Changes to the investment options for your pension – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Changing the Lifecycle investment strategies for the M Plan, DSL Plan and I Plan. If you are invested in a Lifecycle 2020 strategy, your investments will be moved to a new Lifecycle strategy. Additionally:
   • The default for the M Plan will change from the Lifecycle Balanced 2020 Strategy to the new Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy.
   • The default for the Hybrid and Enhanced M Plan members will change from the Lifecycle to Lump Sum 2020 Strategy to the new Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy (this will include any Hybrid and Enhanced members who have self-selected the Lifecycle to Lump Sum 2020 Strategy).
   • The default for the DSL Plan will change from the Lifecycle Balanced 2020 Strategy (DSL) to the new Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy (DSL).
   • The default for the I Plan will change from the Lifecycle to Lump Sum 2020 (I Plan) Strategy to the Lifecycle to Lump Sum (I Plan) Strategy.
   • All new Lifecycle strategies will have different investment glidepaths from their equivalent current strategy.
2. Streamlining the Freestyle self-select fund range and introducing three new funds.
3. There will be no Lifecycle Balanced strategy available from July 2025 and members will not be able to remain invested in their current Lifecycle 2020 investment strategy as these will close. There will be only three new separate lifecycle strategies that target either drawdown, or lump sum or annuity retirement objectives.

More information on the changes and how they impact you is available on the website that relates to your plan or scheme. If you don’t know which pension plan you're a member of, please refer to the email or letter you received in April 2025 informing you of these changes or contact usOpens in new tab for help. 

Please note - if you’re comfortable with the changes, you don’t need to do anything. If you wish to make an alternative investment choice, you have until 27 June 2025 to do so.

For detailed information regarding the updated investment options for your plan, please visit the microsite links below:

• M Plan
• DSL Plan
• I Plan

The Trustee believes that these new default Lifecycle strategies and the updates to the Lifecycle glidepaths are more closely aligned with members' anticipated retirement preferences. These decisions follow a comprehensive review, investment adviser recommendations, and member feedback.

In addition, these changes support the Trustee’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments. To find out more, visit Legal & General’s ESG Hub - Environment Social Governance (ESG)Opens in new tab

Members invested in either the Lifecycle to Drawdown 2020, Lifecycle to Annuity 2020 or Lifecycle to Lump Sum 2020 strategies will be moved to the new equivalent Lifecycle strategies: Lifecycle to Drawdown, Lifecycle to Annuity and Lifecycle to Lump Sum. The exception to this is Hybrid and Enhanced M Plan members invested in the Lifecycle to Lump Sum 2020 Strategy who will move to the new Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy.

You can make an alternative investment choice until 27 June 2025.

The new Lifecycle to Drawdown, Lifecycle to Annuity, and Lifecycle to Lump Sum strategies place greater emphasis on generating long-term investment returns. Additionally, the Growth Fund - an underlying component of both the Lifecycle to Drawdown and Lifecycle to Lump Sum strategies - will adopt an evolving asset allocation approach to capitalise on market opportunities where feasible. 

Additionally, the Growth Fund – an underlying component within both the Lifecycle to Drawdown and Lifecycle to Lump Sum strategies – will transition to an evolving asset allocation approach to capitalise on market opportunities where possible. You can find out about the new investment objective for the Growth FundOpens in new tab. Accordingly, the Investment Management Charge for the Growth Fund will increase from 0.14% to 0.16% per annum.

All the Lifecycle 2020 strategies are closing, and you cannot remain invested in these funds, nor can you remain invested in any of the Freestyle funds which are closing.

Information on how the changes will be reflected in your Plan can be found on the investment change website page which relates to your plan/scheme:

• M Plan
• DSL Plan
• I Plan

We will be closing 11 Freestyle funds and opening 3 new Freestyle funds. Further details can be found on your plan/scheme’s investment change page on this website.

• M Plan
• DSL Plan
• I Plan

The Trustee, with input from its advisers, is updating the Freestyle fund range to streamline the investment options available. The aim is to reduce overlap between funds, offering a clearer and more focused selection while still enabling members to build a personalised investment strategy from a broad and diversified range.

The Trustees of the L&G post-retirement Mastertrust scheme have approved the addition of these new investment funds.

Yes, in relation to fund names. Some of the naming conventions of the funds will be changing later in the year, the funds themselves will not be changing again but the names will be updated.

The changes are all being made with long-term member outcomes in mind.  In transitioning assets we are not attempting to time the market, and the Trustee and its advisers will continue to monitor market conditions closely in the lead-up to the transition date.

Yes, if you are invested in any funds or Lifecycle strategies that are changing.

