Scottish Friendly completes acquisition of Fidelity International pension books

Scottish Friendly has completed its acquisition of pension and annuity in-payment books of business from Fidelity International, first announced in April 2025.

The transfer brings an additional £2.3bn of assets under management, covering approximately 35,000 policyholders. As a result, Scottish Friendly's total assets under management now stand in the region of £6.8bn.

The transfer preserves customers' existing benefits and retirement options, helping to provide continuity and support good customer outcomes. Transferring customers will also be able to access their pension digitally through Scottish Friendly’s new pension web and app proposition, while continuing to have access to dedicated customer service support to help them navigate key life stages.

The transfer draws on Scottish Friendly's track record of managing large-scale book acquisitions, including its 2019 acquisition of a life and pensions book of business from Canada Life.

It also follows the proposed merger of Scottish Friendly with OneFamily, first announced earlier this year. The combined mutual will have almost £10bn assets under management and serve over 2.3m members across the UK.

Stephen McGee (pictured), chief executive of Scottish Friendly, said: "I would like to warmly welcome our 35,000 new members to Scottish Friendly and am delighted that this transfer has now completed successfully. As with all our members, our aim is to help them and their families to achieve their financial goals.

“Bringing a book of business of this scale across required careful planning and close collaboration with Fidelity International, and I want to thank everyone involved at Scottish Friendly and Fidelity International for ensuring such a smooth transition.”