The Scottish Widow

Take control of your future

The Scottish Widow

Welcome

Your Scottish Widows workplace pension puts you in control of your future.

We’ve provided some helpful information, showing you how pensions work and why that matters to you.

Why not take a few moments to read what you need to know? Or simply register here for your online services.

What's useful to know

  • Everyone who earns over £10,000 is automatically enrolled in a workplace pension if they are between the ages of 22 and state pension age.

    A workplace pension is provided by your employer as part of your employment rather than an individual pension plan you choose yourself.

  • There are a number of ways you can help your pension to grow.

    You may be able to grow your pension by:

    • increasing how much you pay in. Each contribution is added to your current investments. You will get tax relief on any payments you make and your employer may also pay more in if you do.
    • changing how your pension is invested. How your money is invested is a key factor in how your pension performs. You’ll find more about how you are invested below.

    Register now for online services and you can see the value of your pension and find out how much you need to save.

    It’s important to remember that the value of your plan is not guaranteed and it can go down as well as up. It could fall below the amount(s) paid in.

  • Make sure you let us know who you would want to benefit in the event of your death by completing a nomination form. While this isn’t binding, it will be taken into account when paying death benefits. So it’s really important to keep this information up to date if your wishes or circumstances change.

    You can nominate a person, a group of people or an organisation such as a charity, using your online services.

Other questions we're often asked

  • If you've had other jobs before, you probably have other pensions.

    Combining these pensions can make them easier to manage and might save you money in fees. It could also be easier to imagine your future with the total in one place. You can see if you can combine your old pensions. Combining pensions isn’t right for everyone. You need to be careful that you don’t lose any guarantees or features, and you should also compare the charges and funds.

  • How you invest your pension is your choice.

    Your pension savings will be initially invested into a default investment option chosen by your employer. You can change how your pension is invested. You can select different kinds of investments with different levels of risk.

    • For example, higher levels of risk can lead to higher growth, but they can also risk greater falls in value.

    Register for online services and you can choose investments with different risk profiles and retirement aims, and even pick specific funds to invest in.

    It’s important to remember that the value of your plan is not guaranteed and it can go down as well as up. It could fall below the amount(s) paid in.

  • You can normally take your pension benefits from age 55. In 2028, the Government is expected to increase the minimum age from which pension benefits can be taken to 57 from 55.

    You can take your benefits in a number of different ways.

    • Choose a drawdown – or flexible access – to keep your pension invested and be able to take money out when you wish.
    • Choose a cash lump sum.
    • Choose an annuity if you’d rather have a guaranteed income in retirement.

    The retirement benefits you receive from your pension plan will depend on a number of factors including the value of your plan when you decide to take your benefits which isn't guaranteed, and can go down as well as up. The value of your plan could fall below the amount(s) paid in.

     

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