COVID-19 your questions and answers

Stock markets across the world are in a period of volatility and change. Although past performance is not a guide to future performance, markets can and do recover.

Whilst it can be unnerving, it’s important to remember the long-term nature of your savings and you should try not to worry about short term market volatility as the markets are likely to rise again. Over the years the markets have faced considerable challenges but in the longer term we have typically seen the trajectory of global stock markets rebound following these periods of extreme volatility.

If you are nearing retirement and invested in your plan’s default investment arrangement, then your retirement savings may not have been fully exposed to stock markets and other volatile assets. Many people may have seen the value of their savings drop recently, but it’s important not to panic. Volatility is a normal part of long-term investing and whilst it’s never nice to see your savings fall in value the most important point to remember is that this could well be a temporary setback. Although past performance is not a guide to future performance, markets can and do recover. It is a good idea to review your savings on a regular basis and you should make sure that they are right for you and your goals.

If you would like to find out more about the investment options available to you, log on to PlanViewer to view your plan information.

Looking after our participants, colleagues and their families is our priority. To ensure we can give help to you in the most effective way, we have established wider online resources and are regularly updating our questions and answers and expert insight. In addition, you can:

• Manage your account online to check the value of your savings, review investment performance and check your investment options in PlanViewer. Please note if you haven’t logged on before you will need your account reference number in order to register which you will find on all correspondence sent by us.

If you still need to contact us directly, our Service Centre is open and can be reached by email or telephone. We are experiencing higher than usual volumes of calls and emails and we would be grateful if you could use our website and PlanViewer in the first instance and only call or email if absolutely necessary.

Contact us by email: service.centre@fil.com Please be aware that we're unable to discuss account information by email. We aim to respond to emails within 2 working days. Or by telephone in the UK: 0800 3 68 68 68; International calls: (+44) 1737 838 585. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (UK time).

It is an extremely uncertain time and we can provide assurance that Fidelity International has a comprehensive Business Continuity Programme (BCP) and we have invoked this process globally across all business functions. We are continually monitoring the situation and are following all World Health Organisation and local government guidance in our various locations, so we can react to the swiftly-evolving situation.

Our operational and client servicing activities in all regions, and across all business areas, continue to function as normal and we have taken precautions to make sure that we are able to provide a service for our participants with limited disruption while keeping our employees safe.

If you are looking for further information about this topic, you can read about our approach in a letter from our CEO, Anne Richards.

The impact of stopping or reducing your payments will depend on the rules of your plan. It’s important to understand that reducing your payment will likely also reduce the amount your employer pays under a 'matching' arrangement if such a ‘matching’ feature is in place in your plan. If you do stop or reduce your payments, it’s important to keep your circumstances under review and consider when you might be able to restart.

You can view the details of your contributions in via the plan literature hosted, available in PlanViewer.

As we have detailed above, past performance is not a guide to future performance, but markets can and do recover. Explore our website where you’ll find a great range of guidance, insight and interactive tools that cover the broad Financial Wellness spectrum.

Please note that this is not a personal recommendation and if you need additional help or advice, please speak to an authorised financial advisor.

Fidelity are investment specialists and experienced retirement plan providers however we can only give information about products and services and we do not provide investment advice based on individual circumstances. If you would like advice, please contact a financial adviser. A financial adviser will be able to assist you with your investment decisions.