Investment Pathways
Important information - the value of investments can go down as well as up so you may not get back what you invest. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on personal circumstances and all tax rules may change. The minimum age you can normally access your pension savings is currently 55, and is due to rise to 57 on 6 April 2028, unless you have a lower protected pension age. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular product, service or course of action. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to an authorised financial adviser.
If you have a workplace pension administered by Fidelity, please visit our Workplace Investing Investment Pathways page.
What are Investment Pathways?
Investment Pathways are designed to ensure that anyone with a Pension Drawdown Account should have access to good-value investments that broadly match a range of goals.
The Investment Pathway goals
Our Investment Pathways aim to mirror four goals that someone may have for the money in their Pension Drawdown Account.
- I have no plans to touch my money in the next five years
- I plan to use my money to set up a guaranteed income (annuity) within the next five years
- I plan to start taking my money as a long-term income within the next five years
- I plan to take out all my money within the next five years
The Fidelity Investment Pathways
For each Investment Pathway goal there is a corresponding Fidelity fund you can invest in. These four funds are all ‘accumulation’ funds. This means that any income generated by the investments in a fund is re-invested so it contributes to the fund's potential growth.
| Strategy | This fund aims for long-term growth and controls risk by varying the types of investments it holds in response to market conditions. Up to half of the fund can be held in more defensive investments. |
| This pathway invests in | Fidelity Diversified Markets Fund Pathway 1 Accumulation Shares |
| Fund charge | The ongoing charge for the fund is 0.25% |
| Fund code | IDMP |
| ISIN | GB00BN2BFD96 |
| Things you should consider | As with any fund that aims for growth, there is also the possibility of a fall in value, particularly in the short term. |
| Strategy | This fund aims to preserve your annuity purchasing power by holding investments that are similar to those that affect annuity prices. |
| This pathway invests in | Fidelity Pre-Retirement Bond Fund Investment Pathway 2 Accumulation Shares |
| Fund charge | The ongoing charge for the fund is 0.25% |
| Fund code | FPRGP |
| ISIN | GB00BN2BFH35 |
| Things you should consider | If the fund does not achieve its goal, there is a risk that the annuity you eventually set up will give you a lower income than you were hoping for. |
| Strategy | This fund aims to provide capital growth and has a long-term income target of 3-5% a year. It holds a broad range of investments. To manage risk, some of these will be relatively defensive. |
| This pathway invests in | Fidelity Multi Asset Balanced Income Fund Investment Pathway 3 Accumulation Shares |
| Fund charge | The ongoing annual charge for the fund is 0.40% |
| Fund code | NMABP |
| ISIN | GB00BN2BFF11 |
| Things you should consider | Investments with the potential to achieve long-term growth also come with the risk that they will fall in value, and there is no guarantee that the fund will meet its income target. |
| Strategy | This fund aims to preserve the value of your capital. It holds low-risk, cash-based investments, such as deposits, that may pay a low level of income. |
| This pathway invests in | Fidelity Cash Fund Investment Pathway 4 Accumulation Shares |
| Fund charge | The ongoing charge for the fund is 0.15% |
| Fund code | YCAP |
| ISIN | GB00BN2BFJ58 |
| Things you should consider | While the monetary value of your investment in the fund is unlikely to fall, this is not guaranteed. Also, the real value of cash-based investments may be eroded by inflation. |
You can decide how you use our Investment Pathways within your Pension Drawdown Account. This means you can spread your money over more than one Investment Pathway, move money from one Investment Pathway to another or choose an Investment Pathway for some of your money and invest the rest in your own choice of the other investments in our range.
Getting started
If you're not already in drawdown and you would like to withdraw money from your pension, you can do this online or call our retirement team. We're open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday and 9am to 12:30pm on Saturdays.
The team can help you understand drawdown and Investment Pathways, and offer guidance or personalised advice.
Frequently asked questions
You can transfer the investment as cash, but unfortunately, it is not possible to re-register another company’s Investment Pathway. Although other pension providers may offer Investment Pathways, the funds that they hold in the Pathways will be different. This is why we would only be able to move your investment to Fidelity as a cash transfer. We recommend that you speak to an authorised financial adviser if you are unsure about whether a transfer is the right choice for you.
