Investment choices

At Phoenix we recommend you regularly review where your pension savings are invested.

The funds you invest in will depend on your attitude to risk and when and how you plan to access your pension savings.

Most Phoenix pension plans offer a range of funds from low to higher risk funds.

You can usually switch existing investments and change where future payments are invested for free.

Your pension plan may also offer a lifestyle switching option (sometimes known as phased, protective, automatic or default switching).

Lifestyle switching gradually moves your pension savings out of higher risk funds (investing in assets such as shares) into lower risk funds (such as cash) and normally starts 5 years before your chosen pension date.

At Phoenix we have decided to turn off the lifestyle switching option which is available on some pension plans, as it may not fit with people’s plans.

Unit-linked funds

When you first took out your pension plan, it was common to stop work and retire at age 60 or 65 and buy a guaranteed income known as an annuity.

Changes to pension rules mean you can now access your pension savings in different ways from age 55.

You can:

• take all your pension savings in one go;
• get a guaranteed income for life;
• get a flexible retirement income;
• take your pension savings as a number of lump sums; or
• choose more than one option and mix them.

MoneyHelper is here to make your money and pension choices clearer. Here to put you in control with impartial help that’s on your side, backed by government and free to use.