Your Pension - Your Future 

What is individual guidance?

Financial advisers provide a range of services that can help you with financial decisions at different stages of your life. This can be particularly useful when you have an important and potentially difficult financial decision to make, such as approaching retirement.

Financial guidance helps you understand all the options available to you and explore the options in the context of your own personal circumstances. While the adviser will not make a specific recommendation to you, they will help you understand the most suitable options for you and will help you make an informed choice.

Guidance can help you understand your retirement options in the context of your own personal circumstances and financial situation. Your adviser can highlight some of the risks and benefits of the options you are considering and additional factors and options you may not have thought about.

Finding a financial adviser

The Trustee has appointed an FCA-registered financial adviser, WTW, to provide members with tailored, impartial financial guidance on their Scheme savings. WTW understands how the Scheme works and can explain your retirement options and help you with your decision.

However, you can use your own financial adviser if you prefer. If you wish to find an alternative financial adviser, go to the MoneyHelper website. You should check that the adviser is regulated by the FCA. Please be aware the Trustee cannot provide financial advice or advise you on the best IFA to use. 

There is no obligation to use WTW or to follow any guidance provided by them. 

If you did go with WTW, what would they need to know?

To tailor their guidance to you, you'll need to provide WTW with information on:

• your finances (for example, debts, income, outgoings, savings, other retirement income)
• your health and lifestyle
• your plans for retirement, and why they are important to you and your loved ones
• your dependants

The information you share with WTW will be treated as confidential and will not be shared with Zurich or the Trustee.

How long does the guidance process typically take?

If you wish to receive individual guidance, it is important that you start this process as soon as possible to ensure there is sufficient time to obtain all the required information, receive guidance and implement your chosen option before you wish to retire. The full process (including gathering your information and implementing your decision) can take several months or more, depending on the option you choose.

The Trustee has appointed WTW to provide you, as a member, with tailored, impartial financial guidance on your Scheme savings. 

WTW's Financial Planning Group is a firm of financial advisers regulated by the FCA. They support pension scheme members, like you, every day, helping them to understand their options and decide which one is right for them.

WTW understand the Scheme and the options that are available to you as a member. They will explain your options and help you make an informed decision.

The cost of receiving guidance in respect of your Scheme savings is £500 inclusive of VAT.

For more about what to expect and what to do next if you want to take up individual guidance from WTW, download the factsheet.

The choice is YOURS

If you decide to receive guidance from WTW, they will highlight the risks and benefits of the retirement options you are considering but the final decision on how to access your retirement savings will be yours.

The Trustee is not responsible for any guidance provided by WTW and any complaints or concerns about advice should be raised directly with WTW.

There are some things you can do to get the most out of your guidance session with WTW, or any alternative adviser you choose to speak to:

Imagine your future

A guidance session is your chance to talk about you and the life you'd like your Scheme savings to support. Having a picture of what the future looks like will help you focus on the choices you need to make today.

Do your homework

The information included on this website gives you a summary of your main retirement options. Remember to explore the education - overview of your options, videos and factsheets - on this site.

Collect your paperwork

Your Scheme savings are probably not the only income you'll have when you retire. When and how you take these other types of retirement income - like your State Pension - will influence the choices you make for your ZCashBuilder savings. Collect all the information you can about your other retirement income as well as your outgoings. It will also help when it is time to complete WTW's confidential questionnaire. Use the government website to search for a lost pension.

Write a list of questions

Is there a specific topic you want to cover, like tax or dependents' benefits? Have your questions ready for your session so you don't forget anything that's particularly important to you.

You can arrange your appointment with WTW by calling 0800 901 2540. Lines are open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email zurichguidance@wtwco.com. 

For more information on arranging your guidance appointment and what happens next, download the factsheet.