Investment pathways
Planning for the future isn’t easy. When taking a flexible retirement income it can be tricky to decide how best to invest your remaining pension to help achieve your goals.
That’s why we’ve created Investment Pathways for Retirement Account, our flexible retirement plan, to help simplify the decision.
These are specially designed pathway solutions to suit how you intend to take your pensions savings.
They ensure you have access to a broad range of investment solutions to help you meet your retirement income needs over the next five years.
The decision about which one to choose is based on the different ways you can take your pension.
Investment Pathways you can choose from
We’ve used our investment expertise to put together the following pathways for Retirement Account customers:
Depending on which path you choose we'll put you in an investment solution to help you achieve your goal.
For more details about how you'll be invested when in a pathway, take a look at our guide.
How do I decide what's best for me?
There’s a few things you should consider
Remember, as with most investments, there are no guarantees. Choosing suitable investments and how much income to take can be complex, and you may want to seek professional financial advice. An adviser will normally charge for providing this advice.
Everyone is different and your circumstances may well change over time, so there are no hard and fast rules. You also need to think about:
- Do you have other investments or savings to live on?
- What would happen if your pension savings dropped dramatically in value?
- If you’re relying on a certain monthly income to pay your bills, can your pension savings still provide that income in the long term?
- Would you be able to maintain your current lifestyle if your pension savings ran out in five or ten years?
- How long do you want to hold the investment for?
- Are you happy to take a long-term view and not worry about short-term dips in the value of your savings, or are you uncomfortable when values go up and down a lot?
- Are you comfortable with taking some risk to potentially increase growth, or would you rather minimise the risk as much as you can?
How to access Investment Pathways
I don’t have a pension with Scottish Widows
If you don’t have a pension with us, you might want to consider transferring your existing pension(s) to us to set-up a new Retirement Account, which will give you access to our Investment Pathways.
When we set up a new Retirement Account, it’ll be set up for Retirement Planning. When you’re ready to move into Retirement Income, it’s at this point that you can choose an Investment Pathway.
Transfer into Retirement Account
I already have a Retirement Account
As you’re currently invested in a Retirement Account, you can access our Investment Pathways.
If you want to start taking income from your plan and access a pathway, you will need to move your Account into Retirement Income. You can do this by calling us on 0345 835 6644.
I have different pension(s) with Scottish Widows
If you’re planning to access your pension soon (perhaps to take some or all of your tax free cash amount), a Retirement Account could be a good place to move the rest of your pension pot into.
You can contact us on the following numbers to discuss your retirement options further.
| I have an existing pension with | Telephone number |
|---|---|
| Scottish Widows/Lloyds | 0345 835 6644 |
| Halifax | 0345 835 6645 |
| Clerical Medical | 0345 835 6646 |