Santander (UK) Group Pension Scheme

On this page you’ll find resources and useful contact details for finding help and guidance with your pension.

Member portal

Our member portal gives you secure access to your benefits and details at any time.

You can log in to member portal to:

check out your pension benefit details
submit queries online and check their progress through the Gallagher case tracker
update your personal details if you are a deferred or pensioner member
update your bank details if you’re receiving a pension
let us know who you’d like to receive any benefits payable when you die
see how much your pension benefits would be worth if you decided to transfer them to another scheme
get a retirement quote to see how much your pension benefits could be worth when you retire
complete your retirement request online

Once you’ve registered for the member portal, you’ll be able to log in with your Unique ID and password.

If you forget your password in future, choose ‘Forgotten your details?’ and enter your Unique ID. You’ll then receive a link to reset your password to the email address you registered with.

Santander Support Fund

This Fund exists to provide financial support and assistance to past and present Santander employees and their families who are facing financial pressures. It was set up after Santander, saw how the rise in the cost of living was affecting employees and approached the Bank Workers Charity for help.

Anyone who has worked for any of the Santander employers, or is a Santander pensioner, can access the Bank Workers Charity’s full range of wellbeing support and services. These include counselling, dealing with debts, help to access benefits and advice on flexible working rights. These services are free and confidential. If you access support from the Bank Workers Charity, no-one will know unless you tell them.

If you’re struggling financially, you may be able to get a grant from the Bank Worker’s Charity. Find out more about who’s eligible and how to apply or contact the Bank Workers Charity helpline: 0800 0234 834 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Pension Decision Service

Our Pension Decision Service (PDS) is here to help you decide what you want to do when you retire by providing helpful information and guidance about the options that you’ll be able to choose from. Further details about the PDS, including a guide on how to use the service, will be available when you request a retirement quote.

You can read more about the Pension Decision Service here or watch our short video to learn more about the PDS.

Read the transcript

At Mercer, we know how hard you have worked to save for your pension.

These days, there are so many different ways to take your pension income, and it’s important to make the right choice as the decision you make now is likely to have an impact on the rest of your life.

You have some important decisions to make, and whether you find planning your retirement daunting, or exciting, what’s most important is that you make the right choice for you.

So, with all these choices to make regarding your retirement, how do you decide what is right for you? There may be things you know, but have questions about; or things you may not know that you need to understand. You could speak to friends, or colleagues, but everyone’s financial needs are unique, and you could end up paying more tax, or running out of money in the future, if you don’t plan carefully.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to remember that what is right for someone else may not be right for you. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to making your pension decision.

Through your pension scheme, you have access to Mercer’s Pension Decision Service which provides guidance to support you in making the right retirement decision for you and your family.

At Mercer, we have dedicated retirement relationship managers on hand to support you with making your decision on how to take your benefits. Your retirement relationship manager will talk you through your pension options, build your confidence, and develop your knowledge to help you make the right decision.

Details of how to get in touch are included in your retirement pack. Reach out to our Pension Decision Team and relax in the knowledge that you have made an informed decision. Spend your retirement doing exactly what you want to do.

Mercer private wealth. To us, it’s personal.

The PDS’ guidance does not constitute financial advice. If you want to seek independent financial advice about your retirement options, visit www.unbiased.co.uk to find a qualified adviser in your area.

Useful organisations

MoneyHelper

MoneyHelper is a free service from the government. Its website has information and guidance about a range of money matters including pensions and retirement.

MoneyHelper includes Pension Wise, a service which offers impartial guidance about pensions and retirement. Pension Wise also offers appointments specifically for people over 50 who have DC benefits, such as those in LifeSight. You can find out how to book an appointment in the Pension Wise section of the MoneyHelper website.

Pension Wise doesn’t offer appointments for explaining defined benefits (DB) such as those from our Scheme. However, you can still get help from a pension specialist by phone or webchat.

