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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.
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. People usually use My Lost Account to trace their own account but Executors of wills can also use 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.
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 in our help centre.
How we're supporting our customers
We’re here to help you understand the choices you have with your Phoenix Life policies, so you feel able to make the right decisions based on your circumstances.
Your may have had big changes in your life since you took out your policy. Your relationship status may have changed or you may have had young children when you took out the policy but they have grown up and are financially independent now. Or perhaps you took out your policy to cover a debt you have since paid off.
It’s important to review the policies you have and decide how they suit your needs now and in the future. Our teams are trained to treat every customer individually and assess how we can help them.
If you're looking to understand what options you have with your policy then please get in touch we'll be happy to help.
Helpful resources
MoneyHelper - Has lots of useful information, including guides to help you take steps to get on top of things.
MoneySavingExpert - Sign up to email newsletters like the one from MoneySavingExpert to receive regular savings tips.
Unbiased - You can find an independent financial adviser in your area.
National Debtline - A confidential debt advice service for people in England, Wales and Scotland.
StepChange Debt charity - A comprehensive debt advice service which aims to help people with debt problems take back control of their finances and their lives.
Citizens Advice - Can help create plans to reduce or consolidate debt payments.
NHS - With the pressures of everyday life, it’s important to pay attention to your mental health.