Hello, Pension Savers

Welcome to your new Aviva Workplace pension.

Part of the Aviva Master Trust.

Building a pension takes time, but you aren’t on your own. We’re here to provide you with helpful information and support along the way.

Look out for your welcome pack. It has everything you need to help you make the most of your pension.

You can go online, where you’ll find more videos, calculator tools, and easy-to-understand information.

You’ll also get useful reminders and helpful communications along the way.

It’s the easiest way to keep on top of your pension by taking control online.

Register online and you’ll be able to see the value of your pension pot.

You can also view what you pay in or change where your pension pot is invested.

You can also make changes to your personal details. It’s a good idea to keep these up to date.

You can also add beneficiaries to your accounts in case you’re no longer around to enjoy the benefits.

And you might be able to transfer your previous pensions to your Aviva pension if that’s the right decision for you. It’s important that you understand the benefits and risks before deciding.

You may have to take financial advice for some pension transfers, for which a fee may be charged.

You could get lower charges and enjoy more investment choices and flexibility.

If you do this, you could have more money in your workplace pension pot. Although there is no guarantee you’ll be better off by transferring.

Please remember that as the money in your pension is invested, it can fall or rise in value, and you could get back less than you paid in.

So that’s your new workplace pension—online, flexible, and easy to manage.

Find out more about your pension visit MyAviva

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Welcome to your Aviva Workplace pension. Part of the Aviva Master Trust.

Saving for the future might not be at the top of your priorities.

But the snag is that time goes by quicker than you think, and before you know it, it's time to retire.

The question is, do you have enough money to retire comfortably?

To help answer that will cover two basic but important things:

how money can build up in your pension, and where we invest it.

Your workplace pension can be an easy way to build a pot of money, in several ways.

Your employer pays in your contributions straight from your salary on which you'll get pension tax relief, which can really help boost your savings.

Tax relief means that the income tax you would normally pay on your earnings is instead added to your pension. So, when you contribute to your pension, any income tax you would have paid on that contribution goes into your pension fund.

And there might be a salary exchange arrangement, sometimes known as salary sacrifice or smart pensions run by your employer, which could also help you make a national insurance saving too.

So let's look at what happens to the money paid into your pension.

Basically, we put your money to work for you by investing it.

Your money is usually invested through your journey to retirement automatically in what are known as default investment funds.

These funds are designed for those who are happy for investment decisions to be made on their behalf.

For more information check your literature.

We call it a hands off approach.

At the same time, we appreciate that some people enjoy having more involvement

in where their pension money is invested.

They are more likely to be more hands on.

This is where you choose the individual funds that you'd like to invest your pension money in.

In this case, you'll need to keep an eye on your investments yourself.

To make sure they are on track to help you achieve the type of retirement you have in mind.

Of course, investment values can go down as well as up, and you could get back less than the amount paid in. Tax benefits are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances.

To cover the cost of running your pension and investing your money, you pay charges. You can find details of these charges in your workplace pension literature and online, where you can change your investments instructions by logging into your online account at any time.

It's also the place where you'll find further information about the investment choices available to you.

You can also make changes to your personal details.

It's a good idea to keep these up to date.

You can also add beneficiaries to your accounts in case you're no longer around to enjoy the benefits and everything you need to know about your workplace pension.

Find out more about your pension visit MyAviva

Welcome to your new Aviva Workplace Pension. Part of the Aviva Master Trust.

As you look ahead to retirement, you should think about how you're going to continue to live well and how you'll pay for it.

After all, you'll still need money to pay for household bills and many other expenses.

But without a regular salary, it's good to have a plan to make sure you've enough to cover these and life's extras.

When you retire, you might look to the state pension to provide a decent income to help you out.

It's worth checking how many years of National Insurance contributions you've paid in, as you'll need 35 years’ worth of contribution to get the full amount.

Could you get by on this amount each week?

And that's where your workplace pension comes in, helping you save for the years when you retire.

You pay in, your employer pays in, and with tax relief from the government this could boost your pension accounts even more.

The money in your pension will be invested and the value can go down as well as up.

You could get back less than has been paid in.

So you save money while you work, month after month, year after year.

But when can you retire?

Your workplace pension has what's known as a ‘default’ retirement age, but you're not stuck with it and you can change it online.

You can usually take your benefits from the minimum pension age.

This is currently age 55.

From 6 April 2028 this will be age 57 unless you have a protected pension age.

To find out more visit www.aviva.co.uk/nmpa.

That’s the ‘when’, here’s ‘how’ you can take your pension.

You have several options.

Currently, you may be able to take all, or some of your pension pot as a cash lump sum.

25% may be free of income tax.

The remainder may be taxed at your marginal rate of income tax.

Your pension provider will be able to provide you with more information.

You can take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum, with the remaining balance used to provide you with an income which will be taxed at your marginal rate of income tax.

You could choose to buy a lifetime annuity, which can provide you with a guaranteed regular taxable income for the rest of your life.

Leaving your workplace pension pot invested and then taking a regular income, or a series of lump sums, from it is known as flexible drawdown.

If your workplace scheme does not offer drawdown directly, it's still possible to access this option by transferring your pot away from the scheme to a drawdown product with Aviva or an alternative provider.

You can also choose a combination of these options.

And what you choose will depend on your personal situation at the time.

It's important that you shop around different providers as you may be able to obtain a higher income.

And don’t forget that if part of your money remains invested, the value of your pension can go down as well as up and isn’t guaranteed.

Tax benefits are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances.

Whatever you choose to do, there is no right or wrong answer, it’ll depend on your plans for retirement and how much you’ve saved.

It’s also worth making sure you’ve got your planned retirement date correct.

It’s worth reviewing your options carefully. If you're unsure about your options, please go to the help and support pages, where you can find details about how to contact us to talk about your pension options.

You can see the address on the screen.

If you want more help thinking about pensions and retirement,

a good place to begin is MoneyHelper, the government-backed free guidance service.

If you are over 50 you can use the Pension Wise service, from MoneyHelper, online or by phone on 0800 138 3944.

They offer a free face to face or telephone guidance session.

They won’t tell you what you should do, but they’ll provide you with information to help you understand your options.

For more tailored advice, you should speak to a financial adviser.

Bear in mind they may charge a fee for this advice.

If you don’t have an adviser, you can find an up-to-date list of regulated advisers at MoneyHelper website.

You can access MoneyHelper online  at www.moneyhelper.org.uk or by phone on 0800 011 3797.

Finally, a reminder that you can name beneficiaries, who you would like us to consider, for your pension in case you’re no longer around to enjoy the benefits.

You can do this online.

And let us know if there have been any changes to your personal details, like your address and personal email.

So that's a very quick summary of your options at retirement with a workplace pension.

Find out more about your pension visit MyAviva.