Frequently asked questions

No – only you can access your individual secure account.

Making financial plans for your future is important and the decisions you make can be life changing.

We strongly recommend you speak to a financial adviser before making decisions about your pension. Advisers may charge for their services but, making plans for your future is important and the decisions you make can be life changing.

Unless you're already a member of a pension plan that meets the government's standards, your employer will have to enrol you into their workplace pension scheme if you:

1. are aged 22 to State Pension age
2. ordinarily work in the UK, and 
3. earn £10,000 or more a year (this is the figure for the 2025/2026 tax year and it may change).

But you can opt out if you want to. If you do so within one calendar month of receiving written confirmation of joining the scheme, any contributions already paid will be refunded.

If you opt out later, this money will stay in your pension. We will check that your opt out notice is valid and let you know.

Remember that if you opt out, you may be able to change your mind and opt back in. Please contact your employer if you would like to start contributions again if you do opt out.
If you stay opted out, your employer will normally put you back into their workplace pension in around three years if you are an eligible jobholder – that is, you’re aged 22 or over and earn above the minimum earnings threshold for auto enrolment. But you can again choose to opt out. Remember that the sooner you join the pension plan, the better your chance of a more comfortable retirement.

The amount you should pay into your pension depends on your circumstances and priorities, but please bear in mind that your employer may set a minimum contribution level. You will probably have to maintain that level of contribution in order to receive pension contributions into your pension from your employer.  You can find more information about pension contributions on the 'When you become a member' page.

To help you plan for your retirement you can use the following tools:

Shape My Future helps you think about the lifestyle you might like to have in the future, what your retirement income might be, how much the lifestyle you want could cost; and plan how you might make it happen.

The Mid-Life MOT app provides a free check-up of your wealth, work, and wellbeing. Our Mid-Life MOT app is a small investment of your time, but it could make a big difference.

One of the ways you can fund your retirement is by investing some money in a pension, which can:

• Supplement your State Pension
• Potentially give you greater financial security during your retirement
• Give you a tax-free lump sum from part of your pension benefits when you retire that will normally be 25% of the value of your pension. This is based on current tax rules and could change in the future.

A pension is a good way to invest for your retirement. You make payments into your pension and your employer will contribute too, subject to eligibility criteria. You could also get tax relief on your contributions.

Even if you receive a state pension (and any other government benefits, if you're entitled to them), it's important to bear in mind that it might not be enough to fund the lifestyle that you want. You need to feel confident you're going to have enough money to provide you with a reasonable income during your retirement.

The more you can invest during your working years, the better standard of living you're likely to have when you retire. So the earlier you start paying into your pension, the better. By doing this, you'll be able to invest more money over a longer period of time and your pension will have longer to grow. Saving for retirement takes time and things can change. We therefore suggest you review your investments and your pension regularly so that they're aligned with your plans for retirement. Just be aware that the value of your investment in your pension can go down as well as up and may be worth less than the amount paid in.

Funds are where your money is invested when you pay it into a pension. When your money goes into funds, Aviva pools your money with that of other investors and invests it with the aim of growing your pension savings. Pooled funds are a way of putting sums of money from many people into a large fund spread across many investments and are managed by professionals. Investing this way can be easier and less risky than buying shares directly, for example. 

With many pensions you can usually choose which funds to put your money into. There are many different types of funds, including ones invested in the key asset classes (company shares, bonds, property and cash) and ones that have different risk levels, giving you plenty of options to choose from. If you're not sure which one(s) to pick, a financial adviser will be able to make recommendations for you. If you don’t make an active investment choice your payments will be invested in the default investment option chosen for your workplace pension.

Investment options usually differ in:

• The way they’re managed
• The assets they invest in
• The level of risk they take and the level of reward they’re aiming for.

Different funds take different levels of risk. A lower risk fund might aim for steady growth over a long period of time with a lower risk of losing money. A higher risk fund will usually be aiming for higher long term growth but there is also a greater risk of losing money.