Yes. We have worked hard to secure members competitive fees, offering a cost-effective solution for your pension savings. Accordingly, annual charges will reduce from 28 April for the Sustainable Global Equity Index fund, the Sustainable Developed (ex-UK) Equity Index fund, the Sustainable Emerging Markets Equity Index fund and the Growth Plus fund. However, there will be a modest increase to the Growth Fund’s ongoing charges from 10 July as this fund will adopt an evolving asset allocation approach as described in the FAQs above.

The change in charges will depend on the specific Freestyle fund or Lifecycle strategy you are invested in and your proximity to your retirement age (which will be your normal retirement age (NRA) or your selected target retirement age (TRA)). You can check your retirement age by logging on to your online account. Details of charges can be found on your plan/scheme’s investment change website page:

• M Plan
• DSL Plan
• I Plan

Yes. There is a transaction cost involved with making any fund switch. Transaction costs are not additional expenses from Legal & General, these are market-imposed costs for the selling and purchasing of units and are an industry standard. The cost can change daily depending on several factors. This will not be shown on your annual benefit statement, but it’s reflected in the unit prices used to calculate the value of your pension savings.

Please be assured that we have considered this cost as part of the overall assessment of the changes being made to the investment range. For more information, view Legal & General’s guide on transaction costsOpens in new tab.

Unfortunately, in most cases, no.

However, Legal & General are mitigating the costs that will likely be incurred by managing the changes through an “in-specie transfer”, where feasible. This is where the ownership of the underlying assets is moved from one fund to another without the need to sell them. Taking this approach may reduce some funds transaction costs by as much as 30% to 75% when compared with a straight cash switch (which happens if you choose to change your investment option/s yourself). There will still be a proportion of the underlying asset that has to be bought and sold, so incurring some transaction costs is unavoidable, but the cost of making the changes will likely be lower than if you were to switch to alternative funds yourself.

Transaction costs are only one of many factors to consider when selecting investments for your pension savings. It’s also important, for example, that your investments seek to match your long-term retirement objectives.

The Trustee’s investment advisers have conducted extensive scenario modelling on members' future pension savings, taking into account these changes. Consequently, the Trustee believes these transaction costs are justified by the expected long-term benefits.

Unfortunately, as these are new funds, performance data will be limited. We will share fund performance data as this becomes available.

You can refer to the underlying fund factsheets as an indication on performance insights. You can find this information below:

Fact-Sheet_Future-World-USD-Corporate-Bond-Index-Fund-Future-World-USD-Corporate-Bond-Index-Fund-GBP-Currency-Hedged.pdfOpens in new tab

Fact-Sheet_Global-Sukuk-LG-PMC-HSBC-Global-Sukuk-Fund-3_31-12-2024.pdfOpens in new tab

Fact-Sheet_Future-World-North-America-Equity-Index-Fund-Future-World-North-America-Equity-Index-Fund_31-12-2024_UK-INST.pdfOpens in new tab

Fact-Sheet_Future-World-North-America-Equity-Index-Fund-Future-World-North-America-Equity-Index-Fund-GBP-Currency-Hedged.pdfOpens in new tab

From July, the Growth Fund will also be changing its investment objectives to mirror those of the FW Multi Asset Fund: Fact-Sheet_Future-World-Multi-Asset-Fund-Future-World-Multi-Asset-Fund_31-12-2024_UK-INST.pdfOpens in new tab.

If you are invested in one or more of these Freestyle funds, your current investments will be moved to replacement Freestyle funds.  This is the case for all members invested in these closing Freestyle funds – i.e. your funds will be moved no matter what age you are.

Further information about the funds closing and the replacement Freestyle funds is available on the website that relates to your plan or scheme. You can make an alternative investment choice until 27 June 2025.

These funds have a significant bias toward the UK stock market, which the Trustee believes no longer reflects the make-up of the broader global equity universe or broader DC investment typical practice. Members can still create their own preferred mix of global equities using the updated self-select fund range, which includes a dedicated UK equity fund alongside a variety of regional and global options. The changes also mean that all funds will now be available to members, whilst Legal & General will look to minimise any associated transaction costs.

You can see where you are currently invested by logging on to your online account at legalandgeneral.com/myaOpens in new tab or downloading the L&G app by searching 'Legal & General' in the App Store or Google Play. Alternatively, you can also visit the IBM Plan websiteOpens in new tab and select ‘Manage Your Account’ from the top menu.

If you are already registered, log in using your user ID and password.

Registering is easy, all you need is your pension account number (found on your pension benefit statement). You’ll then receive an email from Legal & General containing an activation link to complete your registration. You can also contact us for help.

Please navigate to your plan-specific pages to understand what will happen to your investments, if you're currently invested in one or more of the funds that are closing. If you’re comfortable with the changes to your investments, you don’t need to do anything, and the changes will happen automatically. 

