A Vitality life insurance trust form splits a VitalityLife plan in two: benefits paid in your lifetime, such as serious illness cover, stay with you, while the life cover goes into trust for the people you choose. Vitality's forms include a Discretionary Trust, where the trustees decide who is paid, and an Absolute Trust, where you fix the names and shares when you sign. Whether a Discretionary or an Absolute Trust fits your household can be talked over, at no charge, with an FCA-authorised broker; to request a call about your Vitality trust, use the form on this page.
Where do you find the Vitality trust form PDFs?
The Discretionary Trust and the Absolute Trust are each a PDF headed "VitalityLife Trust form", published in the trusts section of Vitality's literature for advisers but written for you or your adviser to complete. Both are provided in draft form, and Vitality recommends legal or tax advice before using one because "once created, it cannot be revoked or altered".
The Discretionary Trust form says it "may be used either when you are applying for a new plan or with an existing plan". The Absolute Trust form says the same. Changing who benefits from a policy that is not in trust is a different process, covered in changing a life insurance beneficiary.
Each form opens with Vitality's notes on the choices it asks you to make, and margin notes beside each part show how to fill it in. What each type of trust means in general is in life insurance trust options.
What does a Vitality trust form do with the policy?
Both Vitality forms divide the plan into two funds. Their key provisions say: "The Retained Fund is comprised of the benefits under the Plan that you want to keep for yourself. They will be held on a bare trust for you." The Discretionary Trust goes on: "The Gifted Fund is comprised of the benefits of the Plan that you give away and that will be held by the Trustees on discretionary trust for the Beneficiaries." The Absolute Trust holds the Gifted Fund "on bare trust for the Beneficiaries you name in the Trust". The notes give lifetime benefits such as Serious Illness Cover, LifestyleCare Cover or Income Protection Cover as ones you keep, and benefits paid on death, such as Life Cover, as ones you give away.
One choice on the form is permanent. You must initial either box (a) or box (b) in Part B to say whether a payment made if you are diagnosed as terminally ill stays with you or goes to the beneficiaries, and the form says this choice cannot be changed once made. Vitality's notes add that the choice may have tax consequences and should be discussed with an adviser. On a joint plan that pays on the first death, the notes assume you both want that payment yourselves, so it cannot be gifted to others.
Couples have one more option. Both forms' notes say: "With a joint life plan that pays death benefits on the first death, you can choose for the survivor to benefit after the first death provided they survive the death by 30 days. If they do not, the benefit will be held by the trustees for the other beneficiaries." You both initial Part B paragraph 3 to choose it, and the margin notes say it is not available for single life plans, plans with LifestyleCare Cover or joint life second death plans. If you choose it, you must also keep the terminal illness payment in the Retained Fund. The full picture for couples is in joint life insurance in trust.
How do you name beneficiaries on each form?
| Absolute Trust | Discretionary Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you write down | Named people, with a percentage share each; at least one person, shares adding up to 100% | An optional list of names; the form also defines a wider class, such as your spouse, children and siblings |
| Who decides who is paid | You, once, when you sign | The trustees |
| Can the names change later? | No: the form says the Beneficiaries and their shares cannot be varied after it is signed | The trustees choose between them; you can nominate more people in writing |
| What the form calls you | The Donor | The Settlor |
On the Discretionary Trust, the form's margin note says "the Trustees have discretion to pay anyone from Part C(2)", and the form says "The Trustees choose which of the Beneficiaries referred to in the Trust should receive any payments from the Gifted Fund." Names you write in the list are therefore people you would like considered, not a promise of a share. Vitality recommends legal advice on which trust suits your circumstances; a broker can also explain how the two forms differ in practice, free, on the call-back. The general ground is in life insurance in trust for a child.
How do you complete and send in the form?
Vitality's own steps for both forms, in short:
- Complete the form. It must be dated on or after the date of the plan application.
- Think about appointing at least one additional trustee from the start. Vitality says that if no trustee is left alive when benefits become payable, it cannot pay quickly and has to wait for probate.
- Sign in front of an independent witness. The Discretionary Trust says the witness is over 18, is physically present and is not a family member of the settlor, trustees or beneficiaries; the Absolute Trust also rules out the donor, trustees and beneficiaries themselves. Each additional trustee also signs in front of an independent witness.
- Post the original to the PO Box address printed on the form, or scan and email it to the address printed there. The form states "we are NOT able to accept photographs of documents", and Vitality may ask for the original later.
- Vitality says it will confirm once its trust records are updated. You should then give each additional trustee a copy and make sure the trustees know where the original is kept.
How tax applies to a policy held in trust is explained in whether life insurance in trust is taxable, and what the people you appoint take on is set out in life insurance trustees.
Who can alter the names once the form is signed?
Beneficiaries: not on the Absolute Trust, where the form says "Neither the Beneficiaries nor their shares can be changed." On the Discretionary Trust the trust itself is irrevocable, but its definition of beneficiary includes anyone you have "nominated to the Trustees in writing by the Settlor(s) as a Beneficiary", and for a joint plan the nomination has to be made by both settlors during their joint lives and afterwards by the survivor. The trustees still choose who is paid.
Trustees: Part G of both forms lets the Appointor, which is you while you are alive and have capacity, appoint new or additional trustees by deed. You can also dismiss a trustee by deed, provided at least two trustees remain and at least one of them is not you. Vitality's customer guide says you cannot swap the type of trust you have chosen for a different one.
Cancelling is a separate matter, covered in cancelling a life insurance policy in trust.
What will the trustees need when Vitality pays a claim?
Vitality's plan provisions (archived February 2026 copy) say "If your plan has been placed in trust, we will require a copy of the original trust deed." That is why both forms ask you to tell the trustees where the original is kept. Vitality's guide says that without a trust, "the money may be diverted from your beneficiaries to pay outstanding debts"; whether a policy needs a trust at all is the subject of this separate guide, and the route for a policy left outside one is in what a life insurance nomination form is.
For a plan you already hold, Vitality's guide warns anyone moving an existing policy into trust to "be careful that you don’t invalidate your insurance", and suggests taking legal advice first. The wider cover and rewards are in Vitality life cover.
Frequently asked questions
Can Vitality's draft trust be used without changing its wording?
Yes, if that is what your legal adviser agrees. Each form says that if, after legal advice, the draft is used unaltered, you should follow the completion instructions in its margin.
Can I add a beneficiary to a Vitality trust later?
Not on the Absolute Trust, which fixes the names and shares when you sign. On the Discretionary Trust you can nominate more people to the trustees in writing, jointly with the other settlor on a joint plan, but the trustees still decide who is paid.
Does the form cover the serious illness payout as well?
Both forms keep benefits paid during your lifetime in the Retained Fund for you, with the terminal illness payment as your choice in Part B. Vitality's notes say that for inheritance tax reasons serious illness cover should be set up as a separate cover from the start.
Before you sign, a broker can compare how the two forms would treat your family, and the call-back they arrange is free.
Sources
- VitalityLife, VitalityLife Discretionary Trust (trust form; print code PRUPF11105_11/25_RN635401), read 27 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
- VitalityLife, VitalityLife Absolute Trust (trust form; print code PRUPB11277_RN633950_02/26), read 27 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
- Vitality, Life insurance and trusts explained (last updated 10 September 2025; read from an archived copy of 17 February 2026). vitality.co.uk
- VitalityLife, Personal Protection Plan Provisions (print code VLTD174857WF_J3779; archived copy of 21 February 2026), read 27 October 2026. vitality.co.uk