The types of assets that a fund invests in are an important factor in the returns you’re likely to get and the amount of risk that you’re taking. A higher risk fund might invest in the shares of companies in either the UK or overseas which have the potential to provide good long term returns, but are also likely to see large ups and downs in value. A lower risk fund might invest in developed market government bonds (from the UK, Europe and US), which normally offer lower returns but also have a lower risk of losing money. However, it is important to note that as with all investments, government bonds do carry some degree of risk - they are liable to interest rate risk (the risk of interest rates going up) and default risk (the risk of the government that has issued the bonds being unable to pay back the money it has borrowed in the financial markets). It is important to bear these risks in mind. 

Aviva will send you a yearly pension update. It shows you how much you've invested to date, and the current value of your pension as well as any charges you have paid.
You can also monitor and manage your pension online at anytime by logging into your online account.

Help is always at hand if you have any questions about your pension, or if you want to make any changes to it. You can contact your employer, Aviva or a financial adviser using the contact details on this site.

If you want to manage your pension yourself, you can do it online by logging into your online account. Your online account lets you see how much your pension is worth and request changes to your pension. 

Aviva is the company that your employer has chosen to provide your workplace pension. You can find out more on the About Aviva page.

You can check your state pension forecast at https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Once you've paid money into your pension, you can usually take your benefits from the minimum pension age. This is currently age 55. From 6 April 2028 this will be 57 unless you have a protected pension age. To find out more visit www.aviva.co.uk/nmpa. It is important to remember that there are two separate stages to a pension. The first is the money you build up in your pension from the payments you invest. The second is the retirement benefits you access yourself from the pension savings you have built up. You can use your pension savings to provide retirement benefits. There are different options available, and you should take financial advice or guidance before choosing your option(s).

As you approach your chosen retirement date, or when you tell us you wish to take your benefits, we will inform you of your options and the pros and cons of each.

Help is also available from the government's Pension Wise service from MoneyHelper service. This government service offers free and impartial guidance on your retirement options, either over the phone or face to face . You can find out more at the Pension Wise website: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise

Absolutely, you can bring your retirement age forward or move it back. 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.

If you already have another pension plan (perhaps from a previous employer), you may be able to:

• continue paying into your existing pension as well as into your workplace pension
• leave your existing pension where it is and make all future payments into your workplace pension
• transfer your existing pension to your workplace pension.

The choice is yours. There’s no guarantee you’ll be better off by transferring. If you do think transferring your existing pension is an option for you, we recommend you seek independent financial advice to make sure that you won't be losing any valuable benefits or guarantees that your existing scheme may provide. In some cases you may be required to obtain advice for which a fee will be charged, before proceeding. 

The minimum regular payment is £25 a month or £250 a year and the minimum single payment is £250.

There is no limit on the amount that can be paid in.

Funds, company shares and other investments

Anyone over the age of 18 and who is exclusively a UK tax resident and British citizen.

Yes, you can request a withdrawal by contacting the Aviva Customer Services team. It will usually be paid out in five working days.

You’ll need to choose which funds to withdraw your money from and make a ‘sell transaction’ from those funds into your cash account.

The minimum withdrawal amount for the Investment Account is £100.  In order to keep your account open you must have a balance of at least £250.

No. You can make withdrawals but there are no tax benefits available. There could be Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to pay at some time in the future depending on your personal circumstances. Any CGT payable will relate to the tax year in which the gain is made and will be handled in your self-assessment tax return for that year.

If you exceed the ISA limit within the tax year, the Investment Account can be a useful facility to put in any additional investments.

You can pay into the Investment Account either through your employer’s payroll or through your own bank or building society account or both. You can make regular and/or single payments as you wish.

All investments are bought and sold through a cash account which is automatically set up when you open an Investment Account in My Money. All investments are bought and sold through this account. 

Yes. There is a scheme annual management charge, fund charges and charges for any CHAPS payments. Please read the Investment Account Key Features guide for more information.

Yes.

Switching funds involves selling the existing investment and buying the new investment. The timings will depend on fund management processes.

You can normally switch between investment funds at any time. In exceptional circumstances, this could be delayed. Please see the Terms and conditions for more information.

If you switch between investment funds in an Investment Account, you may have to pay capital gains tax on any profit that you have made in the fund that is sold.

You may be able to transfer your existing assets by re-registering them with Aviva. Please call us for more information.

Yes, your investments can be transferred out of your Investment Account. We will transfer them by registering them to a new provider. Please call us.