Everything about calling Aviva from abroad
Who Aviva is, and who calls it from abroad
Aviva is a UK insurer and pension provider. Its retirement help pages give each product its own phone line: one for personal pensions and SIPPs, one for annuities, and several more for workplace and drawdown plans. The people who call from abroad may have retired outside Britain, or moved away mid-career and left a pension behind.
Why a UK 0800 number fails from abroad
0800 158 3142 and 0800 096 8281 sit in the UK freephone class, which covers 0800 and 0808. Aviva's footer says calls to 0800 numbers are free from UK landlines and mobiles. Outside the UK, that promise no longer applies. The call becomes an international one. Some foreign carriers may not connect a +44 800 number, and those that do charge their own international rate.
What Losali does with UK freephone numbers
Losali is an independent dialler that runs in a web browser. The call leaves your device over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects the call to the 0800 number. Your foreign network never sees an 0800 number, so it has nothing to block. There is nothing to install, no new SIM and no subscription: minutes are prepaid and the rate appears beside each number. The panel at the top of this page shows the current state of each Aviva line.
- Your plan or policy number. On the workplace pension page, Aviva sorts its lines by the letters the plan number starts with.
- Which team you need: pensions (0800 158 3142) or annuities (0800 096 8281).
- Your current overseas address, written out in full.
- Details of any payment or document you are chasing, such as a P60.
- Your financial adviser's details, if you have one. Aviva suggests contacting them first.
Aviva's own lines for customers abroad, and MyAviva
Aviva also publishes ordinary UK numbers for customers outside the UK: on its Aviva Pension (SIPP) page, Pensions customer service (abroad) is +44 1603 603 734, and on its annuity page, Annuity customer service (abroad) is +44 1603 603 491, both dialled at your own provider's international rate. Plenty of routine business needs no phone at all. Through MyAviva you can view pension documents and update your details; annuity holders can also check regular payments and their P60. Aviva's online forms cover a change of address or name and general enquiries, and its chatbot can point you to the right team.
The number types on this page
The two 0800 lines are UK freephone numbers. They are non-geographic, tied to no town, and what they cost the caller depends on which network carries the call. Aviva's lines for customers abroad are ordinary geographic numbers, which this page does not dial. The teams are the same; only the route your call takes, and its cost, changes.
Practical tips before you dial
Check the opening hours before you ring. Aviva's annuity line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. For 0800 158 3142, the Aviva Pension (SIPP) page gives 8:30am to 6pm and the workplace pension page gives 8am to 6pm, so plan on the later start to be safe. Both are closed at weekends and on bank holidays. If you hold a workplace plan, look up its line on Aviva's workplace pension page, where several numbers are listed by plan prefix. Keep your plan number on paper rather than in an email you will be scrolling through mid-call.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. With Losali the call is billed at €0.99/min, per whole minute, prepaid, and the price is shown before the call starts.