What is a default investment?

All workplace schemes must have a default investment option where employees' pension savings are automatically invested if they don't choose their own investments.

And with most employees choosing not to make an active decision about their investments, it's vitally important that you choose a default option that's suitable for your employees now and in the future.

Your responsibilities

There's specific guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on what you need to consider when it comes to choosing a default investment option:

  • Does the default meet the retirement goals and attitude to risk of most
    of your employees?

  • Does the default give your employees' money the chance to benefit from
    good performance over the long term?

  • Does the default manage risk to give your employees the confidence to
    stay invested?

  • Are there other choices for employees who don't want to stay in the
    default?

  • Do employees get regular communications about the default?

  • Is the default affordable?

Find out more about your default investment responsibilities in our Guide to default investment.

Download the guide (PDF)

Feel confident about your choice

We've designed our default investment options based on DWP guidelines. So you can be confident that you're offering your employees an investment option that's in line with the regulator's recommendations.

Our default investment options offer you:

  • Solutions designed by our investment experts
  • A selection of lifestyle strategies
  • Flexibility over default choice
  • Governance you can count on
  • Communications to your employees
  • Options which meet charge cap rules for scheme defaults.

Investment governance

Good governance is fundamental to our approach. We believe it’s key to delivering consistently good outcomes for your employees.

To see our full range of default investment options, download our Guide to default investment (PDF) (opens in new window).

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