PensionBee has launched a range of ready-made investment solutions for non-advised customers as part of a partnership with State Street Global Advisors (SSGA).

The four different plans are designed to help customers reach one of four distinct retirement objectives and mean that the provider has implemented the Financial Conduct Authority’s Investment Pathways ahead of the February 2021 deadline.

Firstly, the Tracker Plan is an option for savers with no plans to withdraw their money in the next five years, and invests in global shares, bonds and cash, while the Pre-Annuity Plan invests money in bonds to provide returns that broadly correspond to the cost of purchasing an annuity, and is designed for people setting up a guaranteed income within five years.

The 4Plus Plan is an option for savers who plan to start taking their pension as a long-term income within the next five years, and aims to achieve long-term growth of 4 per cent per year, by actively managing money across a range of investments.

Finally, the Preserve Plan makes short-term investments into creditworthy companies with the aim of reducing risk and preserving money, and is designed for those who plan to withdraw all of their savings within the next five years.

The pathways’ design and implementation were assessed by PTL UK, who also analysed their value for money and environmental, social and governance factors.

PensionBee chief engagement officer, Clare Reilly, commented: “PensionBee welcomes regulation that both improves retirement outcomes and simplifies an overly complex market that is not set up to serve consumers. As we saw in the findings from our Drawdown Doldrums report, in its current state the non-advised drawdown market is confusing, expensive and lacking in innovation.

“At PensionBee we support well-governed defaults as a way to ensure that savers have good retirement outcomes that meet their objectives.”

The Drawdown Doldrums report found that around a quarter of consumers who took the 25 per cent tax-free lump sum put some of the money into a current or savings account to save for a rainy day, where it had limited opportunity for growth.

SSGA head of retirement strategy, Alistair Byrne, said: “Investment Pathways are an important development in helping people approaching retirement to navigate the pensions freedoms. We were delighted to work with PensionBee to implement a set of effective and value for money pathways to help their customers achieve successful retirement outcomes, building on the wider long-term partnership we have established.”

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