Worked at Halifax and HBOS in the UK? Your pension probably still exists. The name on your payslip may not.

If you worked in the UK for Halifax, for the Bank of Scotland, or for HBOS, the group the two formed, this page is for you. Several names, two legal forms and one acquisition sit between you and the company on the high street today.

What happened

The Building Societies Association lists the transfer of Halifax Building Society to Halifax plc on 2 June 1997 (Source: Building Societies Association, mergers and conversions, read 27 October 2026). The Bank of Scotland was incorporated by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland dated 17 July 1695 (Source: HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). A private Act dated 21 June 2006 recorded the Bank of Scotland as a wholly owned subsidiary of HBOS plc (Source: HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). The same Act provided for the undertakings of Capital Bank plc, Halifax plc and HBOS Treasury Services plc to be transferred to the Bank of Scotland (Source: HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). Lloyds TSB Group plc completed its acquisition of HBOS plc on 16 January 2009 (Source: Lloyds Banking Group annual report on Form 20-F for 2008, SEC, read 27 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

Halifax began as a building society, the Bank of Scotland dates from 1695, and HBOS sat above both. In 2006 an Act of Parliament moved the undertakings of Halifax plc and two other companies into the Bank of Scotland, so the company that employed you can differ from the one a record carries today. We have not read a primary source for the date the two came together as HBOS, so we give none.

Which era were you in?

The employer's name and owner changed over the years, so the first question is which one you worked for. This holds for the dates in the left column.

Which pension arrangement applied to you depends on the company that employed you in those years and on your own terms. This page does not name a scheme or say who holds one today. A name that is right for the bank today may not have been right for your years, so we do not guess. Your report names it.

Not sure which row fits? Start the free check and tell us when you worked at Halifax or the Bank of Scotland.

Do I have a pension from my Halifax and HBOS years?

It depends first on when you left. The law set a minimum, and a scheme could always be more generous than the law.

If you left after 6 April 1988 with 2 years or more of service, you very likely have a preserved pension, if you were in the scheme.

Sources: the age 26 and 5 year rule, Social Security Act 1973, Schedule 16, paragraph 6(1), read 20 October 2026, in force from 6 April 1975 (Social Security Act 1973 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1973, read 20 October 2026). The age condition ended on 1 January 1986 (Social Security Act 1985, section 1, read 20 October 2026, and Social Security Act 1985 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1985, read 20 October 2026). Five years became two with effect from 6 April 1988 (Social Security Act 1973, Schedule 16 as amended, note on the Social Security Act 1986, section 10, read 20 October 2026). Two years today, and 30 days for money purchase service that began on or after 1 October 2015 (Pension Schemes Act 1993, section 71, read 20 October 2026).

The free official route comes first

The UK government's free Pension Tracing Service gives you contact details for a workplace pension scheme from the name of an employer. It has a limit, in its own words: "This service will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is." (Source: GOV.UK, Find pension contact details, read 20 October 2026.)

With an old City bank, the name is the hard part. The name on your payslip is rarely the name on the record today, and a search for the wrong name finds the wrong scheme or nothing you recognise.

Former colleagues

We have not yet checked for alumni groups or reunions for Halifax and HBOS, so we list none. If you know of one, the notice board below is coming for exactly this.

Frequently asked questions

I worked for Halifax before it became a plc. Does that matter? Yes. The employer before 2 June 1997 was the building society, and the plc is a different legal body that took over its engagements. Tell us your years when you order.

I worked for the Bank of Scotland, not Halifax. Is this my page? Yes, this page covers both. They were separate companies, and a 2006 Act moved the undertaking of Halifax plc into the Bank of Scotland. Tell us the name on your payslip.

Is HBOS the same as Lloyds today? Lloyds TSB Group plc completed its acquisition of HBOS plc on 16 January 2009. Whether your pension sits with either depends on your years and your terms, and your report says.

Do you contact the pension scheme for me? No. We identify who holds the pension and give you what to send. You contact them yourself, and the pension stays yours throughout.

Is the government tracing service not enough? It is the right first step, and it costs nothing. It gives a contact for a scheme name you already have. It will not tell you whether you have a pension, and with Halifax and HBOS the name you remember is not the name on the record today.

What if you find nothing? We say so in the report. The refund promise sits next to the order button above.

More of the City's vanished banks: NatWest, Alliance & Leicester, Woolwich, and the A to Z of old names.