The statement is split into sections and includes:

• how much money you have in your pension and what has been saved in the statement year;
• how much money you could have when you retire; and
• what you could do to give yourself more money at retirement.

The first section includes:

• details of your employer;
• the Scheme provider; and
• Information identifying you.

The second section provides:

• the contributions credited to your plan;
• the total amount of money saved by you to date;
• any monies transferred into the pension scheme from other pension schemes.
• If your scheme is in receipt of tax relief this may be shown in this section too.

This also provides a link to the costs and charges applying, and where to find information on the pooled funds used to invest your contributions.

Section three provides a jargon-free illustration of how much your pension plan could be worth at the agreed retirement date and what this may mean for your estimated retirement income.

Section four encourages you to think about your retirement income and retirement lifestyle as a whole, including any expectations of income from a State Pension or other sources, and what you could do to give yourself more money.

Remember TLWPT scheme provides the services of a qualified financial adviser who can help with any questions and can advise on any other pension plans you may have.

You can request a State Pension forecast to find out how much you might receive, when you can get it, and how to increase it, if you can.

Visit:    Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition to ensuring the scheme is well governed and operated in the interest of the members, the Trustees also annually assess its value for money and publish the results in the Trustee Chair ‘s Statement.

We don’t charge you for establishing your scheme, but there are charges for the ongoing operation and managing the investments.  These charges are met by deductions taken directly from your pension funds, monthly in arrears.  The charges are currently capped by the government to a maximum of 0.75% per annum; as you will see below our charges are much less.

The fees for all members automatically enrolled into the 'Default 1' portfolio, aged between 22 - 60, are as follows:

PLEASE NOTE:

• Members in Defaults 2 to 4, as a result of lifestyling, will have differing charges (Total Expense Ratio 'TER') for the L&G Investment Fund, which will be no more than 0.15% pa.
• Members invested in model portfolios will be subject to a different charging structure which will be advised to them by Lewis Investment prior to any change in investment.

Our aim is to provide our members with a monthly income in retirement accomplished by responsible investing over the longer term.

Contributions are automatically invested, in most cases, into our default funds. For those members who have selected to use one of the model portfolios, available through Lewis Investment, the fund allocation will differ depending on their attitude to risk.

Further details can be found in our Statement of Investment Principles which also includes the current Asset & Geographical Split providing details of the funds we are using and where in the world they invest.

In compliance with legislation (Section 36 of the Pensions Act 1995) the Trustee’s policy allows for the Scheme to invest in collective investment schemes only, where funds from individual investors (you the members) are combined, or “pooled” together for investment purposes and to facilitate efficient portfolio management.  These types of funds are known as “Pooled funds”.

Pooled funds work like any other investment, actively managed by professionals who have discretion over the choice of individual stocks and securities making up the fund.  They are expected to maintain a diversified portfolio reducing the overall risk.

This style of fund is commonly used to achieve economies of scale allowing for lower transaction costs, normally only available to large institutional investors and diversification.  Another advantage is the speed of movement in which funds can be switched or disposed of should volatile market conditions require.

You can transfer your pension funds from other UK providers to your plan with us.  Consolidating all your plans can make sense but we would recommend that before you make any decisions you seek professional investment advice.  As part of your membership of the scheme our appointed financial advisers can assist. 

The Pension Regulator now require anyone considering moving a pension to seek advice from Pension Wise, which is a service from MoneyHelper, backed by the Government.  They provide free, impartial guidance to over 50s.  They will explain the options to you to help you make an informed decision.

You can make an appointment with them by visiting their website or calling them free on 0800 011 3797.

If you are under 50 you won’t be able to have an appointment with them, but they will still help you.

We have joined the TPR Scammers Pledge

Getting impartial advice not only ensures you understand the pros and cons of moving your pension but it could also protect you from being scammed.

Be ScamSmart with your pension.

To find out more, visit www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart