Standard Life UK Reviews 

My mum is a widow. Turned 65 in January 2026. Pension was meant to be paid out then.

We are now in in July, after countless phones calls and many many hours on the phone to SL, they still have not paid out the money we are owed.

They have a mysterious 'system error' that their IT can not resolve. (Little Britain, "Computer says NO")

My complaint should have been logged at first point of contact however we have been strung along and the first complaint was logged in May.

I emailed the CEO. Andy Briggs - Pheonix group.

Obviously no response from that end as he probably is laughing his way to the bank looking at his own pension. I don't think he would be waiting this long for it.

You would think with similar reviews about the same issue - they would act on this but its all silence.

They are dithering with their 8 week FOS letter, asking for more time. Another two weeks.

I have had other pensions paid out in 10 working days. It has taken SL 182 days so far and counting.

This company is embarrassing. Trustpilot should open the option for ZERO stars.

My pension was due to be paid on my 65th birthday and all the paperwork etc was completed well in advance so as to ensure they wouldn't be any delay with payments.
I tried to contact standard life to find out the actual date the payments would paid so I could set up some standing orders. The number 08081640164 given to me by them is impossible to get through, I feel it is just a number they pass on to people to fob them off as I've been trying for weeks to get in contact with them but just get the annoying voice message.
I've left my phone number with them asking for a return call but nothing.
When you email them they reply with the same (we aim to process all requests within 5 working days) even after the 5 days have passed.
I had no other choice to go with this company as my pension was passed to them from REASSURE who are no more help as they just say contact STANDARD LIFE.
I've already put in a formal complaint to standard life with no satisfaction so now I put one in with THE PENSION OMBUDSMAN to see if they can get me satisfaction.
(Watch this space)

Worst pension provider ever! I'm trying to transfer out my pension and passed more than 35 days and they do not process the transfer. They do not give any feedback and always ask more days to analyse, even all the forms being sent promptly and many messages sent to try to understand what is going on. Avoid this provider.

Well I joined this company on 29th June take way too long for to take some cash from your pension 15 to 20 day they fob u off they there extra busy so if thinking off taking your pension over to them don't bother people pension and legal and general are much better after 14 years of waiting to recover my pension after great stress this company makes it worst got a reply there u want help u got my plan number get it sorted instead off more I've already been told

My father died in March. His pension should have transferred to my mother, his widow — a routine process. One hundred days on: no payment, no progress, no explanation. I've made two formal complaints. Twice I was promised a call back within 48 hours. Twice, nothing. Meanwhile, money that belongs to a bereaved widow sits with them. If you're expecting this company to look after your family when it matters most, think again. Appalling.

my father died and his pension transferred to my mother. 100 days later .... no progress, no pension, no answers...made a formal complaint twice and no response despite their promise to call back within 48hrs...twice. They appear to be stalling and I imagine earning interest on what should go to a widow. It should not take 100 days to sort out a simple transfer of benefits.

After filling in forms weeks ago for my pension on my 55th birthday I’m still waiting 7 days later whereas aegon and Aptia delivered on my birthday morning . Slow going by standard life

After getting in touch with Standard life to explain an error they made with my pension transfer, they opened an investigation & emailed me to admit that they had made an error. They explained how they would fix their mistake, which they did within a few days & kept me in the loop. I am happy with the outcome.

Pension Withdrawal is a nightmare. Incompetent staff, fake investigations into complaints,invent always new documents they need to see before payment and they ignore your emails when you ask for explanation! I think they should be barred from providing pension services as they are disorganised and unprofessional. Their strategy seems to be to dissuade customers from making claims or asking questions.alThey have a dedicated complaints department which colludes with the claims department and they like to issue final decisions when they are tired of dealing with you. In my case I ask led them to pay my small pension into my UK account.As I am not resident in the UK but they asked for another bank statemt which shows my living expenses, credit card etc.I asked that they give me the legal or regulatory basis for this demand, but they just ignored my request for information pointed to the ombudsman if I wanted to escalate.This is just a bunch of arrogant and useless client facing staff who do everything to deny and delay payouts be it from life insurance or pension etc I hope they will soon nreceive massive fines from the regulator or the judiciary for ongoing and recurrent customer abuse; Unfortunately I cannot give 0 or negative score!

Pirates. It’s been 3 months, 12 phone calls (taking a minimum of an hour on hold each time), and untold distress - and still the pension has not been paid to the named beneficiary/surviving spouse. Very simple claim and this company are simply not processing it. Managers avoid speaking to customers. Avoid them like the plague - they will take your money and never give it back.

Absolutley shocking.
Sent 3 emails within. 2 weeks and no answer!!!

Unable to transfer out your pension without taking the entire length of time possible... 3 other smaller pension provider have already moved there respective funds but a billion pound pension provider "struggles" to do things quickly... all of this would have been unnecessary if they allowed me to move my funds into one of there SIPPs but they advised I needed at least 60k to join their "boys club" this company is the reason pensions providers are known in a bad way.

Using the app to consolidate previous pensions scattered around from previous employer was very easy, the app also displays all the information required.

