Legal & General moved its older insurance-based pensions and savings to ReAssure in September 2020. ReAssure says terms and charges did not change.

Not every Legal & General pension was included: a welcome letter from ReAssure, or a closing statement from Legal & General, shows whether yours was. Unsure what the move means for your own policy? Through the form on this page, request that an FCA-authorised adviser unpicks those ReAssure letters alongside you, unbilled.

What happened when Legal & General's pensions moved to ReAssure?

A court-approved transfer took place on 7 September 2020. Legal & General Assurance Society Limited proposed to move "its traditional insurance-based savings, pensions, life and with-profits policies" to ReAssure under Part VII of the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000. ReAssure announced that the High Court approved the transfer on 20 August 2020 and that "approximately 1 million Legal & General policies" were expected to move on 7 September 2020. Its later welcome page for these customers says more than 800,000 policies transferred.

The date had slipped. The transfer was first scheduled for 4 November 2019, then reset to 6 April 2020 with a High Court hearing set for 9 March 2020. That hearing was adjourned at the last minute as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the case was heard remotely on 13 and 14 August 2020, according to Slaughter and May, Legal & General's lawyers on the transfer.

Not everything Legal & General offers moved. Its other policies stayed with it; ReAssure's page says anyone with "other policies that remain part of Legal and General" can still view them through the existing Legal & General online services. Our guide to whether a Legal & General pension is a good one covers the personal pension L&G still runs.

What stayed the same for policyholders?

ReAssure's welcome page for Legal & General customers, written at the time of the transfer, says the move made "no change to your terms & conditions, or the features, values and benefits that your policy provides", and that "any charges applied to your policy will be unaffected by this change". Two further points it gives:

  • Money invested "will continue to be managed by Legal & General Investment Management", so the policy's performance is the same as it would have been had you stayed with Legal & General.
  • Investments with ReAssure "will still be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, in the same way as before".

Pension customers wanting a guaranteed income for life are referred back to Legal & General for annuity quotes. Our page on Legal & General annuity rates explains how those work. Investment values can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in.

What changed after the move to ReAssure?

The changes were mostly administrative, and ReAssure's transfer page lists them:

  • Online access. Transferred policies no longer appear in Legal & General's online services. Eligible customers were invited to ReAssure's portal, ReAssure Now.
  • Fewer policies on the list. Where a customer had several policies of the same type, ReAssure grouped some together to simplify its letters.
  • Payment dates. ReAssure cannot pay on the 29th, 30th or 31st, so those payments moved to the 28th (some capped drawdown income to the 1st of the next month).
  • Tax office. The move changed each policy's HMRC tax office, so HMRC re-checked drawdown and annuity tax codes; where a code no longer applied, ReAssure said emergency tax might be used, but was unlikely beyond the first payment, with later payments corrected.
  • Life policy increases. Cover or premiums that rose every three or five years moved to yearly increases.

A pension is not a life policy, so the last point will not apply to most readers of this page. Annual statements follow ReAssure's schedule: for a pension, on your birthday if you are under 55 and six months before it from 55.

Who owns ReAssure now?

ReAssure is part of Standard Life, the retirement business formerly called Phoenix Group. Phoenix announced on 22 July 2020 that it had completed the acquisition of ReAssure Group plc from the Swiss Re Group, before the Legal & General transfer took effect. Phoenix Life says "Phoenix Group became Standard Life plc in March 2026", and ReAssure's About us page says ReAssure "is also part of Standard Life".

When Phoenix bought ReAssure, ReAssure told customers there would be "no changes to policy terms & conditions". ReAssure describes itself as a life and pensions consolidator that takes on blocks of policies from other companies. Our pages on Phoenix Life pensions and the Phoenix with-profits fund cover the sister business.

How do I contact ReAssure about a transferred policy?

Start with ReAssure's Help Centre, which offers online forms for policy information, changes, retirement options and other requests, and quote your policy number. For a phone number, use the one on your latest ReAssure letter. At the 2020 transfer, ReAssure's welcome page gave 0800 073 1777 for SIPP customers invested only in insured funds, with the post address ReAssure, Windsor House, Telford TF3 4NB; check it against your latest letter before you call.

If a policy has gone missing from your records, finding a lost pension sets out where to look.

Questions people ask about the move

Who took over Legal & General pensions?

For the policies in this transfer, ReAssure Limited took them over. ReAssure is owned within the group now called Standard Life plc.

Did all my Legal & General pensions move?

Not necessarily. ReAssure describes the business as traditional insurance-based savings, pensions, life and with-profits policies, and says other policies remained with Legal & General. Slaughter and May's note on the ruling says the scheme took in Legal & General's SIPP business and its stakeholder pensions. Your ReAssure welcome letter or Legal & General closing statement will show which side yours sits on.

Could a with-profits policy that moved be changed later?

Possibly, in limited cases. Slaughter and May's note says the scheme includes "sunset" clauses: once the transferring with-profits fund falls below set thresholds, it can be merged with existing ReAssure funds and with-profits policies converted into non-profit policies. The judge allowed this because the clauses apply only in limited circumstances and are designed for policyholders' benefit.

Do I need to do anything because my pension moved?

ReAssure said it would write to everyone who moved. If you want a different provider, how to transfer your pension explains the steps and pension charges the costs to check.

Checking where your pension sits today

Look for the provider name on your latest statement, then ask ReAssure's Help Centre. Still puzzled by ReAssure's letters? Via the form on this page, book a ring-back: an FCA-authorised adviser will decode that paperwork for free. Pension Wise also offers free guidance if you want it first; see what Pension Wise is.