Customer Centre for former Equitable Life Policyholders

Did you know….. most policyholders are now able to get a value at the touch of a button by registering for our online service MyUtmost. You can find a button to Register at the top of this page.

If you do not want to register for MyUtmost, you can calculate the value of your policy by simply multiplying the number of units you hold by the daily bid price of the fund(s) you are invested in. You can find the current bid prices here here. Your Annual Statement will show the number of units you have.

Please note that if you have paid money into your policy, or taken money out of your policy since your last statement, the number of units will be different to those shown on the statement. In addition, if you are investing using the Investing by Age strategy, the number of units may be different to those shown on the statement.

If you would like us to send you a policy value (which includes the number of units you hold) in the post, click here to email us that request.

Did you know ….. if you register for our online service MyUtmost, you are able to change your address without calling us or writing in. You can find a button to Register at the top of this page.

If you do not want to register for MyUtmost:

• You can scan and email us a signed letter confirming details of your new address. In certain circumstances we may need to request further information before we are able to update our records.
• You can download and complete our change of address form, which you can find here. When complete you can can scan and email it to us, or send in the post.

Please note we cannot accept just an email detailing your new address.

Did you know …… you are now able to switch your investments online using our online service MyUtmost. You can find a button to Register at the top of this page.

If you do not want to register for MyUtmost:

• You can call us to change the unit-linked funds you are invested in; or
• You can download and complete our switch form, which you can find here. When complete you can scan and email it to us, or send in the post.
• If you have an Utmost Drawdown Plan, you can download a Change in Investment Pathway form here

Click here to find more information about our fund range.

If you are former Equitable Life policyholder, are under the age of 75, and are a *'relevant UK individual', you can start paying into your pension at any time. There are two ways to do this:

1. Set up a direct debit
2. Make a direct credit payment

IMPORTANT - READ THIS MESSAGE BEFORE SENDING YOUR PAYMENT:

If you are making a payment and you would like this to be invested in specific funds, please let us know before you make the payment, or it will be allocated in line with your existing instructions.

If you have switched funds in the past, unless you also requested a change to the allocation of future payments, your contribution instructions would not have been changed. Without checking this, there is a risk that your payment won't be allocated to the funds you expect.

If you are unsure how future payments will be allocated to your plan, please contact us and we will let you know.

We know this is a lot to think about, so to help you make sure you have provided us with the right details to allocate your payments to the right unit-linked funds, you can download and complete our payment in form here.

Direct debit

It is possible to download a direct debit mandate from our website here. You will need to print this off and send it back to us confirming the amount you wish to contribute and how often you would like us to collect payments.

Direct credit

If you would like to make an adhoc payment when it is convenient for you, you can send a direct credit payment to us using the following bank details:

• Sort code: 20-03-62
• Account No: 83777340
• Account name: Utmost Life and Pensions Ltd

Please note, that for a payment to be allocated the same working day as it is made, our bank needs to have received it by 5pm GMT. Other banks may have different rules but the date used for a payment to us will be determined by the time our bank receives the money. Any payments received after 5pm GMT will have an allocation date of the following working day.

Please ensure you quote your policy number in the reference so we can match this up to your policy.

Tax Relief

The maximum amount of contributions on which you can have relief in any tax year is the greater of:

• £3,600 gross (£2,880 net), and
• the amount of your relevant UK earnings chargeable to income tax

If you have a Personal Pension Plan we will apply tax relief at basic rate to the contribution at the point it is allocated to your policy.

If you have a Retirement Annuity you will need to make a personal claim for tax relief from HMRC.

Annual Allowance

There is no limit on the amount of pension savings you can make each year but the annual allowance places a limit on the tax relief available for those pension savings.

If you exceed the annual allowance in a tax year, we will provide you with a statement confirming what you have paid in for the last four years. You should then include this information when you complete HMRC's self assessment tax return.

If you have flexibly accessed your pension with us or another provider, you will be subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, which is currently £10,000.

We recommend you speak to an Independent Financial Adviser before making any contributions which may result in additional tax charges for you.

*You are a relevant UK individual for a tax year if you:

• have relevant UK earnings subject to income tax from that year
• are resident in the UK at some time during that year, or
• have been resident in the UK both at some time during the five tax years immediately before that year and when you became a member of the pension scheme, or you or your spouse, has for the tax year, general earnings from overseas Crown employment subject to UK tax

Did you know ….. you are now able to manage your retirement journey with us by using our online service MyUtmost. You can find a button to Register at the top of this page.

If you do want to register for MyUtmost:

• We have information on your retirement options on our website – click here
• We recommend you seek financial advice or guidance before making any decisions – click here to find out more information about where to go for help
• From 1 November 2019, it is an FCA requirement to provide policyholders with options in writing before we can provide you with claim forms.

If you still want to request your retirement options in writing, click here to email us that request.

Did you know ….

• It is now possible to transfer certain pension policies into your existing Utmost Personal Pension Plan. If this is something you are interested in, please call us on 0330 159 1530 or email us on enquiries@utmost.co.uk
• It is possible to download a Transfer Form from our website – click here
• We recommend you seek financial advice or guidance before making any decisions – click here to find out more information about where to go for help

If you still want a Transfer Form to be sent in the post, click here to email us that request.

Did you know..... we have information about this on our website. Click here to see useful information on what a pension scam is and where you can go for further help and guidance.

Did you know …..

• It is possible to down load a Direct Debit from our website – click here

If you still want to a Direct Debit Form to be put in the post, click here to email us that request.

Did you know …..

• It is only possible to nominate a beneficiary if you have a Personal Pension, FreeStanding AVC, Managed Pension policy or Utmost Drawdown policy
• If you have a Retirement Annuity or Wind-up Transfer plan, you cannot nominate a beneficiary but it may be possible to place your policy under trust to remove it from your estate – you will need to seek legal advice to set up this trust
• If you would like to download a Nomination of Beneficiaries form from our website – click here. When complete you can scan and email it to us, or send by post.

If you still want us to send you a Nomination of Beneficiary form in the post, click here to email us that request.

Did you know….

• You can find information about our charges on our website – click here

If you still want details of our charges to be put in writing, click here to email us that request.

Did you know …….

We have a range of General Information Sheets on our website covering many of our products:

• Click here if you have a pension policy
• Click here if you have a life policy

If the General Information Sheets do not cover what you were looking for, click here to email us your questions.

If you would like to make a complaint there are a number of options available to you and details can be found in our 'How to make a complaint section'.

If you are trying to get in contact with the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, which is the government led compensation scheme, please note they no longer have a contact number and we do not hold any of their records. The only methods of contact currently available are:

By Post

Equitable Life Payment Scheme, PO Box 414. 11b Lingfield Point, Darlington, DL1 9WN

By Email

ELPSenquiries@capita.co.uk

Further information can be found on the government website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme

If you were not able to find above the information you were looking for, you can contact us by phone or by email at enquiries@utmost.co.uk.