The low-involvement option

What is it?

It’s an investment option that’s designed to make it simple for you to invest for retirement. Our experts will:

  • manage your money for you right up until you take your retirement income
  • decide where you should be invested and when
  • make sure the funds you're in don't take any more or less risk than they should

If you want a low level of involvement in the selection of your investment options, or find it difficult to choose where to invest your money for your pension, then the low-involvement investment option could be for you.

Your money will be invested in this option automatically when you first join the BTRSS.

The Passive Plus III Universal Strategic Lifestyle Profile (SLP) has been set as the low-involvement investment option for the BTRSS by Standard Life and is believed to be an appropriate option for most members’ pension plan investments. Unless you decide to move your money into another investment, this is where it will continue to be invested.

How does it work?

There are two main stages in the Passive Plus III Universal SLP:

1. Growth stage - when you're more than 10 years from retirement
Your money will be invested in the Standard Life Passive Plus III Pension Fund, which aims to increase the value of your pension savings over time.

2. Approaching retirement stage - when you're less than 10 years from retirement
Your pension savings will gradually be moved into lower risk funds designed to give you the flexibility to take your money the way you want when you retire. This will happen automatically - you don't need to do anything.

All of the funds in the Passive Plus III Universal SLP include a mix of investments. They mainly invest in index-tracking (passive) funds, but can also invest a proportion in actively managed funds. Use the links below to find out more about the funds used in the Passive Plus III Universal SLP:

Standard Life Passive Plus III Pension Fund

Standard Life Pre Retirement (Passive Plus Universal) Pension Fund

Standard Life At Retirement (Passive Plus Universal) Pension Fund

Please remember that investment growth is not guaranteed. The funds can go down as well as up in value and may be worth less than the amount invested.

About strategic lifestyle profiles

The BTRSS low-involvement investment option is one of our strategic lifestyle profiles (SLPs). From April 2015 you have more options about how you can take money from your pension. Our SLPs are designed to meet these different options:

Universal SLPs – if you want the flexibility to take your money the way you want when you retire, or if you want to take a flexible income

Annuity SLPs - if you plan to take your full tax-free lump sum and buy a fixed annuity with the rest

Lump Sum SLPs – if you plan to take all of your pension as one or more lump sums

One of the features of our SLPs is flexibility. We can make changes as necessary to make sure they continue to meet members’ needs.

You can find out more about the available SLPs in the How to choose the right investment options for your pension guide (PDF, 319KB) or in our SLP guides:

Universal strategic lifestyle profiles (PDF, 290KB)
Annuity strategic lifestyle profiles (PDF, 287KB)
Lump Sum strategic lifestyle profiles (PDF, 124KB)

Whichever you choose, your pension savings will gradually be moved into lower risk funds designed to support how you want to take your money the way you want when you retire. This will happen automatically - you don't need to do anything.

Things to be aware of

  • The effective total annual fund charges for the BTRSS low-involvement investment option are 0.35% when 10 or more years from retirement, reducing gradually to 0.30% in the final year before retirement
  • The effective total annual fund charge for each fund within the profile is the fund management charge, plus any additional expenses which apply, minus the scheme rebate
  • Charges and rebates are not guaranteed and may be changed in the future, although we have agreed not to reduce the rebate BTRSS members will get on any of our funds for five years
  • You should make sure any lifestyle profile you choose matches how you plan to take your retirement income. As lifestyle profiles make changes to your investments based on your planned retirement date, they may only be suitable if you're planning to start taking your retirement income on this date
  • Before you choose an investment option, make sure you understand its aims and risks. As with many investments, the value can go up or down, and may be worth less than you paid in
  • If you choose to invest in the BTRSS low-involvement investment option or any other SLP, you can only combine this with the Standard Life BT Share Pension Fund. You cannot combine this with any other lifestyle profile or fund
  • If you’re not sure if the BTRSS low-involvement investment option is appropriate for you, should seek financial advice

So what now?


Risk is only one factor you must consider. Read on for more information about the other factors

The questionnaire will help decide your investment style but it is important to understand that there are some limitations.

Understanding the limits of the risk test:

  • Education, not advice - this tool is a guide for illustrative purposes only
  • Limits - this tool doesn't look at other factors, such as your stage of life, your financial goals or the size of financial loss you are able to withstand
  • Think bigger - risk is just one of the things you need to consider when you're making investment decisions. For example, the term of your investment and whether you might want to access your investments before the end of this term are also important
  • Talk to an expert - it's always best to get financial advice before making any financial decisions

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 is where you will find specific details about BT’s company pension.

Plan summary document for BT employees (PDF, 81KB)

This document explains the features of the pension product your employer has chosen.

Key features document (PDF, 288KB)

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.

Key features illustration for BT employees (PDF, 114KB)

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.

Instruction for payment of death benefits (PDF, 77KB)

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.

SMART Pensions (PDF, 332KB)

Investments explained

Ever wondered why your money is invested? And how investment works? It’s not as complicated as you might think.