About the L&G Mastertrust > How will I pay into the L&G Mastertrust > How will my pension pot be invested? > How will I be able to use my pension pot?
How will my pension pot be invested?
The amount of money you and the Company pay into your pension is not the only way your pension pot can grow in value.
How will my pension pot be invested?
The amount of money you and the Company pay into your pension is not the only way your pension pot can grow in value.
How your money is invested and how those investments perform will have a big impact on how much you’re saving for your retirement.
If you're still saving for your retirement, you’ll have new options for how you can invest your L&G Mastertrust pension pot, as well as a new ‘default’ investment option if you don’t make a choice.
Option 1: the L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds (the default option)
This is a ready-made investment strategy known as a ‘Target Date Fund’ or ‘TDF’. It’s designed to do most of the work for you by automatically choosing how your money is invested as you move closer to, and then into retirement.
If you don’t make an investment choice, it’s where your pension pot will be invested.
This type of strategy is designed to aim for investment growth in the earlier years (when you’re saving for your retirement and can weather any ups and downs in the investment market) and then move your pension pot into more stable investments as you approach your selected retirement date, and beyond.
You can take a look at L&G’s ‘Your guide to the Target Date Funds’ to find out more. Go to section 3 for information about the L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds.
Option 2: One of the other L&G Target Date Funds
These are alternative Target Date Funds. Like with the default L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds, they’ll do most of the work for you by choosing how your money is invested.
If you’re a long way from your selected retirement date, these strategies will place more of your money into assets such as company shares. Although they are more likely to go up and down in value in the short term, this type of investment is also more likely to grow your pension pot over the longer term.
If you’re closer to retirement, they will place more of your money into assets such as bonds. Although they may not grow by as much, your pension pot is less likely to fall in value, helping you to plan for your retirement with more confidence.
You can take a look at L&G’s ‘Your guide to the Target Date Funds’ to find out more. Go to section 2 for information about the L&G Target Date Funds.
Option 3: Choosing from a range of Self-Select funds
This is where you get to decide how your money is invested and how much you want to invest in different types of assets.
It’s an important decision as the amount of retirement income you could receive from your pension pot would depend partly on how well your investments have performed over the years.
You can take a look at L&G’s ‘Your guide to investing’ to find out more the types of investments you can choose and how they work.
Or, go to the document library on the page for the Sibelco pension scheme that you’re currently a member of to take a look at the full list of all the Self-Select funds that will be available in the L&G Mastertrust. You’ll find these in your ‘Guide to the L&G Mastertrust Fund Range’.
Option 4: Choosing from a range of Self-Select Lifestyle strategies
A lifestyle is an investment strategy that automatically moves your money, over a period of time, generally into funds that reflect the way you want to use your pension pot in retirement.
The process of automatically moving your savings from one fund to another will stop once you reach your retirement date. This means that, if your plans change and you don’t take your money as planned, your pension pot may not be invested in a way that reflects your needs.
You can take a look at L&G’s ‘Your guide to investing’ to find out more the types of investments you can choose and how they work.
Or, go to the document library on the page for the Sibelco pension scheme that you’re currently a member of to take a look at the full list of all the Self-Select Lifestyle strategies that will be available in the L&G Mastertrust. You’ll find these in your ‘Guide to the L&G Mastertrust Fund Range’.
If you're a member of the DC Section and you've already moved some (or all) of your pension pot into drawdown, you’ll also have new options for how you can invest your L&G Mastertrust drawdown pot, as well as a new ‘default’ investment option if you don’t make a choice.
Options 1 to 3
You’ll be able to pick from the first three options shown in the section above:
- L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds (the default option)
- L&G Target Date Funds
- Self-Select funds
If you don’t make an investment choice, your drawdown pot will be invested in the ‘Retirement’ stage of one of the L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds.
You can view the full list of all the funds that will be available in options 1 to 3 in the L&G Mastertrust in ‘Your guide to the L&G Mastertrust Fund Range (DC Section)’.
Please note that the Self-Select Lifestyle strategies are designed as investment strategies whilst people are building their pension pot for retirement, rather than for use in retirement.
Option 4: Choosing from four Investment Pathways
Investment Pathways have been designed to help make sure that the portion of your money that remains invested once you have moved some (or all) of your pension pot into drawdown can support your objectives for the future.
They are designed around four main ways that you might want to use your drawdown pot:
- Option 1: I have no plans to touch my money in the next five years
- Option 2: I plan to use my money to set up a guaranteed income (annuity) within the next five years
- Option 3: I plan to start taking my money as a long-term income within the next five years
- Option 4: I plan to take out all my money within the next five years
If you have more than one goal you might want to think about splitting your drawdown pot between the different options to achieve this. If you select one, or more, option L&G will invest your drawdown pot for you in a way that supports your choices.
Take a look at the ‘Your guide to the L&G Mastertrust Investment Pathways (DC Section)’ for more information, including the links to the factsheets for each option.
Will I be able to choose how my pension pot will be invested before any payments are made into the L&G Mastertrust?
Your first payment into the L&G Mastertrust will be taken from your pay in September. Your new pension pot will be automatically invested in the L&G Lifetime Advantage Funds (the default option) from this date.
