Where your money is invested
Any money that you and your employer put into your pension plan gets invested. This simply means that rather than putting it into a bank account, your money buys investments, like stocks and shares, which over the long-term have a better chance of making you more money.
Keeping it simple
We’ve made the choice about where you can save your money very simple. There are just three profiles to choose from: Cautious, Balanced, Adventurous or you can choose to Self-Select. All you need to do is pick the one that suits you best.
- You tell us your attitude to investment risk
- We then invest your contributions in funds aligned to your attitude
The detail behind the profiles
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Investment profile
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Where your money is invested
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Investment Risk
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Cautious
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30% UK equities
30% overseas equities
20% corporate bonds
10% UK gilts
10% cash
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Medium-Low
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Balanced
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80% UK and overseas equities
20% bonds and cash
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Medium
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Adventurous
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50% UK equities
50% overseas equities
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High
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You can download an investment profile form here for completion and return to us. You can change your mind about where you want to invest your money at any time and move your investment into a different profile, up to two switches each year are free of charge. Please make sure you sign and date a new form and return to us each time.
What happens to my money as I approach retirement?
To safeguard your retirement fund against stock market fluctuations, whichever investment profile you choose, we move your investment fund and contributions in stages from your chosen investment fund into more secure investments 15 years before your chosen retirement date.
So, if you plan to retire at 65, we’ll begin moving your money when you’re 50. This is called a glidepath.
See glidepath table for more information.
At the time of your retirement, 75% of your fund is in the pre retirement fund and 25% of your fund is in the cash fund. The pre retirement fund invests in corporate bonds and gilts, these are considered to be a lower risk than equities. The cash fund is a low risk fund that aims to keep the value of the fund at a consistent level. It invests in a well diversified range of high quality bank and building society deposits.
If your policy started before 1 February 2011 it will have been set up with either a 4 or 5 year glidepath. Policyholders will receive notification of the glidepath changes with their next annual statement issued after 1 February 2011. Shortly after receiving their statement, policyholders with more than 15 years to their selected retirement age will be automatically moved to the 15 year glidepath, unless they tell us otherwise.
You can find more information on the glidepaths in the policy conditions