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Standard Life: Pensions reviews

2.39
Based on 59 reviews, last reviewed 13th Dec 2024
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Latest highest rating:

5

Standard Life were straight forward. Buying an annuity from Standard Life was straight forward and everything went smoothly. They transferred me to Hub Financial Solutions to complete th... Read more Reviewed on: 13th December 2024
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Mark B

Latest lowest rating:

2

What on earth has happened to Standard Life Chris Canham Write a review Reviews 3.6 949 total 5-star 43% 4-star 5% 3-star 3% 2-star 5% 1-star 44% Sort: Chris Canham 61 reviews R... Read more Reviewed on: 25th October 2024
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Christopher Canham

About this product

Standard Life 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 Standard Life pension reviews to find out what life at Standard Life is really like. If you hold this pension, we'd love you to write an honest review here too!

Standard Life Pensions reviews (59)

Review of the Standard Life, Pensions:

Standard Life were straight forward.

5
Buying an annuity from Standard Life was straight forward and everything went smoothly. They transferred me to Hub Financial Solutions to complete the transaction and they were very professional too. I also had a pension, (and now an annuity) with Aviva, who were poor in comparison to Standard Life. Reviewed on: 13th December 2024

What a waste!

1
My employers selected Standard Life to manage their workplace pension, so we didn't have a say. During the 7 years that my pension contributions have been invested with them, they have lost value. I would rather have had the benefit of the money in my pay packet, as once inflation is taken into account, I am worse off. I wish I had never opted in to this scheme. Reviewed on: 21st October 2022

Lost pension payments

1
Standard Life are the worse company to deal with. They paid my pension into the wrong bank account, it was rejected and sent back to them and then didn’t respond to any of my requests to understand where the money went. They told me it had been paid into the correct bank account and for a month repeated this until finally someone confirmed it was their error. I still have not received the payment 6 weeks later. They don’t respond to phone calls, pass you around to different departments and their standard excise is it’s the back office’s fault (who don’t have phones)! Avoid this company at all cost. Reviewed on: 30th June 2022

Administration a Catalogue of Errors

1
Early last month I cashed in my Premium Bonds and paid it into my stakeholder plan. My employer pays into the pension by Direct Debit and I pay into the account by BACS through salary sacrifice. I had no direct debit set up to my bank account. In the middle of the month I transferred from a stakeholder to an active pension. Straightforward, you would think. On 31 May Standard Life refunded the money I had paid in by cashing my premium bond. I therefore lost the chance of winning a prize on these bonds and I also had an investment loss. They also took £820 out of my personal bank account for reasons the cannot explain. They also cancelled my employers direct debit so I have lost this investment too. I have called them today - 9 days after the catalogue of errors occurred - and they still have no clue how it happened and how to rectify it. Due to their complete incompetence, I am seriously worried about my investment. Reviewed on: 9th June 2022

Appauling - Lost 5K in 2 Weeks

1
Thanks to Standard Life investing in a terminated fund, my money is at risk. Their service is appauling, their complaint investigation is floored and as soon as whats left of my pension is accessible, I will be moving to another company. Take my advice, DO NOT USE Standard Life, and if you are already doing so, take action to transfer your investment somewhere else. Reviewed on: 13th May 2022

HORRENDOUS , OBSTRUCTIVE PENSIONS OMBUDSMEN AND COURT ACTION NOW PROGRESSING

1
Once a trusted company now ,something is not right , obstructive in allowing me to withdraw my fund, delays of weeks when a fund should have immediate access, these funds were to finance supplies to the Polish Border for the Ukraine Conflict , even had the nerve to suggest I should not be withdrawing my own money to help people , These guys are simply trying to obstruct and delay withdrawals so make sure you research your exit as I would no longer invest with this firm , I do no trust what they say as so many lies since February this year, false promises , similar to other reviews , DONT LEAVE YOUR FUNDS WITH THEM Reviewed on: 13th April 2022

Appauling

1
Although quick to respond and polite in nature, getting any coherent answer even on the most basic request take many attempts. Correspondence appears to be considered in isolation without any consideration for the history of the issue raised I’ve never experienced such incompetence anywhere previously. Reviewed on: 8th April 2022

Terrible customer Service

1
Avoid at all costs. I have a small Drawdown pension with Standard Life and have wasted hours trying to withdraw less than 10% of this recently. Can only withdraw tax free cash online so had to phone, as I wanted some tax free & some taxable money. When I eventually got through had a 45 minute interrogation asking lots of irrelevant questions & being treated like an idiot. 5 days until I received the money, then taxed incorrectly - claimed not to have received tax code issued nearly a year ago! SO inefficient. And value has fallen like a stone despite being in low risk fund. Reviewed on: 5th March 2022

Money not paid as agreed

1
I been trying to collect my tax free lump sum for 1 month been told few excuses over the last couple of weeks but finally on Friday I was given another promise from Derek that the latest I could expect the money was 5 pm today ! Still no money ! Poor excuse’s each time Beware of this company something is not right I will be opening a complaint with the ombudsman regardless of the reasons soon as possible Reviewed on: 28th February 2022

No longer understand my investment

1
At one time my pension performed well, was managed well and then suddenly I was pushed/forced toward a different solution and that is no longer the case. The website is easy in some areas and incomprehensible in others. Previously it had been easy to navigate and understand. Reviewed on: 17th February 2022

Poor Customer Support

2
The company are more intent on showing me what they want me to see rather than what I need to see to inflate how well my pension is performing. The new system is cumbersome and frustrating. Performance on the pension is average, customer service well below. Reviewed on: 10th February 2022

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