persuaded by an advisor at Lloyds TSB to start a pension with Scottish Widows. At the time I could barely afford it but it seemed sensible to start saving for my pension. A couple of years later I was horrified to discover that there was now half the money that I had saved in the account. I was upset that money I had struggled to save had been halved. I stopped payments and rang Scottish Widows who told me that there was nothing that I could do about it as it was a risk I took when I took the policy out. In the great scheme of things it was a relatively small amount of money, but money that I could ill afford to lose. Reviewed on: 29th August 2015

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