FAQs for Members

Who is Pension Insurance Corporation?

Pension Insurance Corporation ('PIC'), part of the Pension Corporation group, is an FSA approved and regulated insurance company. It was established to provide insurance to defined benefit pension schemes. Pension insurance can provide an attractive option to defined benefit pension fund trustees, beneficiaries and sponsors alike, allowing them to remove or reduce a scheme's liabilities. In the past 12 months PIC provided safety and security through insurance to around 50,000 pension scheme members.

For more information on PIC please click on the links above.

Will I still receive the same pension with Pension Insurance Corporation?

With the change in payroll systems, small variations of a few pence are always possible due to the different treatment of rounding amounts between the two computer systems. However, your gross pension amount under your PIC annuity policy will be the same, if not a few pence greater, than you are currently receiving from your scheme. 

How will I be paid?

You will be paid in the same way as you have been to date under the your scheme pension.  The only difference you will see is that your payment, as shown on your bank statements, will now come from PIC.

You will receive an initial payslip from PIC when we make your first pension payment and subsequently when your net pension payment changes by more than £1 (for example after a pension increase or change of tax code).

Who should I contact with any questions that I have?

Pension Insurance Corporation will write to you to advise you of the date administration will change from your current administrator to Xafinity Paymaster. Until we write to you, please continue to contact your current administrator as usual. Administrator contact details can be found here.

Is my pension safe with Pension Insurance Corporation?

PIC is an FSA authorised and regulated insurance company, which is required to understand at all times the full scale of its commitments and hold more than sufficient assets to meet them. In addition, the conservative investment strategy proposed by PIC will mean your benefits are secured for the very long-term.

The Trustees of your scheme therefore concluded that your best interests are served by agreeing to insure your benefits in this way. 

Click on the links to the left to find out more about Pension Insurance Corporation's financial security.

Who is Xafinity Paymaster?

Xafinity Paymaster is a specialist pension administration service provider. They presently pay around two million people each month with benefits totalling £7 billion each year.

Xafinity Paymaster have a team of people based in the UK dedicated to supporting PIC customers. They are trained in all aspects of administering and supporting pension scheme members and their benefits.

You will have heard of some of their other customers. They currently pay pensions for schemes such as GlaxoSmithKline, Coors Brewers and the NHS.

There is a lot of work required to administer an annuity. This includes payment of monthly annuity amounts, maintenance of personal contact and bank or building society details, and the generation of correspondence and annual statements. To ensure that PIC customers are provided the best available service, PIC has outsourced this service to Paymaster. 

What is the FSA?

The Financial Services Authority is an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The board of the FSA is appointed by the Treasury. Two of the four statutory objectives of the FSA are to secure the appropriate degree of protection for consumers and maintain confidence in the financial system.

As a publicly accountable body, the FSA must produce an annual report containing an assessment of the extent to which they have met these objectives. The FSA will also face scrutiny by Parliamentary Committees on how they have achieved their objectives.

All of this is designed to make sure that UK regulated insurance companies keep their policyholders' security and best interests at the heart of their decision making.

The FSA's contact details are:

Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HS
Phone: 0845 600 2537

Website: www.fsa.gov.uk

Who else can I talk to?

The Pensions Advisory Service - is an independent non-profit organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance on pensions.

Phone: 0845 601 2923
Website: www.pensionadvisoryservice.org.uk

The Financial Ombudsman Service - is an independent expert in settling complaints between consumers and businesses providing financial services.

Phone: 08000 234 567
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk