This web page is for Uber drivers whose pension savings are invested in the Shariah Fund. If your savings aren’t invested in the Shariah Fund, the information here isn’t relevant for you. Please visit How we invest your savings to find out about your pension savings in the default investment strategy.
About auto enrolment
Auto enrolment means Uber must:
- enrol their eligible workers into a pension, and
- contribute to their pension savings.
Auto enrolment was introduced to help more people save for retirement, after the UK government found many people had very small or no pension savings other than the State Pension.
About your pension
Uber has chosen the NOW: Pensions Trust (the ‘Scheme’) as your pension provider for auto enrolment.
You and Uber will make contributions to build up in your pension savings, as long as you meet the earnings thresholds for automatic enrolment. For the 2022–2023 tax year the lower limit is £120 a week and the upper limit is £967 a week.
A drivers’ workplace pension is a great way to save. Uber contributes, so your pension builds up faster. And if you pay income tax, you can claim tax relief on your pension contributions through your yearly self-assessment tax return.
Set up your online account
We make it simple for you to manage your pension and keep track of your savings 24/7 using your secure online member account. You can log in using a PC, tablet or mobile.
The Shariah Fund
Your pension savings are invested in the Shariah Fund.
The Fund invests mainly in global equities (shares in companies around the world). It doesn’t invest in areas generally prohibited by Shariah law, such as alcohol, tobacco, weapons, gambling and adult entertainment. It also avoids types of investment that involve speculation, such as derivatives. It is invested in collective investment schemes that are Shariah-compliant and non-interest-bearing cash.
Learn more about how we invest your savings in the Uber member booklet.
How we invest your contributions
We collect the contributions from you and Uber and they’re invested into the Shariah Fund by the investment manager.
You can check your pension savings by looking at the fund value summary in your online member account. This shows the current value of your pension savings, including:
- the total amount you and Uber have paid in, plus
- any change in the value of your investments, less
- any charges you’ve paid.
Your fund value is updated each week, usually on a Friday or Saturday.
Stopping contributions
You can stop your contributions to the Scheme at any time.
If you opt out within the first month of being enrolled – during your opt-out window – your contributions will be refunded. Find out more about opting out.
If you stop your contributions after one month, Uber can’t refund your contributions. Find out more about stopping contributions.
Costs and charges
We’ve designed our charges – which are among the most cost-effective in the pensions industry – to be simple, transparent and fair.
- Monthly administration charge for running the Scheme: £1.75 (£21 a year)
- Annual management charge: 0.3% of the value of your pension savings
There are also transaction costs, for buying and selling investments. We don’t charge for these separately – we factor them into the returns on investments.
If you have £100 or less in your pension savings we won’t take any monthly administration charges. This will help prevent small amounts of pension savings being eaten away by charges. The annual management charge still applies.
Your planned retirement age
This is the age you want to retire at. We assume it’s your State Pension age if you haven’t told us anything different. Check your State Pension age.
You can check and change your planned retirement age using your online member account. Check your planned retirement age.
Investment performance
An investment’s performance is measured by how well it meets investment objectives, including the ‘return’ on the investment and the ‘risk’ of the investment.
The return is the amount of money you make – or lose – on an investment. Lots of things influence investment returns, including world social and economic conditions.
The risk is how likely an investment is to fall and grow in value. This can be the change in the total value, or the change measured against a target. If you want higher returns, you’re more likely to see bigger value changes from day to day.
There are different types of investment risk.
- There is absolute risk, which is the amount you see the value of your investment going up and down.
- There is also relative risk, which is one of the ways we measure the performance of the Shariah Fund. We do this by monitoring how closely the Shariah Fund’s return mirrors the market index we measure the investment returns against. This is often called ‘tracking error’.
Keeping your pension safe
NOW: Pensions is authorised and regulated as a master trust by the Pensions Regulator. We also employ a specialist company known as a custodian to protect your pension savings.
Our custodian, BNY Mellon, is one of the largest and best-known in the world. They hold the Scheme funds in a ring-fenced account, separate from NOW: Pensions and the custodian’s own funds and company accounts.
Frequently asked questions
When you and Uber pay contributions into your drivers’ workplace pension, you expect us to invest them wisely for your future. We take this responsibility seriously.
Your pension savings are invested to give them a chance to grow over time. They are invested in funds that are divided into equal-value units. We use the contributions paid by you and Uber to buy these units, which are invested by our investment manager. As with all investments, the value of the units can go up or down over time.
Your pension savings are invested in the Shariah Fund. The investment manager is Cardano Risk Management Limited.
Islamic finance emphasises social responsibility, ethical investment and profit-sharing. Shariah law generally prohibits investment in areas such as alcohol, tobacco, weapons, gambling and adult entertainment. It also avoids types of investment that involve speculation, such as derivatives.
The Shariah Fund is an investment fund designed to be suitable for people who practise the Muslim faith. It invests in line with the requirements of Shariah law and the principles of Islam, by investing in collective investment schemes that are Shariah-compliant and non-interest-bearing cash.
Your pension savings are invested in the Shariah Fund. This Fund aims to meet its investment objectives by investing in collective investment schemes that are Shariah-compliant, and non-interest-bearing cash. The investment manager is Cardano Risk Management Limited.
The Shariah Fund invests mainly in global equities (shares in companies around the world).
The Shariah Fund aims to deliver a return equal to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titan 100 Index (the Islamic Index).
You can find out more about the Shariah Fund, including its investment objectives, in our Statement of Investment Principles (SIP).
No. The types of investment used for protecting the value of pension savings as you get closer to retiring tend to be interest-paying and interest-earning investments such as bonds and cash. Earning interest is not compatible with Shariah law, so a Shariah fund can’t use these types of investment.
Yes. The Shariah Fund invests mainly in global equities (shares in companies around the world). Although shares are expected to grow well over the long term, they also have a high risk of going up and down in value in the short term. As a result, the investment risk for the Shariah Fund is higher than for the Default Investment Strategy.
Also, the Default Investment Strategy includes a growth-focussed fund (DGF) and a retirement countdown fund (RCF), where allocations change as the member approaches retirement. The Shariah Fund is a single fund. Members invested in our Shariah Fund are not moved into the less risky RCF as they approach retirement.
Yes, you can transfer other pensions in – although you will need to check the Scheme can accept the transfer, as not all pension savings can be transferred in. The Scheme Trustee will need to approve your transfer.
To find out more, please contact the NOW: Pensions administration team using our secure webform.
You can also call our member support team on 0330 100 3334 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. When you call please give your full name, address and National Insurance number.
We may record your call to help improve the service to you.
Yes. Please contact the NOW: Pensions administration team using our secure webform.
You can also call our member support team on 0330 100 3334 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. When you call please give your full name, address and National Insurance number. We may record your call to help improve the service to you.
Important information
The Scheme is governed by a Trust Deed and Rules. If there’s any difference between what this web page says and what the Scheme’s Trust Deed and Rules say, the Trust Deed and Rules will take precedence.
NP/W0015/07/2022 and NP/W0016/07/2022