Standard Life have been treating me in a very unprofessional way for close to 8 weeks now. I sent them a form to be completed and sent back to me in May. This has still not been done. Worst still, they are ignoring my request to speak to the person dealing with the issue. I have rang them many times over the last few weeks. Even their complaints department have erroneously sent me an apology letter, claiming to have settled this issue and then realising that the form hasn't been sent yet. Why are they so unprofessional? Why can't you contact them on the phone when they are obviously not fulfilling their customer service?

I recently took out an Annuity with Standard Life and was very impressed throughout the process - the level of customer service and care was exemplary and the team-members kind, courteous, professional & very knowledgeable. The steps involved in taking out the annuity were clearly explained, and I received updates throughout, and the whole process was much quicker than I might have expected.

I was put into Standard life through my company and I have now retired. So I had to take 3 pension to take. The process was so easy I just followed what it said on screen and within seven days the money went into the bank and then a payment went into my bank every month and overall a excellent service. So for me I am so glad I ended up with Standard life.

Avoid at all cost -a total arrogant approach in its customer service .
A change request to a direct debit with 3 emails -no reply -2 phone calls 1 hour each ! And lots of its with a manager and been dealt with and will be done tomorrow -incorrect information or fobbing off..
1 review on here led to another fob off ! And yet again nothing done !!! Arrogance .

If you're looking for a pension company that you can make a partial surrender throughout the term of your policy do NOT touch Standard Life Pensions. I first made contact with them in April this year to request a partial surrender of £10,000. I heard nothing, so made a complaint. I received a call from them and was told they could not find my policy from the number I had provided to them. After some wait on the phone, my policy was found, and the call handler I was speaking to asked me a series of questions, and ascertained that I did want to take the requested amount, and emailed me the surrender quote on May 15th. These were returned by recorded delivery and signed for by a member of Standard Life. I have the Royal Mail signature proof. No response was forthcoming, and no money received by the 8th of June, so I emailed them for an update. Absolutely nothing. Still waiting. Do not believe them when they say they will deal with your request in 5 working days. I have an email thread that proves otherwise. Absolutely shocking company. This is my money, and I needed it back at the beginning of May to pay some unexpected bills. Standard Life have left me in the proverbial and for anyone reading this review, please, please think twice before placing your trust, and more importantly, your money with them. I have emailed them again today 14th June, giving them all the relevant details, but hold out no hope of getting my money any time soon.

Any update Nikki? I've still not heard anything in respect of my partial surrender. I really do need that money urgently. The only reasonI chose Standard Life was because I was told you paid out quickly. It's been 2 months sinceI first started this process, which I am sure no one will agree is in anyway acceptable. My documents were sent back recorded delivery, and signed for, so I know you have them. Why the delay in paying out?

Update: I have received a response from Standard Life (yesterday 19th of June) advising me that they have not received the required paperwork in order to pay out the money I have requested. This is categorically untrue, as I have a signature proving that they have in fact received my paperwork as I sent it Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. This can be proven in a court of law. I would urge anyone thinking about using this pension company to think very hard indeed. I needed this money, and it has now been 2 months since my initial request. I have been left in a financial mess due to unexpected large bills and it's all down to Standard Life not dealing with my request in a timely manner. My experience of them is that they appear to be unbelievably disorganised. Do NOT touch this company unless you want months of frustration in trying to obtain your own money!

UPDATE
Mon 29th June
I was contacted last week by a gentleman (Complaints Analyst) in the Service Resolution dept. I won't give his name here, because I'd hate him to be inundated with complaints. He is extremely efficient and is handling my complaint extremely well. He has understood the issue fully and informed me that the documents I had sent back recorded delivery had gone to a wrong address. (Same company but Birmingham instead of Telford.) I had actually rang to ask the correct address, (as I had taken the envelope with my documents in it to post without writing the address on it as I was in a hurry on that particular day) and I had sent the original paperwork to the address I had been given but it appears to have been lost. Alas, I'm as confident as I can be since dealing with the gentleman asigned to my case that I will see my money in the very near future. There are definitely employees in this company that know what they are doing folks. Good luck, and have faith!
Friday 10th Jul. So folks, after receiving a letter from Standard Life Thurs 9th July advising that my money has been paid into my account, I can confirm that as of this moment 18.52 pm on Friday 10th of July, the money is STILL not in my account. I am at the point of absolute despair at this moment in time. I need this money for deeply personal reasons, and Standard Life have dragged this out and are still dragging this out, despite knowing the seriousness of the situation in which I find myself. I have no words. It is an absolute disgrace.

UPDATE: Monday 13th July. Just checked my bank account again, and still no money! I've emailed Standard Life again to ask where the money is that has supposedly been paid into my account as per their letter dated 9th July 2026.

I've been dealing with Charline and Kelsey. They have been responsive, friendly and helpful throughout.
Thank you very much!

What a shower! Trying to go through phone security and have been rejected because Standard Life can't get my address details correct! Pathetic!
Update 12/06/2026: Tried to ring again to hopefully get a more positive outcome - even worse, they informed me that they also have my birthdate down incorrectly.