April 2020 Update for members of The Aon MasterTrust

With the spread of coronavirus and accompanying uncertainty, we wanted to take a moment to reassure you that we're working hard to maintain our service to you and are monitoring the ongoing situation.

Please take a few minutes to read the information below and, if you would like to get in touch our contact details are at the bottom.

Scams

Please watch out for scams, especially those related to coronavirus (Covid-19). These scams take many forms and could be about insurance policies, pensions transfers, or high-return investment opportunities, including investments in cryptoassets.

Be ScamSmart with your pension. To find out more or if you are concerned you may have been targeted for a scam, please visit https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart

Investment markets

In the last month or so we have seen the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus spread to financial markets. Equity or share markets have suffered significant falls and continue to remain very volatile with large daily price movements both up and down. Bond markets have provided more stability, particularly government bonds. These different types of assets play an important role in many of the investment funds available in The Aon MasterTrust and in our long term investment strategies known as the Retirement Pathways.

Building up pension savings typically takes place over many years, during which time there will be numerous ups and downs in the financial markets. By investing for long periods of time the aim is to ‘ride out’ periods of volatility and benefit from the kind of overall investment growth that can help your pension savings to increase in value.

Our Guide to Investing provides information about the investment options available in The Aon MasterTrust and explains that the value of investments and income from them can go up and down and are not guaranteed, and that you could get back less than you have invested. (Read on to find out where you can find this guide.)

For everyone who has pension savings in The Aon MasterTrust

We recommend that you check your investment choices periodically to ensure they continue to be right for you.

If you are drawing an income or lump sums from your pension savings

If you are drawing money from your savings it is important that you consider how much money you are withdrawing and which investments you are encashing. Money that is withdrawn today is no longer invested to provide for tomorrow.

If you are investing for the long-term

For most members, pension investing is for the long-term. This means that there should be time for the markets to recover from the recent volatility. In order to benefit from a recovery our investment advisors recommend staying calm and staying invested.

If you continue to invest money on a regular basis

If you are still investing regularly your ongoing contributions will be well placed to benefit from any recovery in markets.

If your account is invested in one of the Retirement Pathway Funds:

Most members of The Aon MasterTrust are invested in one of the Retirement Pathway funds. If you are one of these, then the impact of recent market events on your pension fund will depend largely on how close you are to your target retirement age.

• Younger members' accounts are invested mainly in equities. This is because these are expected to give the best investment return in the long term. Equities can be subject to large fluctuations in value and you will have seen a fall in your fund value in recent weeks, reflecting falls in equity markets around the world.

• Members who are closer to their target retirement age have their accounts invested in a wider range of assets, including equities, government and corporate bonds and (for some of the Retirement Pathway to Cash and Annuity Funds) some money market investments. This is because the Retirement Pathway Funds gradually move your savings to more defensive investments as you approach your target retirement age. These defensive assets will have provided some protection to your savings from recent equity market falls.

• Members in retirement who have chosen the Retirement Pathway Funds have their accounts invested across a range of different assets including equities and defensive assets such as government and corporate bonds. The defensive assets will have provided some protection to your savings from recent equity market falls.

If your account is invested on a self-select basis

If you made your own selection from the range of investment funds available in The Aon MasterTrust, the impact of recent market events on your pension account will depend on the mix of funds you have selected.

If you want to find out more

You can log in to the member website at www.theaonmastertrust.co.uk using the User ID from your Welcome Pack and your password.

You can also use Aon's TBS: The Benefit Solution App. Login in for the first time using your Aon MasterTrust User ID and Password and using 0468 as the PIN for the App.

The home page includes general information about pensions, investments and The Aon MasterTrust. You can find more detailed information about your account in the ‘My Pension’ area of the site.

The most up-to-date version of your Plan Summary, Guide to The Aon MasterTrust and Guide to Investing in The Aon MasterTrust can be found in the Documents tab of the member website under My Pension.

Important

Whatever happens, don’t make a rushed decision. If you are unsure of the suitability of an investment, you should seek further information and/or advice. You can do this by contacting a financial adviser. You can find information about financial advisers by going to www.the-fca.org.uk and searching for ‘finding an adviser’. Please remember that a financial adviser will charge you for providing advice, but they will discuss the cost of this with you before you use their services.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the Scheme or your benefits, and you can't find the answers on the website, please get in touch with us. You can email us using the secure e-mail facility in your Profile in the 'My Pension' tile on the member website, or at admin@theamt.co.uk. Please include your name and account number in any message.

If you have any problems logging in or using the website, please call us on 0330 123 2045 on weekdays between 9am and 5pm. If you are asked to leave a message, please remember to leave your name and best contact number so we can call you back.

6 April 2020