Introducing workplace pensions

• This isn’t the State Pension – the State Pension is paid by the government when you reach retirement age and would be paid in addition to your workplace pension. The amount you receive from the State Pension is based on the National Insurance contributions you have paid. You can check what age you are eligible for the state pension using the GOV.UK website. 
• You become a member automatically – if you are between 22 and the State Pension age, earn at least £10,000 and are working ordinarily in the UK, you will be enrolled in your workplace pension without having to do anything, though you have the right to opt out if you choose. This is thanks to auto-enrolment.
• You’re in control of your savings – if you don’t make any choices and you'd rather leave it up to the experts your plan will be invested in your plan’s ‘default’ investment option. Alternatively, you can decide how the money in your pension is invested through the range of funds offered in your plan. When the time comes to take money out of your pension, you will be able to choose what you do with your savings, subject to your plan’s rules. Although your pension will have a default retirement age, you can adjust this at any time if it doesn’t match your plans. The minimum age you can normally access your pension savings is currently 55, and is due to rise to 57 on 6 April 2028, unless you have a lower protected pension age. Find out what affect your retirement age has on your pension savings.
• You don’t lose your money if you move jobs – if you change employer in the future, the regular contributions into your workplace pension will stop but the savings you’ve built will stay invested in your account and you will still be able to manage them and have access to them when the time comes. You may also have the option of transferring your pension savings into your new employer’s workplace plan, or into a private pension.

There are no explicit charges for putting money in your pension plan. This means that if you contribute £100, the whole £100 is invested in your plan.

However, there are charges for the administration of your plan and management of the fund(s) you invest in. These are collectively known as a ‘Total Expense Ratio’ (TER). They are taken from the fund’s assets and reflected in the quoted daily price. They are not explicit charges taken from your pension savings and thus do not show on your transaction history.

In addition to the TER, other transaction costs can be incurred on your funds, such as the costs involved in buying and selling a fund’s underlying investments. Like the TER, they are not explicit charges and are built into the daily unit price of your funds.

You can find out what funds you are invested in, and read fund factsheets to find out each fund’s TER, as well as what it invests in, by logging in to PlanViewer. You can also use our costs and charges tool to see how all the above charges may impact your plan.