Absolutely not! A condition of participation in the Dormant Assets Scheme is that financial institutions are obliged to undertake rigorous reunification process in line with industry best practices to reunite owners with their assets.

If a beneficiary comes forward after an asset, such as proceeds of money purchase policy has been transferred to RFL, they will always be entitled to reclaim their money at any point in future. The provider transfers funds to the customer within the usual timeframe, which is reimbursed by RFL on a quarterly basis.

The consultation held in 2020 to expand the Scheme cited ongoing changes in the pensions landscape, including the introduction of pensions dashboards. Many responses asserted that the dashboards would interact positively with the Scheme. Both initiatives have the primary aim of reuniting owners with their assets. The pensions dashboards will make it more likely that only genuinely dormant pension products that will not be reclaimed will be transferred into the Scheme.

We are in the final stages of preparation to enable pensions assets to be transferred into the Scheme, and will be making an announcement in due course.