The lump sum plan 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.
Members Lump sum plan
The lump sum plan is what you automatically go into when you’re enrolled in now:pensions. The lump sum plan is designed for taking your pension savings as one or more cash ‘lump sums’.
The lump sum plan follows a three-phase pension journey
The lump sum plan, like all our investment plans, follows a three-phase pension journey. They aim to grow your pension savings over most of your working life. Ten years before your planned retirement age, your savings start to move into investments designed to prepare your money for retirement, including reducing investment risk.
Important note
If you join now:pensions within 10 years of your planned retirement age you’ll start your journey in the de-risking phase. Your planned retirement age is your State Pension age unless you’ve told us something different or changed it in now:u.
Our pension journey
Our three-phase pension journey gradually moves your pension savings from the now: growth fund to the now: retirement countdown fund.
Growth phase
now: growth fund
100%
De-risking phase
now: retirement countdown fund
0% to 70%
now: growth fund
100% to 30%
10 years before planned retirement age
Destination phase
Choose how you’d like to take your savings.
now: retirement countdown fund
70%
now: growth fund
30%
10 years before planned retirement age
There’s even more information, including the risk rating for each investment fund in the plan, on our about our investment funds page.
Lump sum plan explained
This video helps you understand how the lump sum plan works, how your money is invested and how you can manage your pension savings in now:u.
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Investment funds and performance
The value of investments can go down as well as up. How an investment fund has performed in the past doesn’t guarantee its future performance will be the same. For the latest information on how our investment funds are performing, visit our about our investment funds page.
Manage your pension in now:u
To see how your investments are doing or change your investment choice
Log in to now:u
Find out more about the ways you can take your pension savings.
Frequently asked questions
See all support for membersWe use ‘plan’ in the names of some of our investment options, such as the lump sum plan. These plans aim to help your pension savings grow over most of your working life, then aim to better protect their value as you get closer to taking your money out of now:pensions.
We invest your pension savings to help them grow over the long term. We invest them responsibly and sustainably to help reduce financial risks from things like climate change, which could have a negative impact on the economy and investments in the long term.
If you’re in one of our investment plans, we prepare your pension savings 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.
Learn more here.
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.
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.
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 through investment 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.
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.
