Investment Pathways offer four distinct options. This allows savers to select a strategy based on how they intend to use their pension within the next five years.
How to choose between Investment Pathways
At PensionBee, we offer four goal-aligned drawdown Investment Pathways that you can explore either now or when you make your first withdrawal. You’re not obligated to pick a specific pathway, and you can make withdrawals from any of our plans if you feel they better meet your objectives.
What are the Investment Pathway options?
| Retirement objective | PensionBee Investment Pathway | Investment style | Annual management fee | Asset allocation | Risk level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I have no plans to touch my money in the next five years | Tracker Plan | Invests your money in global shares and bonds. Investments follow the world’s markets as they move. | 0.50% | 80% equities, 20% fixed income | Medium |
| I plan to use my money to set up a guaranteed income (annuity) within the next five years | Pre-Annuity Plan | Invests your money in bonds to provide you with returns that broadly correspond to the cost of purchasing an annuity. | 0.70% | 99% fixed income, 1% cash | Higher |
| I plan to start taking my money as a long-term income within the next five years | 4Plus Plan | Aims to achieve long-term growth of 4% per year above the cash rate, by managing your money actively across a range of investments. | 0.85% | Varies as fund is actively managed | Medium |
| I plan to take out all my money within the next five years | Preserve Plan | Makes short-term investments into creditworthy companies. This reduces risk and preserves your money. | 0.50% | 100% fixed income | Lower |
Find out more on our dedicated pension plans page.
Why were Investment Pathways introduced?
In 2015, pension reforms gave individuals greater flexibility over their retirement savings held in defined contribution pensions. This included options to:
withdraw up to the full value of their full pension pot from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028); or
take smaller amounts as and when needed.
A PensionBee survey found that 56% of people don’t seek advice before accessing their pension, often limiting its growth potential. Whilst pension freedoms provide greater flexibility in how and when people can access their pension savings, it also means people might have more complicated decisions to make and a greater need to consider their long term goals and requirements.
To address industry-wide concerns like this, the FCA launched the Investment Pathways initiative. This required all pension providers to offer four investment options aligned with key retirement objectives.
PensionBee was among the first providers to introduce Investment Pathways in November 2020.
Risk warning
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.
Last edited: 21-05-2025