Website, including live webchat: www.moneyhelper.org.uk (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

Pensions helpline: 0800 011 3797 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

Post: MoneyHelper, 120 Holborn, London EC1N 2TD

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

You can contact HMRC if you have any questions about tax matters – including income tax, National Insurance and pension tax allowances.

Website: www.gov.uk

Contact information: www.gov.uk/contact-hmrc

The Pensions Ombudsman

The Pensions Ombudsman is an independent organisation set up by law to deal with pension complaints. They look at the facts without taking sides and their service is free.

You can contact the Pensions Ombudsman for help with a complaint you haven’t been able to resolve with your pension scheme.

Website: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

Phone: 0800 917 4487 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm)

Email: enquiries@pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

Post: The Pensions Ombudsman, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf E14 4PU

You can also fill out a complaints form online at: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us

Pension Tracing Service

This is a government service you can use to find contact details for pensions you’ve lost track of. You need the name of an employer or pension provider to use the service.

Website: www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

Phone: 0800 1223 170

Post: The Pension Tracing Service, The Lantern, High Street, Ilfracombe, EX34 9QB

The National Pension Tracing Day website also has resources to help you find lost pensions, including a step-by-step guide to using the Pension Tracing Service.

Getting financial advice

Neither Gallagher, nor the Scheme Trustees can give you advice about what you should do with your pension benefits.

If you would like personalised advice about how to take your pension, tax planning or leaving money to your dependants, you should think about speaking to a qualified independent financial adviser who is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is on the FCA’s register of authorised firms.

The government’s MoneyHelper website has a guide to finding a financial adviser and a directory of financial advisers who can give advice on pensions. All the advisers in the MoneyHelper directory are regulated by the FCA.

Alternatively, you can look at the Personal Finance Society's What we do for the public section. This includes a directory of independent financial advisers. You can filter the advisers to find those that specialise in retirement planning.

Pension scams

Pensions are valuable – and that makes them a target for scammers who would like to get their hands on the money.

With modern technology, scammers can produce professional-looking materials and even ‘clone’ websites of legitimate companies. They use psychological tricks and sophisticated marketing techniques to play on people’s ‘fear of missing out’.

A common scam tactic is to offer a free review of your pension, followed by an invitation to transfer your pension benefits out to somewhere you will, supposedly, get better value. They may say your defined benefit pension is ‘frozen’ and giving you poor value and suggest you’d be better off transferring it out of its scheme.

How to avoid scams

Ignore or reject any unsolicited contact about your pension - even if it appears to be from a legitimate organisation like Pension Wise or the Department for Work and Pensions. These organisations will not contact you unless you contact them first.
Similarly, be wary of approaches that appear to be from your bank, building society or pension provider. They may know personal details about you, but those are generally easy to find online. Never call back or reply to an email directly – instead, find the provider’s real contact details from a trusted source and use those.
You should never open links in texts, emails or social media messages. Doing this can download viruses on to your device and could expose your personal details to theft and fraud.
If you’re dealing with someone who claims to be a financial adviser, check that they appear on the FCA’s register of authorised firms. This register also lists the real contact details for financial firms, so you can check whether you’re dealing with the genuine firm or a scammer.
Visit the FCA’s ScamSmart website. It has resources to help you spot and avoid scams, including a list of current known scams.

If you’ve been made an offer you think is a scam

The best way to combat scams is to report them. If you’ve been made an offer about your pension and you think it’s a scam, report it to FCA ScamSmart.

Phone: 0800 111 6768 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturdays 9am to 1pm)
Online: www.fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam

You should also report scams to Action Fraud, a reporting centre run by the police.

Phone: 0300 123 2040
Online: www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime

If you think you’ve been scammed

If you’ve gone ahead with a pension transfer but are now worried it’s a scam, call your pension provider as soon as possible. They may be able to stop the transfer if you are quick enough.

Help and guidance with your pension