Welcome to Commerzbank AG Pension and Life Assurance Scheme

The Trustee of The Commerzbank AG Pension and Life Assurance Scheme, in partnership with Fidelity who provide our Money Purchase and Defined Contribution sections of the plan, welcome you to our Information Hub. With simple navigation tools and guides and where to find further information it has been designed to help you plan ahead for your future retirement, even if it's a long way off.

Important information - please keep in mind that the that the value of investments can fall as well as rise. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment or action. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all pension and tax rules may change in the future. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to an authorised financial adviser. The minimum age you can normally access your pension savings is currently 55, and is due to rise to 57 on 6 April 2028.

You may be considering transferring your Defined Contribution retirement savings (and any Money Purchase benefits) in the Commerzbank AG Pension and LA Scheme, to access retirement income options that are not available under your current scheme to an alternative pension arrangement, such as the Fidelity Master Trust. Read more about the Fidelity Master Trust

Retirement options available under the Fidelity Master Trust

• Tax-free cash: You can usually withdraw 25% of your pension savings tax-free up to your available lump sum allowance. Read more about the lump sum allowance.
• Flexible drawdown income: When you’ve taken 25% tax-free cash, the remaining 75% becomes allocated within your account as available for drawdown, so you can withdraw it, as an when you need to, either as a regular income or occasional lump sums.
• Lump sums: You can take your pension savings either as a single lump sum or a series, and 25% of each payment will usually be tax-free up to your available lump sum allowance. Read more on the lump sum allowance.
• Purchase a guaranteed income for life (Annuity): This usually involves transferring your savings to an annuity provider and can include savings that are allocated as being available for drawdown.
• A combination of options: You can combine two or more of the above options. For example, you might want to set up an annuity with part of your pension savings and take flexible drawdown income from the rest.

Read for more information on retirement income options and access tools and calculators, to help you consider and decide you may want to access your retirement savings.

Before you transfer, it’s important to undertake a full comparison of the benefits, charges, features and services offered. Please view the member booklet; Your Plan Explained and Fund Range Information, for more information.

If you think that the Fidelity Master Trust may be right for you, the below sets out the steps that are involved in helping you to make your final decision and request a transfer:

1. Access Your PlanViewer Account for your Defined Contribution: From the homepage toolbar select, ‘Planning your Retirement’ and then ‘My Retirement’
2. Explore Transfer Information: Scroll down the page and you’ll see a section ‘Ready to make your choice’ and the option to ‘Learn more about transferring’. This will provide more information about transferring to the Fidelity Master Trust and key considerations.
3. Consider Your Options: You can exit the process at any time if you need more time to consider your options. Only select ‘Transfer to a Master Trust Account’ if you are sure you want to proceed, as this will submit an instruction to us to go ahead with the transfer.

Once you’ve submitted your instruction, the transfer will typically complete within 10 working days. On completion, you’ll receive a welcome pack from the Fidelity Master Trust confirming the details of your new account, which you can access via PlanViewer. Your welcome pack will also include your retirement pack, and you’ll then be able to call Fidelity to make arrangements for the payment of your retirement income. Read more about withdrawing money from your pension.

Note that if you are currently employed by Commerzbank you will be unable to complete a transfer of your Defined Contribution benefits until you have left employment and your final pension contribution settles in your account. However, if you also have benefits in the Money Purchase section these can be transferred separately while you remain in employment.

Consolidating your pension savings

In addition, you may also be considering transferring other pension savings you hold elsewhere into your new Fidelity Master Trust account. Please see our transfer factsheet for further information. Once you have received your welcome pack from the Fidelity Master Trust you can request a transfer by logging in to your new PlanViewer account, clicking 'Manage my Plan' and selecting 'Transfer other pensions to Fidelity'.