If you want to make an alternative choice from the automatic changes, you have the opportunity to make a different investment choice until 27 June 2025.  You can do this by logging on to your online account at legalandgeneral.com/myaOpens in new tab

To enable Legal & General to make the investment changes successfully, there will be a cut-off date to make any alternative investment choices of 27 June 2025.

This will allow Legal & General to make the investment changes during July 2025.

If you are currently invested in one of the Lifecycle 2020 strategies set for closure and you will reach your target retirement age (TRA) by 1 July 2025, these changes will impact you differently. Your pension savings will no longer be invested in a Lifecycle strategy but will remain in the same fund allocation as at the point you reached your TRA.

If you have not selected a TRA, your TRA will be the normal retirement age (NRA) for your Plan. You can check your Plan’s NRA by looking in the "Information factsheets" section of the Plan website’s document libraryOpens in new tab. You can also check by logging on to your online account at legalandgeneral.com/myaOpens in new tab or downloading the L&G app by searching ‘Legal & General’ in the App Store or Google Play. Alternatively, you can also visit the IBM Plan websiteOpens in new tab and select ‘Manage Your Account’ from the top menu.

For all members invested in a Lifecycle 2020 strategy that have not reached NRA (or their selected TRA) by 1 July 2025, your existing pension savings and future contributions will be switched to a different Lifecycle strategy depending on where you are currently invested and as detailed in your plan/scheme’s investment change website.

You have the opportunity to make a different investment choice until 27 June 2025.

For members impacted by the investment changes, there will be up to two blackout periods when the changes take place. These will be between 1 to 3 July and 15 to 17 July.

During a blackout period, you won’t be able to make changes to your pension. You won’t be able to:

• Make changes to how you are invested
• Withdraw your pension savings
• Change your nominated target retirement age (TRA)
• Transfer out of the plan, or
• Make or change your additional voluntary contributions.

So please ensure you plan accordingly.

If you log in to your online account, or the L&G App between the blackout periods, you may see that your retirement account is invested in a ‘transition’ fund. This is expected and planned.

During the blackout periods, there will not be any out of market exposure as your funds will continue to be invested during this period.

From 18 July 2025, and between the blackout periods, you’ll be able to make changes to your pension savings as normal.

If you want to change your current investment choice prior to the investment changes taking place, please ensure that you do this by logging into your online account before the cut-off date of 27 June 2025.

If you wish to seek financial advice, you can speak to one of the financial advisers via Legal & General’s Financial Advice service (LGFA). LGFA is available to IBM members and more information about this service can be found on the retirement advice and guidanceOpens in new tab page of the Legal & General website. You can also find a list of regulated advisers on the MoneyHelper websiteOpens in new tab. All advisers will usually charge a fee for their services. 

For more generic information about your pension, consider attending one of Legal & General’s member webinarsOpens in new tab with several sessions running throughout 2025.

You can make alternative changes to your investment options until 27 June 2025. After this date, the changes outlined in these FAQs and the investment change website will be made automatically.

Please refer to the investment guideOpens in new tab for a full list of alternative investment options.

The last few years have been particularly challenging for UK pension savers. The recent US global tariff policy, Brexit, the Covid crisis, the Russia/Ukraine war and political events in the UK have created a lot of turbulence in the markets. That’s hit share prices and other investments. If you have workplace or personal pension savings (or both), it is possible for their value to fall.

A pension is a long-term investment. Over the years you can expect to see its value go up and down in line with broader market movements. In fact, historically, stock market investments have tended to outperform money held in savings accounts (though when it comes to investments, past performance doesn’t guarantee future growth).

Remember you’re in control. There are many answers to the question: “My pension is losing money – what should I do?” If you’re wondering whether you should make changes, you can. But do think through your options to make sure you create long as well as short-term benefits for yourself. If you’re thinking about accessing your pension savings soon, understanding how you want to use your pension pot is important. You should still seek guidance before making any final decisions though.

Yes, you can switch your savings into other funds. But your choice of fund can have a long-term impact on your pension savings and choosing the right fund can be a complex decision. We recommend getting advice from a qualified financial adviser.

When markets drop, it can be tempting to switch your pension funds to avoid further losses. However, doing so can crystallise your losses, meaning you lock in the lower value of your investments. This can make it harder for your pension to recover when the markets improve.

It's important to consider the long-term impact of switching funds during volatile times. Instead of making quick decisions, take the time to understand how market fluctuations affect your pension and seek advice if needed.

If you're considering taking money out of your pension, please read your options for taking your moneyOpens in new tab on the microsite.

If you need to access the money in your pension pot, or don’t want to risk potential further losses to the value of your pot, you should consider the long-term impact that can have, and only access the money that you need. If you’re thinking about what to do with the money in your pension pot, our article Annuity vs DrawdownOpens in new tab might help. They’re two options to consider if you’re looking for ways to fund your retirement.