Financial difficulty can be experienced at all life stages. The rising cost of living, job loss, illness, debt or loss of a loved one can affect us all. If you're struggling, we want to help you find the right support for you.
Cost of living challenges
Essential costs like food, energy, rent or mortgage payments are rising which can impact your financial situation and force you to have to cut back on your household spending.
Everyone's circumstances are different, but here are some tips that can help you look at where to start.
Take a look at where your money is
Make sure you know what savings and investments you have and who to contact for information about them. You may have options that you didn’t know about, like payment holidays or being able to cash-in part or all of the value of a policy or account. Your
annual statements should explain what options you have.
It’s important to understand the type of accounts or policies you have and why you have them. And if any of them have health or life cover, think about any gaps in cover you might have
if you cash them in.
If you have any concerns about your Phoenix Wealth policy, please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss the benefits and options that may be available on your policy. If you’re thinking of accessing or changing your policy because of financial difficulties,
it's important to consider the full picture, including the tax impact or the loss of any potential future growth. It's important to reach out to the support networks available before you make any decision.
We also strongly recommend that
you get financial advice before making any decisions about changing your policy. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can find one in your local area by visiting Unbiased.
Do you have money in accounts you’ve lost track of?
There’s an estimated £568 million lying unclaimed in lost bank accounts in the UK. Accounts go missing because people change their address or name and forget to let the organisation know so they have no way of contacting the customer.
My Lost Account was set up by the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments (NS&I). The website aims to help you find lost accounts with any UK
bank, building society or NS&I, as well as with some overseas banks with branches in the UK.
A lost account is one that’s been marked as inactive by a bank or building society. This happens when there’s been no account activity for at least
three years or your bank or building society haven’t managed to contact you when you changed address.
You can use the website if you’re not sure which bank or building society your account is with or even if you’re not sure if an account
exists at all. You can also check online for unclaimed Premium Bond prizes.
Money in a lost account is always yours by law, even if you wait many years to claim it. The search can take up to three months to complete. If a lost account is
found, you’ll need to prove who you are and that you have a legal right to the money. When your account is reopened you can reclaim the money and get any interest you’re due if it was in an interest-bearing account.
People usually use My Lost Account to trace their own account but Executors of wills can also use it. MoneyHelper has information on tracking down lost trusts and unclaimed estates when people haven’t left a will.
Tracking down a lost personal or workplace pension
It’s important you keep an accurate list of the pensions you have. It’s not always easy to keep track of a pension when you’ve been in more than one scheme or changed employers a number of times. Added to this, pension schemes can close, merge or be renamed.
So even if you remember the name of your scheme, it could now be called something else.
If you can’t find the contact details of your old employer, or you don’t know the provider of a personal pension you can contact the free government service
called the Pension Tracing Service.
They’ll search a database of more than 200,000 workplace and personal pension schemes to try to find the contact details you need. You can phone the Pension Tracing Service on 0800 731 0193 or use their online directory for contact details on GOV.UK.
Plan ahead and budget
It’s important to have an accurate picture of your income and outgoings and any additional expenses you might have over the next few months. Consider cancelling or renegotiating contracts to cut out any unnecessary spending. MoneyHelper has a useful budget planner tool that can help you capture everything you need to.
Review your existing credit cards or loans
If you’re paying a high rate of interest on credit card repayments then it pays to check for balance transfer offers that could save you money. And if you’re struggling to make repayments on a mortgage or other loans, talk to your provider to find out
what they can do to help until you’re in a better financial position. You may be able to extend the terms of your loan, adjust repayment amounts or take a payment holiday.
Check if you can get government support
If you’re on a low income, not working or unable to work, you may be able to claim universal credit. You can find out about other government support that’s
available by using an independent benefits calculator.
Be wary of scams
Criminals are using these uncertain times to scam people online and over the phone. Find out more about how to protect yourself from being scammed
out of your pension.
Taking money from your Phoenix Wealth policy
If you’re thinking of accessing your pension savings, making a withdrawal, or wish to surrender your investment policy because of financial difficulties, we strongly recommend you investigate the help available to you before making any decisions.
We
also strongly recommend that you get financial advice before making any decisions about changing your policy. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can find one in your local area by visiting Unbiased.