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- Your policy is moving to another fund
- Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
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We know changes can bring uncertainty. We’re here to reassure you and give you peace of mind.
We’ve answered some of the questions you may have about the changes to your policy, your future bonuses and how we’re keeping your benefits secure.
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About the change
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The Britannic Industrial Branch Fund is closing. All policies in the fund will move to the Phoenix Life Non-Profit Fund and with-profits policies will become non-profit.
Your benefits are safe and secure and will be paid out as usual when it’s time to make a claim.
Your policy will continue to provide the same level of life cover and guaranteed benefits as it does today.
If your policy is with-profits at the time the fund closes:
We’ll continue to pay annual and final bonuses, but these will be a fixed and guaranteed. So, you’ll continue to see your policy value grow each year.
More information about your future bonuses.
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The number of policies in the fund has reduced over time, making it harder to manage the fund effectively and fairly. The Phoenix Life Board decided that closing the fund now is in the best interests of remaining customers. Moving policies to the Non-Profit Fund means we can guarantee future bonuses for with-profit customers, and make sure our customers are treated fairly.
More information about why we’re making this change.
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We expect the fund to close on 1 October 2026.
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Most Phoenix Life with-profits funds have conditions which allow us to close them when they become too small for us to manage effectively and fairly for the remaining policyholders.
However, we have no plans to close any other with-profits funds at the moment.
If this changes we’ll write to impacted customers to let them know what’s happening and what it means for them.
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Your benefits
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No, your policy will not end. It will move to the Non-Profit Fund. Your policy will continue to provide the same guaranteed benefits as it does today.
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No. There will be no change to your guaranteed policy benefits or the guaranteed minimum payment, which you’ll see in your annual statement, because of the fund closure.
Whole of life policies:
The guaranteed benefits your policy currently provides will continue. Your sum assured and the annual bonuses already added to your policy will not change. Your policy will still pay out on the death of the life assured.
Endowment policies:
The guaranteed benefits your policy currently provides will continue and your policy will still pay out at maturity or on the death of the life assured.
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Your bonuses - for with-profits customers only
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You’ll continue to receive annual bonuses and a final bonus when a claim is made. After the fund closes, the way we work out your bonuses will change. Your bonuses will no longer be linked to the performance of the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund. Instead, future bonuses will be fixed and guaranteed.
More information about your future bonuses.
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We can’t confirm what your future bonuses will be just yet. We’ll be able to work this out after the fund closes.
We’ll write to you again to confirm your future guaranteed bonuses after the fund has closed. You'll hear from us early next year, around January 2027.
More information about what happens when.
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Yes, each year your policy value will grow when an annual bonus is added.
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Your future annual bonuses will be set at a fixed rate of your policy value. This means that as your policy value grows, the amount of your guaranteed annual bonus will also go up each year.
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Your final bonus will be a fixed amount. This means you’ll know in advance the final bonus amount that will be paid when a claim is made, or when your policy matures (for endowment policies).
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If your policy invests in a With-Profits Fund, it shares in the profits of that fund. You receive bonuses (annual and final) that can change over time, depending on how the fund performs.
A Non-Profit Fund, on the other hand, doesn’t share profits. Instead, we’ll pay fixed, guaranteed bonuses, giving you more certainty about how your policy will grow.
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Although non-profit policies don't normally receive bonuses, we want to keep things as consistent as possible for you. So, we’ll continue to pay both annual and final bonuses. The way we work out your bonuses will change though. Your future bonuses will be fixed and guaranteed.
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Currently, when we send you a projected maturity value, we show what your policy could be worth based on a low, medium and high growth rate. This is because the performance of the with-profits fund, and your bonuses, can change over time. We can’t predict exactly how it will perform in the future.
Once you move to the non-profit fund, your bonuses become fixed and guaranteed. They’ll be set at a level that ensures your policy matures at no less than the value at the medium growth rate. After the fund has closed, we’ll write to you again and tell you your actual maturity value. You’ll hear from us early next year, around January 2027.
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We hope that providing fixed and guaranteed bonuses after the fund has closed will provide you with certainty over what will happen to your policy in the future.
If you’re thinking about cashing in your policy, we want to make sure you know how much you will be paid. We guarantee that the amount you’ll get after the fund closes will be the same as if you cashed in right before it closes. This guarantee will stay in place for 6 months after the fund closes.
This gives you time to review your options without pressure.
Your policy has life cover which means it will pay out on the death of the life assured. Please carefully consider if you need the cover your policy provides, and the amount of bonus we guarantee to pay after the fund closes, before you decide whether you’d like to cash-in your policy.
Please remember: Replacing your cover may be difficult or expensive as you get older, especially if your health has changed.
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Your payments - Whole of life customers who are paying premiums
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No, you’ll no longer need to pay premiums once the fund has closed.
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No, the amount payable on death at the time the fund closes will not change and there will be no change to your guaranteed benefits when you stop paying premiums. It simply means you won't have to make any more payments.
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When the fund closes, we'll know exactly how much money is left to share between the remaining customers.
Your current guaranteed benefits will continue, and we’ll also guarantee a fair level of future annual bonuses and a final bonus payable on death.
We can provide these guarantees without needing any extra payments from you, so your premiums will stop when the fund closes.
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There are a couple of reasons why you may no longer be paying premiums:
- You chose to stop paying premiums early; or
- You have paid all the premiums due on your policy, and your premium payments have naturally ended.
If you chose to stop paying premiums early:
We understand it’s not always easy to keep up with your premium payments and you may choose to stop paying.
If you stop paying your premiums for too long, you’ll reach a point where they can’t be restarted. When this happens, your policy becomes ‘paid up’. This can’t be reversed. When you reach this point we’ll write to tell you, so you’ll know when your policy is made paid up.
- Your bonuses stop if your policy becomes paid up. So, if your policy becomes paid up before the fund closes you won’t receive any future, guaranteed bonuses.
- If your policy has not been made paid up when the fund closes, your future bonuses won’t be impacted. You’ll continue to receive bonuses, which will be fixed and guaranteed, even if you haven’t paid premiums for a while. We’ll simply take the amount of outstanding premiums that are owed from the final amount that’s paid out when a claim is made.
If you’re worried your policy may be made paid up soon, or you’re concerned about your future bonuses, please get in touch. We can talk you through your options, including how to repay any missed premiums. If you’d prefer not to repay them, we’ll explain what this would mean for your policy.
You have paid all the premiums due on your policy:
At some point, when you’ve paid all the premiums required for your policy, your payments will naturally come to an end.
When this happens, your policy will continue and there will be no change to your policy value, your level of cover or to your guaranteed benefits. We’ll continue to pay annual and final bonuses, which will be fixed and guaranteed after the fund closes.
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Yes, you’ll need to contact your bank to cancel your standing order to stop paying your premiums.
You don’t need to cancel this just yet as you’ll still pay premiums until the end of September.
Please tell your bank to cancel your standing order before your October payment is due. Your final premium for September should be paid as normal.
Some banks need at least 2 or 3 working days to process cancellations. So please leave enough time to make sure your bank can stop your payments in time.
If your standing order isn’t stopped in time and you pay additional premiums, don’t worry. We’ll contact you to arrange a refund of any over payments you’ve made.
We’ll write to you again in early September with a reminder to cancel your standing order before your October payment is due.
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Your payments – Endowment customers who are paying premiums
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Your premiums won’t change when the fund closes. You’ll continue to pay the same amount in the same way as you do currently
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The way we’ll manage your policy
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The Britannic Industrial Branch Fund is managed in line with the Principles and Practices of Financial Management (PPFM). This is a technical document which describes how we manage with-profits funds. After this fund closes the PPFM will no longer apply. Your benefits will be fixed, and no further decisions will be needed to determine future bonuses. However, your policy will continue to be managed in line with rules and regulations which protect customers and ensure you're treated fairly.
We can reassure you that your benefits are safe and secure and will be paid out as usual when it’s time to make a claim.
More information about how we’ll manage your policy.
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Yes. To get ready for the fund closing we’ve reduced the level of investment risk in the fund. This means the fund assets are now invested mainly in cash and fixed interest investments, which are lower risk.
We’ve updated the PPFM to reflect this more cautious approach as we move toward closing the fund. As part of this, we’ve also clarified some of the wording about the Buffer Reserve, which is a pot of money we set aside to help protect customer benefits.
Here’s a summary of the changes we’ve made.
Company history and group structure:
- Updated to explain the planned closure of the buffer reserve and what will happen to the assets afterwards (section 3.5.1).
Basic fund concepts:
- Amended to emphasise that the buffer reserve supports with profits funds (section 5.2.1).
Investment strategy:
- Updated to reflect that assets are being de-risked and have been moved to cash to protect customer benefits as the fund approaches closure (various sections in 10.9).
These changes have not impacted your guaranteed policy benefits. Your policy will continue to provide the same level of life cover and guaranteed benefits as it does today. We’ll continue to pay annual and final bonuses, which will be fixed and guaranteed once the fund is closed.
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The way you get in touch won’t change. You’ll continue to speak to the same team and use the same contact details as you do now.
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Protecting your interests
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Protecting our customers’ interests is at the heart of everything we do, especially when it comes to decisions that affect your policy.
After careful consideration, the Phoenix Life board decided that closing the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund now is in the best interests of the customers who remain in the fund. After your policy has moved to the Non-Profit Fund, we can guarantee your future bonuses and make sure all our customers are treated fairly.
We’ve taken several steps to make sure our plans have been carefully reviewed and are fair to customers.
- Our plans to close the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund have been through the scrutiny and oversight provided by the With-Profits Committee (WPC). The WPC provides independent input to make sure the interests of with-profits policyholders are protected. Its role is to review key matters and provide advice to help ensure the Board’s decisions are well-informed and fair to all with-profits customers.
- The decision has been made with advice from the With-Profits Actuary, who has said that in her opinion, the proposals to convert the with profits policies to non-profit is fair to customers, is not expected to result in foreseeable harm, and is expected to result in better customer outcomes than alternative options.
- Our plans to close the fund have been reviewed by Rebecca MacDonald who is an Independent Actuary. She has been appointed to assess the terms of our proposals and give her impartial view on the impact to customers when their policies become non-profit. She has said that she considers the terms on which the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund will be closed and the method for calculating guaranteed future bonuses to be fair to policyholders.
- We also shared the plans with our regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
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Other important information
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No, converting your policy to a non-profit policy will not affect its UK tax status or the way it is treated for UK tax purposes. Your current tax arrangements will continue as they are.
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The costs and expenses of closing the fund will be met by the Phoenix Shareholders’ Fund. No costs will be passed on to customers.
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Any questions?
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If you have any questions, please get in touch. We’ll be happy to answer any questions about your policy or this change. Please remember, we can’t confirm what your future bonuses will be just yet.
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We aren’t able to give you financial advice. If you’d like advice, please speak to your financial adviser. If you don’t have one, you can find one at Unbiased.
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We’re writing to with-profits customers whose policies will see changes because of the fund closure. We’re sending letters to these customers throughout June 2026, so it may be that your letter is on the way.
If you’re sure you have a with-profits policy in the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund, and you haven’t received a letter by the end of June 2026, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to look into this for you.
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We’re not writing to customers who have non-profit policies in the Britannic Industrial Branch Fund. You won’t notice any change to the way your policy works because of the fund closure.