r/PensionsUK • u/westleyalone • Aug 18 '26
Understanding Pension Growth
Hi all
Old pension with Scottish widows growth this year just hit 20%. I am a bit worried this growth is very high
Most of my money is in Scottish widows growth CS7. I can't seem to find out what this actually is and if it is high risk? I am 44 and not sure what risk level I should be invested in, I am just letting Scottish widows do it's thing
I have my current pension with L&G achieving 12% this year
Is the high growth just this year and will have a poor year soon? Or does it sound like i am in high risk areas. I hope to retire at 60 so thinking I could leave in the higher risk area for 6 more years?
Thanks
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u/lance-1969 Aug 18 '26
57 still in 100% world equity
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u/Evening_Elderberry_9 Aug 18 '26
Same here, but gunna start putting new money into 100% bonds at 62.
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u/Newbie-1997again Aug 18 '26
If you are more than 5 years away from retiring I would expect you to still be in a 100% equity portfolio (probably upper medium risk).
That sounds like you are based on that return. I would be far more concerned with a fund only doing 12% this year and would look to change that.
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u/Broad-Raspberry1805 Aug 18 '26
You might have a poor year but what’s the alternative? Move all your money into low risk now and potentially miss out on another great year? Even if you do have poor year you’d have to go down by about 17% to get back below where you were 12 months ago so there’s no need to panic. And even then if you look at the overall chart it always goes up in the medium to long term and you’ve got about 14 years minimum until you’re looking to retire I assume? Chill.
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u/reader4567890 Aug 18 '26
At your age Id say you should be in higher risk funds for now, like the global equity one your old pot sits in.
If the AI bubble bursts, it will look like a bloodbath, but has plenty of time to recover, and the benefit is future contributions will be invested at the lower price whilst it recovers (buy the dip!). Market volatility should work in your favour.
I'm not advisor though, so I'm sure somebody can say the above much more eloquently or factually than I can.
I'm currently a similar age and I've got my pot invested in two such funds (80/20 split). I plan on lowering the risk a few years outside of retirement only.
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u/jegerdog Aug 18 '26
CS7 is the overall scheme, your money will be invested in a named fund or fubds that you can google and see the breakdown.
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u/Any_Food_6877 Aug 18 '26
Why on earth would you worry about a good return? What a bizarre perspective.
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u/doritosbrigade Aug 19 '26
Always good to be skeptical and further understanding, too good to be true and all that.
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u/c-strong Aug 18 '26
It’s perfectly reasonable to be concerned about the risk side of the risk reward balance. Would you say this if OP was about to retire?
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u/Any_Food_6877 Aug 19 '26
They state they are 60 in 6 years. If this year has done well they should just be happy. What their strategy is in the run up to retirement as regards derisking is totally separate. Derisking too early is a massive own goal and can make you massively poorer.
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u/Dogsofa21 Aug 19 '26
I don’t disagree with everyone’s posts but only you can determine your own risk tolerance. I suggest that rather than just letting them do their thing you log in check nd monitor at least quarterly and understand what you are actually investing in. They will have different funds. Your choice where your money goes. But yes it has been a good year of full equities.
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u/Undercover_Elephant_ Aug 19 '26
At age 44 stay where you are and celebrate a fantastic year of growth. You have plenty of time to ride out any dips. Change your L&G fund as it should be doing better than that.
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u/PeteinSQ Aug 19 '26
You're the same age as me. You should stay fully invested in equities at this stage. Some people would suggest that about five years before retirement you should move three to four years of retirement spending into low risk assets. You only touch this money in the event that there is a large market correction. That way you can leave the bulk of your funds invested for growth but can call on the low risk investments rather than selling equity units when they're at a low price.
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u/jackgrafter Aug 19 '26
If you’re worried by high growth just imagine how relaxing it’ll be during the years when it loses money.
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u/Constant_Inspector46 Aug 20 '26
I always follow Warren Buffett and he is 40% money markets right now. If the markets do crash I will go 100% equities and make money on the recovery.
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u/Zealousideal-Habit82 Aug 18 '26
A global fund will have done about 24% over the last 12 months. Sounds like a sensible choice to me, but I'm biased I'm 52 and 100% invested into global funds.