Together we can be more FutureWise
FutureWise is Fidelity’s award winning default investment strategy for your pension savings. This means it’s where we invest your money, up to and through retirement, if you don’t choose your own investments.
Defaults offer an easy and effective way to save for retirement and are used by members who have decided they want to leave things to the experts. They're designed to be suitable for as many people as possible. Fidelity govern the FutureWise strategy to take account of changing market conditions with the aim of improving investment growth and managing investment risk on approach to retirement.
To check if FutureWise is the default investment strategy for your workplace pension plan, simply log into PlanViewer to review your plan documents.
How does it work?
FutureWise follows an automated investment approach, which invests your pension pot into a diversified range of investments over your working life. As with all investments, their value can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. With FutureWise, your savings are invested in a fund (a Target Date Fund), that's carefully managed towards your chosen retirement age in PlanViewer. Target Date Funds are designed for savers who wish to remain invested at their point of retirement and take a regular income from their fund (also known as ‘income drawdown’). That said, even if you are invested in FutureWise, when you retire, you will have access to all the retirement income options we offer. Don't forget you can update your retirement age at any time in PlanViewer.
We're proud that FutureWise is now award winning
The Corporate Adviser Awards took place on 27 June 2024 and 26 June 2025 and recognise excellence and innovation in the delivery of workplace benefits advice, consultancy, products and services. They are the leading awards for the workplace benefits community.
FutureWise won the award for the "Ultimate Default Fund" in 2024 - for setting the standard on investment strategy across defined contribution pensions - and received the "Highly Commended Ultimate Default Fund" award in 2025.
To learn more about FutureWise and how it can help you achieve your retirement goals.
What does FutureWise offer you?
More growth potential
Target Date Funds* invest in higher-risk assets helping grow your pension savings over time. Nearing retirement, they move into lower-risk assets to help protect your savings. Growth isn’t guaranteed.
Focus on sustainability
Target Date Funds offer flexibility to build more sustainability into FutureWise, helping reach its goals of halving its carbon footprint by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050.
Access to Private Assets
FutureWise is able to access a wider universe of investments, some of which cannot be accessed directly by retail investors. We do this with the aim of enhancing returns and improving diversification.
*While the Target Date Funds target 5-year periods, you can retire at any point from age 55 (due to be age 57 from 2028).
Want to know more?
Take a look at some of the questions and answers that we’ve prepared for you below.
They're run by Fidelity in close collaboration with BlackRock. The underlying funds will be established and managed by BlackRock with fund specifications defined by Fidelity.
No, it's not mandatory. This is the investment option that’s normally used by those who don’t actively choose where to put their money.
You're free to choose your own selection of funds through the ‘self-select’ option, which means you'll be responsible for monitoring and managing your investment selections. While FutureWise may be your scheme’s default strategy and has been designed to suit the needs of many different members, you should review it regularly to ensure it continues to be right for your needs.
If you're unsure what to do about your investments, you should consider taking financial advice. This is especially important if you have already made a withdrawal from your pension or are thinking of doing so in the next five to ten years, as the choices you make will affect how much you have for your retirement.
This is a fund that's carefully managed towards a specific time period in the future (which we call its ‘target date’). Each fund will aim for higher growth (which is not guaranteed) when it is a long way from the target date, investing in higher-risk investments such as company shares. Then, at a set number of years before its target, the fund will start to reduce the level of risk it takes on by gradually diversifying its investment strategy and by holding a greater proportion of bonds. Please note bond investments still carry risk. The level of that risk can be higher in volatile markets, during periods of unpredictable and sometimes sharp price and interest rate movements, which means that the value of your investments can fall dramatically during those periods.
Our FutureWise Target date Funds are designed as such that those who wish to remain invested into retirement, may seamlessly transition their strategy into a drawdown account and take a regular income from their fund.
There are currently 11 Target Date Funds. More will be launched over the coming years and no less than 30 months after each fund reaches its target date, the fund will close and its money moved into the Fidelity FutureWise Retirement Fund. The funds currently range from 2025 to 2070, with dates every five years. If your selected retirement date changes, you can change this on PlanViewer so that Fidelity can then move your investments to the most appropriate target date fund based on your selection. This is why it's important to review your retirement savings regularly to make sure they meet your retirement goals, and also that the selected retirement age we hold is up to date and fits in with your plans. You can adjust your retirement age easily in PlanViewer.
FutureWise is an investment strategy that aims to build up your savings. When you're a long way from retirement, it could be appropriate for any type of retirement income. As you get closer to retirement, FutureWise aims to reduce its volatility while maintaining a growth objective. This remains suitable for members looking to purchase an annuity or withdraw cash if they are uncertain as to when they are likely to do so.
By maintaining a growth objective this leaves savers more flexible to adjust retirement plans without detriment, however if you have specific retirement plans you may wish to consider alternative funds that meet your personal objectives.
Your money will be invested in the fund that aligns most closely with your selected retirement age. Please note that if you haven’t chosen a retirement date, it will be your pension plan’s normal retirement age. You can find this information by logging into PlanViewer and accessing your Plan documents in your personal profile.
Yes, you can and this may be appropriate if Target Date Funds are no longer suitable for you, for example, where you plan to buy an annuity or withdraw your pension as cash in the near future. However, you don’t need to where your ultimate plan is to draw down from your pension plan to provide a regular income in future.
As long as you keep your selected retirement age up to date on PlanViewer, we'll ensure you're in the correct Target Date Fund for that age. If necessary, we'll automatically move your money between funds so you have the correct one.
To update your retirement age, just go to planviewer.co.uk, select ‘My profile’ in the top right, choose ‘Personal Information’ and then go towards the bottom of the page to edit ‘Date Selected for Retirement’.