Members How we invest your savings

We invest your pension savings to help them grow over your working lifetime and in the case of our investment plans to also prepare them for retirement, including reducing investment risk, as you approach your planned retirement age. And we aim to invest them responsibly and sustainably to help reduce financial risks from things like climate change, which could have a negative effect on the economy and investments in the long term.

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Your investment options

When you join now:pensions, your pension savings – the money you and your workplace pay in to your now:pensions account – are automatically invested in our lump sum plan. This plan is designed for taking your pension savings as one or more cash ‘lump sums’.  

We offer five other investment plans and one investment fund you can choose from to match your needs and preferences.  

The plans are designed with the aim of growing your pension savings over most of your working life. Then, 10 years before your planned retirement age, your savings start to move into investments designed to prepare your money for retirement, including reducing investment risk.

  • The lump sum plan, the annuity plan and the drawdown plan target a particular way of using pension savings at your planned retirement age. This is your State Pension age unless you’ve changed it in now:u.
  • The higher risk plan and the lower growth plan are designed for different attitudes to investment risk.
  • The shariah plan and the shariah equity fund are invested in line with the requirements of shariah law and the principles of Islam.

All of these plans are supported by underlying investment funds. The plans use a combination of different funds that have different aims, designed to support our whole-of-life approach to investing your pension savings. Please note that apart from the shariah equity fund, you cannot directly invest into these funds alone. Find out more about our investment funds.

You can find more information on our your investment options page.

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Lump sum plan

This is the investment plan you automatically go into when you’re enrolled in now:pensions. It’s designed for taking your pension savings as one or more cash ‘lump sums’. It could be suitable if you want to grow your savings for most of your working life but want more stability in the years leading up to starting to take your savings.

Learn more about the lump sum plan

Drawdown plan

This plan is designed for taking your pension savings as flexible income in retirement – also known as ‘drawdown’ – rather than as a lump sum. It could be suitable if you want to grow your savings for most of your working life, then keep more of your savings in investments aiming to deliver growth in the years leading up to starting to take your savings.

Learn more about the drawdown plan

Annuity plan

This plan is designed for taking your pension savings to buy a guaranteed income (generally for life) – also known as an annuity. It could be suitable if you want to grow your savings for most of your working life, then prepare to bring them more into line with the cost of buying an annuity in the years leading up to starting to take your savings.

Learn more about the annuity plan

Higher risk plan

This plan is designed to take more investment risk and seek higher growth than the other plans. It could be suitable if you want to aim to get higher growth but accept that it has a potential higher risk of falls in value.

Learn more about the higher risk plan

Lower growth plan

This plan is designed to take less investment risk and seek lower growth than the other plans. It could be suitable if you want to aim for less risk of your investments falling in value but accept the potential for lower growth.

Learn more about the lower growth plan

Shariah plan

This plan is designed for investing your pension savings in line with the requirements of shariah law and the principles of Islam, and for taking your pension savings as one or more cash ‘lump sums’. It could be suitable if you want to grow your savings for most of your working life but want more stability in the years leading up to starting to take your savings.

Learn more about the shariah plan
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Shariah equity fund

This fund is designed for investing your pension savings in equities (shares in companies) in line with the requirements of shariah law and the principles of Islam. It could be suitable if you’re willing to take investment risk to aim to get higher returns and accept the higher risk of falls in value. 

Unlike the shariah plan, this fund doesn’t move into investments designed to prepare your money for retirement, including reducing investment risk, as you near your planned retirement age.

Learn more about the shariah equity fund

Choosing how you invest

Which investment option is right for you depends on a number of things including:   

  • when you want to retire  
  • how much investment risk you’re willing to take  
  • your personal beliefs  
  • the amount of savings you have built up  
  • how you plan to take your pension savings 
  • what other savings, investments and income you have, and how your pension savings fit in with these. 

If you’re not sure if a plan or fund is right for you, it’s a good idea to talk to a financial adviser who’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  

The government-backed MoneyHelper website has a list of regulated financial advisers.

Where can I get regulated advice?

Our Trustee

now:pensions is a UK master trust, managed by an independent Trustee. The Trustee believes that incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, as well as real-world sustainability impact, into the investment approach helps mitigate risks, enhance returns and is in its members’ best long-term interests.

Learn more about our Trustee

Frequently asked questions

See all support for members

You have a now:pensions account that you and your workplace put money into. Your money is invested in one of our investment options.  

In the investment plans, the money is invested with the aim of helping it to grow then preparing it for retirement, including reducing investment risk.   

We also offer a shariah equity fund. Unlike the investment plans, the shariah equity fund doesn’t move into investments designed to prepare your money for retirement, including reducing investment risk, as you near your planned retirement age. 

The way your now:pensions account is invested depends on the following things.   

  • Your planned retirement age. This is your State Pension age unless you’ve told us something different or changed it in now:u. It can affect how your savings are invested as you get closer to taking your money. Log in to now:u to check your planned retirement age. 

The investment plans invest in different funds. The funds can invest in different assets such as equities (shares in companies), bonds (loans to companies or governments, with a promise to repay the loan plus interest at a later date), and other assets like cash and commodities (gold and industrial metals, for example). Learn more about our funds.    

The value of your now:pensions account when you reach your planned retirement age will depend on a number of things. 

  • How much you and your workplace pay in over the years. 
  • How your investments perform. 
  • The age you start to take your money out of now:pensions. 
  • Any costs for selling your investments when you start to take your money out of now:pensions.  

When you join now:pensions, your savings are invested in our lump sum plan. You stay in the lump sum plan if you don’t choose anything else. So if you’re sure you’ve never chosen another investment option, you’ll be in the lump sum plan.  

To check which plan you’re in, log in to now:u and go to Investment. You’ll see the plan you’re currently invested in.  

Log in to now:u and go to Investments.

Your investment plan shows the plan your pension savings are currently invested in.

Below this you can see:

  • Investment change – how the value of your pension savings has changed since you joined now:pensions
  • Current value of your pension savings – this is updated regularly and the value will go up and down in line with the value of the plan you’re invested in
  • Money in and out – how much money has been paid in, and any money that’s been paid out, of your pension savings.

Choose See details to look at:

  • the charges you pay us to manage your pension savings
  • your current planned retirement age
  • a breakdown of the investments in your plan.

See about our investment funds for more information.

It’s impossible to say. Investment values can’t be guaranteed. But you can check regularly how your investments are doing by logging in to now:u and going to Investment. 

The value of your investments can go down as well as up. Past performance doesn’t mean future performance will be the same. 

now:pensions can’t give you investment advice. If you’re not sure if a plan or fund is right for you, it’s a good idea to talk to a financial adviser who’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Learn more here.

The content on this website has been produced for information purposes only (and may be subject to change without notice) to provide you with fund information. It does not consider your personal circumstances and is not intended to provide you with investment, pensions or legal advice. Before you make any investment decisions, we recommend you consult an appropriately qualified independent financial adviser. NOW: Pensions Ltd and NOW: Pension Trustee Ltd don’t accept liability for any reliance on the information placed on the contents of this page.