If you want to choose a different investment option, here’s what will happen:
If you’re a member of the DC Section
You’ll be able to choose how to invest your first payment (and any payments that go in after this date) before you make your first payment.
After your final payment into the DC Section in August, you will have access to the new L&G Mastertrust investment options through My Account (MA).
L&G will let you know when the new investment options are available – and you’ll have about 30 days to make a different choice if you wanted to.
And, just like you can today, you’ll continue to be able to check-in on your investments and make any changes to how your pension pot is invested if you wanted to.
If you’re a member of the Stakeholder Plan
You’ll be able to choose how to invest your first payment (and any payments that go in after this date) just after you make your first payment.
Just after your first payment into the L&G Mastertrust in September, you will have access to the new L&G Mastertrust investment options through My Account (MA).
L&G will let you know when the new investment options are available.
And, just like you can today, you’ll continue to be able to check-in on your investments and make any changes to how your pension pot is invested if you want to.
Are you making the most of your L&G pension account?
You can check how your pension pot is doing at any time by logging into your L&G pension account, My Account (MA).
Plus, once the move to the L&G Mastertrust takes place, you’ll continue to be able to check-in on your L&G Mastertrust pension pot using the same login details.
If you haven’t registered, it’s quick to do. Just follow these three steps:
- Visit My Account (MA).
- Complete your personal details. You’ll need your account number, which is shown on any letters you’ve been sent by L&G.
- L&G will then send you an email which will contain an activation link to complete your registration.
How does the default option in the L&G Mastertrust compare to the default options in the DC Section and in the Stakeholder Plan?
All three default options automatically move your money into different funds over time, with the aim to move your money into less risky investments as you get closer to retirement.
That means that they all aim for more growth (or ‘reward’) in the years that you’re furthest away from retirement.
How each of the default options do this is different. This means that each of them:
- Invest your money into different types of funds over time.
- Start to move your money into investments that are designed to be less risky at different timeframes before retirement (known as when you start to ‘de-risk’).
- Target different levels of risk as you get closer to retirement.
Balancing risk and reward
When it comes to investing your money, if you want the potential for better returns, you’ll normally have to accept more risk.
Put simply, in return for the possibility that the value of your pension pot will go up by more over the long term, there will usually be a greater chance that your pension pot will go down more often over the same period. This means that, if your pension pot is invested in a higher-risk fund, you could lose a larger part – and in some cases all – of the money you have invested.
By investing in a lower-risk fund, you’re less likely to lose as much of the value of your pension pot but it’s also less likely to go up in value by as much. This is what is known as the balance between risk and reward.
Here’s how the three default options compare:
What should I think about if I’m in my current default strategies de-risking period?
If your pension pot is currently invested in the default strategy, and you’re
- a member of the Stakeholder Plan and less than five years to retirement, or
- a member of the DC Section and less than ten years to retirement,
then it’s worth thinking about how your investment mix will change if your pension pot is invested in the default strategy in the L&G Mastertrust. And how that change will impact the level of risk that your pension pot will be exposed to.
Stocks and shares
Risk level: High
The price of stocks and shares can go down or up in value often and, sometimes, by large amounts compared to other investments.
In return, they offer the potential for growth over the long term.
Property
Risk level: High
Property prices can go down or up sharply in the short term and – in the case of a fall in price – may take a long time to recover.
In return, they offer the potential for growth over the long term.
Bonds
Risk level: Moderate to high
Although they are sensitive to changes in interest rates and inflation, bonds tend to go down or up in value less than investments in property or stocks and shares.
As a result, they are more likely to provide modest investment returns compared to investments in property or shares.
Cash
Risk level: Low
Cash is widely seen as being the least likely investment to go down or up in value.
However, although it is less likely to go up and down in value, investment returns are likely to be low.
Remember, if you don’t think that the default strategy in the L&G Mastertrust is right for you, you will be able to choose from a range of other investment options.
The impact of the US tariffs on my pension pot
The recent US global tariff policy has created a lot of turbulence in the markets. That’s hit share prices and other investments. As a result you might have noticed the value of your pension pot has fallen.
It’s important that you don’t panic and don't make any rushed decisions about your pension. L&G have a helpful article about looking after your pension in times of uncertainty.
Investment charges
To see a full list of the investment charges that you will pay for each investment option that will be available in the L&G Mastertrust, go to the document library on the page for the Sibelco pension scheme that you’re currently a member of. You’ll find these in your ‘Guide to the L&G Mastertrust Fund Range’.
Plus, if you're a member of the DC Section and have moved some (or all) of your DC Section pension pot into drawdown, you will find links to the factsheets and charges for the Investment Pathways options in 'Your guide to the L&G Mastertrust Investment Pathways (DC Section)'.
The L&G Mastertrust’s approach to responsible investing
L&G invests billions of pounds of capital in projects that aim to improve society. This includes low-carbon technology, infrastructure, affordable homes, and support for small businesses.
The L&G Mastertrust Trustees consider the impact that investing in some companies could have on things that members might care about. So, they look at an organisation’s environmental credentials, how it treats its employees and how well it’s run. These environmental, social and governance factors are known collectively as ESG considerations. Find out more about the Mastertrust’s approach to responsible investing.