No. Investment Pathways are just one of the options we offer for your Pension Drawdown Account. You also have a choice of funds from over 100 providers, company shares, exchange-traded funds and investment trusts. If you would like help choosing investments that are right for you, we offer a range of selection tools designed for everyone from beginners to experienced investors, as well as valuable market insights and investment guides.
Yes. The Investment Pathways are designed to meet an overall plan for your retirement income, but it is possible to hold them as part of a diversified portfolio, alongside other investments available from Fidelity within a Pension Drawdown Account. You cannot hold an Investment Pathway in a Pension Savings Account.
The Investment Pathway does not mature or close after the five years. If your circumstances and retirement outlook are the same, you can keep the same Investment Pathway and you don’t need to do anything. It is a good idea to review your objectives on a regular basis to check that your investments are still suitable.
You have the option of using a Pension Drawdown Account, which gives you access to the Investment Pathways, if you are 55 or over (57 from 2028) and the total value of your Fidelity SIPP is £50,000 or more. Once you have a Pension Drawdown Account, the minimum amount you can move into an Investment Pathway is £25.
If your circumstances or your plans have changed since you chose your Investment Pathway, you can change your investments at any time by logging in to fidelity.co.uk – go to ‘Manage investments’ at the top of the page and choose ‘Buy, sell, switch’ under ‘Invest’.
No, although the Investment Pathways are designed with a five-year investment timeframe in mind. In some cases, an Investment Pathway may invest in company shares or bonds. These are subject to short-term market fluctuations, which means their value can go down as well as up. As a result, it is usually recommended that you take a medium-term view, of at least five years, when you invest in them. However, you can move money into or out of an Investment Pathway at any time.
Yes. You can set up an annuity at any time with money you hold in an Investment Pathway or any of the other funds available through your plan. In fact, Investment Pathway 2 is specifically designed as an option for people who are planning to set up an annuity within the next five years.
The Investment Pathways do not pay an income themselves. The funds they invest in are accumulation assets, which means that any income generated by the shares and bonds they hold is invested back into the fund. This can help to increase the fund’s price and the value of your investment. However, you have the option of taking a drawdown income from your pension. In other words, you can tell us how much you would like to receive and we will sell some of your investments so that we can make the payments to you. Regular income can be monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual.
While you can transfer your pension to another provider should you choose, any Investment Pathway funds you hold would need to be sold and sent to your new provider as cash, as different providers will offer their own version of Investment Pathways. We recommend you check this before you decide to transfer and speak to an authorised financial adviser if you are unsure about what the right choice is for you.
You are free to invest in any combination of Investment Pathways you choose and can combine them with any other investments available from Fidelity. However, it’s important to remember that each Investment Pathway is designed to meet a single, overall objective for generating a retirement income. It would be your responsibility to decide how an Investment Pathway might work alongside other investments, and we recommend that you speak to an authorised financial adviser if you are unsure what the right choice would be for you.
In addition to our service fee, each fund has a management charge and incurs transaction costs, along with fees, for auditors, registrars and regulators. These costs are reflected in the price of the fund and can be found on the fund factsheet. There are no additional charges for investing in or selling an Investment Pathway fund.
Our retirement specialists can give you either guidance on the retirement income options available to you or advice based on your personal circumstances. Advice is available over the phone or where circumstances allow, you can have a face-to-face meeting at our Investor Centre based at London Cannon Street office.
If you would just like our guidance service, you won’t be charged a fee for our retirement specialists’ time. However, if you would like advice, where a specialist gives you a personalised recommendation, there will be a fee.
Call us on 0800 41 41 61 for a free, no-obligation chat about the services we offer.
You may also want to consider Pension Wise, the government's free and impartial guidance service to help you understand your options at retirement. This is available via the web, telephone or face-to-face through government approved organisations, such as The Pensions Advisory Service and the Citizens Advice Bureau. You can find out more by going to pensionwise.gov.uk or by calling Pension Wise on 0800 138 3944.
