Investments (pathways)

Quarterly Investment Reports

Bean wondering about investments?

You can watch our animation below and read the full report from AON about the investment performance for early 2021 here.

How you choose to invest your Account is an important decision. Your choice can make a real difference to the value of your Account, and the level of retirement benefits it will provide for you.

You can choose between two approaches – Retirement Pathway or Self Select. There is a summary of these approaches below. For more detailed information, please see ‘A guide to your investment choices’. (You can find a copy of this guide on the Plan website at www.hartlinkonline.co.uk/heinzpensions or on the Flex Portal.

You can also learn more about how your pension fund is invested and what different investment options there are on our helpful video.

How to change your investment arrangements

Please note that investment decisions you make at the outset are not final – at any time, you can switch existing funds, redirect future contributions to other funds, or both. You can change your investment arrangements free of charge twice a year. If you want to make more changes in a year, charges may apply.

You can change your investment arrangements on the Plan website. Simply log in and follow the on-screen instructions. Alternatively, you can fill in and return an Investment Option Form. (You can print off a form from the Flex Portal.)

Retirement Pathway

The Retirement Pathway option is for members who do not want to take decisions about which asset class is right for them.

Retirement Pathways are pre-set investment strategies which automatically switch investment as you approach retirement.

You have a choice of three pathways, which broadly match the options you will have at retirement.

Retirement Pathway to Annuity
Retirement Pathway to Cash
Retirement Pathway to Drawdown

The ‘default’ investment option

If you do not make your own investment selection, your contributions will automatically be invested in the Plan’s ‘default’ option, which is the Retirement Pathway to Drawdown.

Please remember that going into the Retirement Pathway to Drawdown, even if you have done so by default, is a decision in itself.

Your target retirement age

When you join, your policy will be set up with a target retirement age of 65, though you can change this if you wish.

Your target retirement age is only an indication of when you intend to retire. This information does not represent an undertaking by you and is strictly confidential.

If you are invested in a Retirement Pathway, it is important that you review your target retirement age from time to time and notify the Plan administrators as soon as possible if you want to change it.

Otherwise, the automatic fund switching that is a feature of the Retirement Pathways may start at the wrong time - too late, and you could end up being exposed to unnecessary risk or too early, and your investments may miss out on potential higher returns.

How to change your target retirement age

You can change your target retirement age on the Plan website. Simply log in and follow the on-screen instructions. Alternatively, you can fill in and return an Investment Option Form. (You can print off a form from the Flex Portal.)

Self Select

The Self Select approach gives you ‘free rein’ over which funds you choose to invest in, from those made available by the Trustees. There are a number of Self Select funds to choose from. You can invest all of your Account in one fund or spread your investments across multiple funds. It’s up to you.

Important information - Some funds invest in a particular market, with the investment manager for that fund choosing the assets. You may only want to choose specialist funds like this if you are familiar with investing (and the risks it involves), or if you are familiar with that market or how the funds might behave.

If you invest in overseas funds, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of your investments. Some funds in regions where markets are still developing (often called ‘emerging markets’) may be especially volatile, with dramatic falls and rises in value.

Property funds can carry extra risk because of the time it takes to buy and sell property – this may make the funds more volatile and you may find that there are delays with moving money you have ‘tied up’ in property to another type of investment.

Some cash or deposit funds are actually ‘money market’ funds that invest in different types of assets. As a result, these funds can be more volatile than ordinary cash investments and may rise and fall in value. This means the value of your capital – the original amount you invested – is not guaranteed.

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