Your workplace pension offers you a wide choice of investments, over 4,500 (as at November 2022). If this feels a bit too much, we've narrowed the choice down to make it easier for you to choose.
If you don’t choose a fund yourself, your savings will be invested in the default fund chosen by your employer. You can find out what your scheme default fund is by logging into your account where you’ll also find a fund factsheet and your current plan value.
Most default funds are a type of lifestyle fund, sometimes referred to as target-dated or retirement target funds. These types of funds automatically change what they invest in throughout your working life, gradually moving into what are generally considered to be lower-risk investments in preparation for your retirement.
The investments they begin switching into (usually about six or seven years from your target retirement date) depend on the retirement outcome your employer has chosen. This could be flexible, annuity purchase or cash.
Default funds can be a good option if you don’t feel confident enough to choose your own investment funds. Your employer will have chosen a default fund to suit most scheme members, However, it may not necessarily be right for you.
You can choose a different retirement outcome if that would suit you better, in which case you can opt for a different fund – see our ‘Guide me' section.
Your scheme default is a lifestyle fund - find out more about what that means.
If the default fund doesn’t suit you, perhaps because it takes more or less risk than you’re comfortable with or because it’s targeting an annuity when you’d rather stay invested, we have a number of options, including:
- Other types of retirement target fund (our Workplace Target range)
- Our ready-made solutions
Workplace Target range
We offer a range of workplace target funds, in addition to our main default fund, the Aegon Workplace Default. Like your scheme default fund, they have built-in lifestyling, which means they change automatically as you move through your working life towards retirement. They could be a good option if you don't feel you want to manage your own investment portfolio but want to choose a different retirement outcome or risk level from your pension scheme default fund. The range also includes an ethical option.
See our range of workplace target funds below split by retirement outcome:
Ready-made solutions
If you want a slightly more hands-on approach to your retirement savings, but still want to keep it simple, we have a range of ready-made solutions, the Risk Managed Portfolios. You choose the level of risk you’re most comfortable with, from cautious through to adventurous, and we manage your portfolio for you.
Just be aware that, as there’s no lifestyling strategy built in, you’ll need to review your choice of fund often, particularly as you get closer to retirement.
If you're a more confident investor or have a financial adviser to help you, Aegon Workplace Solutions offers you a huge choice of over 4,500 investment funds from which to build an investment strategy tailored to your needs.
Login to your account to explore the full range of options available to you, or go to our Fund research centre and search on a fund name or code to see the latest fund factsheets.
Help and support
You’ll need to review your choices often to make sure that your fund choices remain appropriate throughout your working life and particularly as you move into retirement. To get a few tips on what to think about when choosing investments, watch our investing the basics video in our beginner's guide.
If you’re at all unsure whether a fund is suitable for you, you may want to speak to a financial adviser. If you don’t have an adviser, you can visit MoneyHelper to find the right one for you. There may be a charge for this.
Important information:
There’s no guarantee a fund will meet its objectives. The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and isn't guaranteed. The final value of your pension pot when you come to take benefits may be less than has been paid in. Before deciding to invest in a fund it's important to read the fund factsheet to find out more about where it invests, its objectives, charges and any fund-specific risks.