Your investment options
It's your money - take control
Where your money is invested can make a big difference to what your pension will be worth - and to your lifestyle - when you retire.
So it’s important that you find out where your money is invested and what your options are.
1. Do it for me - stay in the low-involvement (default) option
Unless you pick another option, this is where your money will be automatically invested when you join the pension. This option has been chosen for the BTRSS by Standard Life and is believed to be an appropriate option for most members’ pension plan investments
It's a lifestyle profile - a type of investment option that's designed to make it easy for your to save for retirement.
When you're still some time from retirement, your money will be invested in funds that aim to increase the value of your pension.
As you get closer to retirement, your money will be gradually and automatically moved into lower risk funds. This is designed to let you keep your options open about how you take your money.
Pros:
- You don't have to select your own investments
- You don't have to actively manage your investments
- It automatically prepares your pension savings for retirement
- You can easily move to another lifestyle profile if your attitude to risk or plans for taking your money change
Cons:
- You can't invest in any other options if you choose this option, except the Standard Life BT Share Pension Fund
- It's not suitable for everyone
2. Help me do it - other Standard Life lifestyle profiles
These let you tailor your investment choice by:
- how much risk you're comfortable taking
- how you're planning to take your money in the future (if you know)
Pros:
- You have more choice about where you're investing your money, but you still get some direction
- You can select an option that matches your attitude to risk and your plans
Cons:
- You can't invest in any other options if you choose a lifestyle profile
- Lifestyle profiles aren't suitable for everyone
3. Let me do it - choose your own options from the core or full fund ranges
If you want more choice about where to invest your money, you can choose options from the core or full fund ranges.
The core fund range is a selection of investment options that are believed to be appropriate if you don’t want to invest in the low-involvement option.
They're not a recommendation, but they've been selected to help you make your own choices more easily.
The full range lets you choose from a wide range of options covering different asset classes, regions and investment styles.
Pros:
- If you choose from the core range, you get more choice but still some direction
- If you choose from the full range, you get full control over where to invest your money
- You can build a portfolio to match your needs and attitude to risk
Cons:
- You'll need to be much more involved in managing your investments
- It's up to you to move your money into suitable investments for how you plan to take it in retirement
- If you don't have the time to do this, you may run the risk of your investments not meeting your goals
Important information
As with any investment its value can go down as well as up and may be worth less than what was paid in.
If you need help with choosing your investments, you should seek financial advice. There is likely to be a charge for this.
Important documents
To help you make an informed decision we've provided you with important information that you should read. You should print or save copies of these documents for future reference.
This short video provides you with useful information about the BTRSS.
This is where you will find specific details about BT’s company pension.
This document explains the features of the pension product your employer has chosen.
This document gives you an illustration of what your pension could be worth for BT employees. It may not take into account rebates that may apply to your policy. You can find more information about the charges and rebates on the charges page.
Read this guide for more information on your investment options, including details about charges and fund codes.
How to choose the right investment options for your pension (PDF, 837KB)
Use this form to instruct Standard Life on payment of death benefits from the BTRSS.
Read this guide, provided by BT, for more information about how SMART Pensions work. Standard Life is not responsible for the content of this guide.
