An update from your Pension Trustees

Looking after your pension schemes continues to be our top priority

Since the ‘mini-budget’ was announced by the Chancellor on 23 September there’s been lots in the news about it. A key area of focus has been the impact on pensions, so the Pension Trustees responsible for the United Utilities Pension Scheme (UUPS) and the UUPLC Group of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (ESPS) thought it would be useful to issue a brief update to our pension scheme members. We’ve tried not to be too technical (we know pensions can seem complicated) but hope that that scheme members who read this update feel more informed and reassured.

Impact on our defined benefit (DB) schemes

We want to reassure members that during this uncertain time both the UUPS and ESPS DB schemes remain well-funded, with strong support from the company. The schemes hold low risk investments to seek to maintain the funding position, and these investments are spread out across a range of different markets and sectors. There are also high levels of protection in place from changes in inflation rates and interest rates. We’re actively monitoring the situation and you can be assured that looking after the schemes continues to be our top priority.

Impact on our defined contribution (DC) schemes

In a DC scheme the value of your pension depends on how much is paid in, and how well the scheme's investments perform over the long-term. These schemes normally don't invest as much in government bonds (though it will depend which investment funds you have selected), and so overall have been less affected by bond market volatility.

It’s important to remember that DC pensions are long-term investments. It’s very normal for the value of investments to go up and down. Although not guaranteed, the hope and expectation is that values generally go up over the longer-term, despite this volatility. You can check the value of your DC/AVC funds at any time, by logging in to TargetPlan.

If you are close to retirement and already planning to access your DC/AVC pot we would recommend that you review your current plans and contact the scheme administrator, Aegon, or your financial adviser. If you don’t have a financial adviser you can find one at unbiased.co.uk.