Deciding where to invest your pensions funds

id

Understanding the various investment choices on offer can be daunting and so we have created this simple guide as a starting point to help you decide how to invest your pension fund.

We recommend you review your investment choices regularly. This is especially important in the run up to accessing your pension savings

If you have a financial adviser, we recommend you speak to them before making a decision.

If you are a UK resident and do not already have a financial adviser, you can find details of the advisers in your area from Unbiased. Financial advisers may charges for providing financial advice.

Taking pension savings all in one go

If you are intending to take all of your pension savings as a lump sum (of which, 25% is tax-free) and your chosen pension date is approaching, you may want to consider lower risk funds that invest in cash or deposits. The funds available to you will depend on the product you bought. This information can be found on our fund factsheets.

The actual funds available to you will depend on the product you bought.

Medium risk	Managed fund
Lower risk	Cash

Guaranteed income for life

If you are planning to exchange your pension savings for a guaranteed income for life, you may want to consider lower risk funds that don’t fluctuate as much. This becomes more important as you get closer to the date you intend to access your pension savings.

Example - moving from a medium risk to a lower risk fund

The actual funds available to you will depend on the product you bought.

Medium risk	Managed fund
Lower risk	Cash or fixed interest

Flexible retirement income

If you are planning to access flexible retirement income in the near future, you should consider your investment choices taking into account your personal circumstances and how long any balance of your pension savings will remain invested.

Example – investing in medium and low risk funds

The actual funds available to you will depend on the product you bought.

Medium risk	Managed fund
Cash for lump sums or any income you plan to access soon	High and medium risk managed fund for balance of pension savings

A number of lump sums

If you are planning to take your pension savings as a number of lump sums (of which, 25% is tax-free) you may want to consider a mixture of investments that takes into account your personal circumstances and the period of time over which you plan to take the lump sums.

Example – investing in a mixture of high, medium and low risk funds

The actual funds available to you will depend on the product you bought.

Medium risk	Managed fund
Cash for lump sums you plan to access soon	High and medium risk managed fund for balance of pension savings