Following approval of the High Court, certain pension annuities were transferred to ReAssure Limited (ReAssure) on 31st December 2016. ReAssure have taken over responsibility for the transferred policies, including making annuity payments to transferred policyholders.
If your policy was included in the transfer we will have written to you in September and October 2016 to let you know.
ReAssure have written to the transferred policyholders to provide them with the new telephone number and address to use for customer enquiries.
For more information about ReAssure, please see their website www.reassure.co.uk
More information
During September and October 2016, the following information was sent to policyholders whose annuities were included in the transfer.
Letter for Phoenix life Limited policyholders
Pension annuity transfer scheme – policyholder guide
This guide includes a summary of the report from the Independent Expert who was appointed to review the transfer, along with a summary of the terms of the transfer scheme itself.
Pension annuity transfer scheme – your questions answered
We also prepared the following guide for non-transferring policyholders of Phoenix
Pension annuity transfer scheme – a guide for non-transferring policyholders
Here is some additional information relating to the transfer that you may find useful.
Report from the Independent Expert – September 2016
Supplementary report from the Independent Expert – December 2016
A report prepared by an Independent expert (Mr Oliver Gillespie of Milliman LLP) which considered the effect of the transfer on policyholders. His appointment was approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in consultation with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA and PRA are our industry regulators.
The supplementary report sets out the Independent Expert’s view as to whether it remained appropriate to proceed with the transfer, taking into account the impact of developments since his main report, including the financial position of ReAssure Limited and Phoenix Life Limited as at 30 June 2016.
Full scheme document – September 2016
Updated Scheme document – December 2016
The legal document setting out the terms of the transfer was approved by the High Court.
The Scheme document was updated to reflect the value of the initial expense reserve assets that were transferred to ReAssure Limited, confirmation of the filenames for the electronic databases setting out the transferring policies, and to the provisions (in paragraph 24 of the Scheme) dealing with the ability to amend the Scheme in the future.
Actuarial reports
Report from the Chief Actuary of Phoenix Life Limited – September 2016
The Chief Actuary is an actuary who has been appointed by an insurer to provide guidance to the Board on actuarial matters. The Chief Actuary of Phoenix Life Limited (Phoenix) prepared a report regarding the impact of the transfer on the policyholders of Phoenix.
In his supplementary report, the Chief Actuary considered developments since his main report, including the financial position of Phoenix Life Limited and ReAssure Limited as at 30 June 2016.
The With-Profits Actuaries confirmed in a statement appended to the Chief Actuary's supplementary report that the conclusions reached in their first report were unchanged.
Report from the With-Profits Actuaries of Phoenix Life Limited – September 2016
The With-Profits Actuaries of Phoenix Life Limited prepared a report on the impact of the transfer on the with-profits policyholders of Phoenix Life Limited. The With-Profits Actuary is an actuary who is appointed by the Board of an insurer and provides advice to the Board on the implications of certain matters for with-profits policyholders of the company.
Formal notice of our application to the High Court to approve the transfer
Estonian post transfer legal Notice
This notice was published in the press from September 2016.