Frequently asked questions

Your statement covers the 12 month period ending 30 June 2023, as this is the scheme year end. It includes contributions invested from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.

You can view the current value of your pension savings in your Smart Pension account.

We're required by law to send annual pension statements to our members within

12 months after our scheme year end, which is 30 June 2023. Annual pension statements are sent in batches, so you and your colleagues may not all receive your statements at the same time.

The cost of living crisis we’re currently facing is extensive. In many instances, we’ve seen investments experiencing slower growth than usual or even losses. However, even though this may be a challenging period for everyone’s finances, there are some simple steps you can take to boost your pension and prepare you for the long term:

The Smart Pension Master Trust is a pension scheme authorised and regulated by

The Pensions Regulator that helps you save for your retirement.

We are required to send you an annual statement if you held a pension value between 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. If you have since transferred or left the pension scheme, there is no action for you to take.

You will receive a statement for each account you have with Smart Pension. You could have more than one account if you left employment and then returned to work for the same employer. You could also have been employed by multiple employers who use Smart Pension as their pension provider.

Once you've activated your Smart Pension account, to sign in to it, you'll need:

You can find out more about signing in to your Smart Pension account by reading our help article or by watching our tutorial.

It's important that all your personal details are up to date. You can update them by signing in to your Smart Pension account.

Additionally, if you have left your company's pension arrangement, please update your account with your personal email address so we can keep in touch. This is important so that you don’t lose track of your pension savings.

Remember, your statement won't include any contributions or transfers invested after 30 June 2023. It also won't include any deductions from your salary that we have not yet received from your employer. We will include these payments in your next statement.

You can view the current value of your pension savings by signing in to your Smart Pension account.

If you think your statement contains any incorrect information, please get in touch using our contact form.

An investment growth assumption is a specific percentage of investment growth over a set period of time.

At Smart Pension, we use investment growth assumptions each year to provide members with a personalised projected fund value for their selected retirement age. The basis for calculating these assumptions is set out by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The methodology set out by the FRC changed from 1 October 2023, which is why Smart Pension decided to wait until after this date to issue statements for the scheme year ending 30 June 2023.

Things in life change rapidly. With this in mind, it is important that assumptions used across the industry are relevant to what is happening now so that pension savers can determine whether their retirement planning is on track.

The changes made by the FRC aim to provide pension savers across all age groups with a realistic idea of what their pension pot could be worth, along with the pension income it could provide, based on what is happening now. Making sure the method for calculating assumptions is consistent across the industry enables pension savers to make informed decisions based on their retirement needs and objectives.

Yes, you can. For the first time this year, we will separately disclose what charges have been deducted from your account in pounds and pence. We believe this new method will provide you with a clearer understanding of our charges.

In previous statements, any charges deducted from your account were included in the figure, which confirmed how the value of your investment had changed. This new method will be a regular feature in our statements going forward.

You can find and learn more about the charges you pay by watching our short video.

The best way to find out about the charges you pay is to sign into your Smart Pension account. Once signed in, go to Investments, then scroll to the bottom of the page and select Charges for investments.

Any additional charges that have been applied to your account will appear in the Contributions section of your Smart Pension account.

If you have any questions about your charges, you can contact us using our online form, or if you have any problems signing in, please visit our help article.

If you haven't selected a retirement age, we will use the default scheme retirement age of 65 to calculate how much you could have at retirement. You can change your retirement age at any time – just sign into your account and click Retirement age, edit to your chosen age, followed by Update retirement age.

The government plans to increase the minimum age at which you can retire to age 57 from April 2028. If you have selected a retirement age below age 57 and would not reach age 57 before this date, you may want to consider amending your retirement age on your account. We will be making changes in the run up to this change and will let you know more details about how this may affect you.

Your pension sits outside your estate – it’s not covered by your will. This means that if you die before you retire, your pension savings can be paid as a lump sum to one or more beneficiaries. Usually, a beneficiary won’t pay personal or inheritance tax on that money. This is why it's important to keep your beneficiaries up to date (for example, if you marry, divorce, remarry or enter into a civil partnership).

It’s quick and easy to nominate who’d you like to receive your pension savings – just sign in to your account, scroll down, click on Beneficiaries and then select Add beneficiaries.

Pension fraud is one of the fastest-growing types of crime in the UK. It is very important to make sure that you do not put yourself at risk of losing money through some of today’s increasingly sophisticated scams. To learn more about how to spot potential scams, use the help guide on our website.

You can also find more information about protecting yourself from scams at www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart, The Pensions Regulator’s scam booklet, or by visiting www.pension-scams.com. If you suspect a scam, report it to the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Alternatively, you can contact MoneyHelper, who will be able to provide guidance, on 0800 011 3797.

No. We don't show any state pension you might be entitled to in your annual statement. You can check your state pension age and what your state pension might be worth by visiting the government website.

No, we do not currently offer annuities. However, Smart Pension has partnered with Punter Southall to help you get the best annuity rate based on your circumstances. If you’re age 55 or over, you can use their Pension Potential annuity finder service to search the annuity market for free, with no obligation. Get started at smart pension.pension potential.co.uk.

Yes, the Smart Pension Master Trust is tax registered and there are no plans for this to change.