CHANGES TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF YOUR MERCER MASTER TRUST PENSION SAVINGS


Answers to some questions you may have about the change of administrator for your Mercer Master Trust pension savings are below.

Question 1

Why is the administrator of my Mercer Master Trust pension savings account changing?

Following a thorough review of suppliers, Mercer and the Trustees of the Mercer Master Trust have decided Aviva is a better fit for us and for you, our members.

Aviva is already a strategic partner to Mercer, providing high quality pension and administration services.


Question 2

What will happen while my savings are being moved to administration by Aviva?

To ensure the movement of your pension savings from Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva goes smoothly, a temporary administration freeze will be applied while this process takes place. While the administration freeze is in place:

  • You will temporarily be unable to make any changes relating to your pension savings account, such as amending personal details or nominating beneficiaries; and
  • Your Mercer Money account may not display the up-to-date value of your Mercer Master Trust pension savings.

If you are a contributing member of the Mercer Master Trust, details about the administration freeze and for how long it will be in effect will be sent to you closer to the time the pension savings administered for you by Scottish Widows are due to be moved to administration by Aviva.

If you and your employer are not contributing to the Mercer Master Trust, details about the administration freeze and for how long it will be in effect are in the communication sent to you separately about this.

Question 3

Will my pension savings remain invested during the administration freeze?

Yes, your pension savings will remain invested throughout the administration freeze and their value may fluctuate as usual, based on investment market movements. For this reason, the value of your pension savings may be different after the administration freeze is lifted compared to their value before it is applied.

Question 4

Where will my savings be invested after they are moved to administration by Aviva?

Most members’ pension savings and any future contributions to the Mercer Master Trust will continue to be invested in the same way and in the same investment funds after they are moved to administration by Aviva.

The only exception to this will be if you have actively chosen to invest some or all of your pension savings in a fund that is being replaced (see Question 5).

Some of the fund names used by Aviva may differ from those used by Scottish Widows. Additionally, for some funds, launch dates, unit prices, and investment performance details may differ on the Aviva administration platform compared with the Scottish Widows administration platform. This is because these funds were introduced to the respective administration platforms on different dates. Consequently, the starting unit price may be different, and investment performance will be measured over a different period.

While your pension savings and any future contributions will be invested in the same investment funds after they are moved to administration by Aviva, the names of the funds and details of their unit prices and investment performance may differ from those shown on the Scottish Widows platform.

If, close to the time of the move, you change the way the pension savings currently administered for you by Scottish Widows are invested, please check to confirm that this is reflected in the way contributions are invested after Aviva takes over the administration.

Please note: If you wish to change the way any future contributions to your pension savings are invested, you will need to do this via the new Mercer Master Trust administrator, Aviva.

Question 5

Which investment funds are being closed and how will they be replaced?

The Mercer Master Trust Trustees oversee and regularly review the pension investment funds available to ensure these cater for member needs. Following a recent review, the Trustees have decided to close several investment funds with effect from the date Aviva becomes the Mercer Master Trust administrator.

When the change of administrator takes place, any future contributions that would have been invested in these funds, will be automatically switched to replacement investment funds. Savings built up in the closing funds prior to this will remain invested in them until these savings are moved from administration by Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva. At this point these savings will also be automatically switched to the replacement fund or funds.

With one exception, the replacement investment funds provide exposure to a comparable underlying investment mix and overall risk and return profile as the closing investment funds they are replacing.

For the Mercer Active Emerging Market Debt fund, no directly comparable investment options are available in the Mercer Master Trust fund range. The Mercer Cash fund has been chosen as the replacement investment fund. This invests in assets that are expected to produce more stable, but lower, returns than the Mercer Active Emerging Market Debt fund. Therefore, you should regularly review whether this fund remains suitable for your own circumstances.

The table below shows how savings invested in the closing funds will be automatically switched. Please review this information and consider whether these changes are right for your specific circumstances:


Tables comparing the aims of the closing and replacement investment funds can be found under ‘Closing investment funds and replacement investment funds compared’ towards the bottom of this web page.

If you have chosen to invest in any of the closing funds and you do not wish to invest in their replacements, you will be able to switch to one or more of the other Mercer Master Trust investment options instead. If you wish to do this before the change of administrator takes place, please contact Scottish Widows using the details shown in Question 17. Otherwise, you will be able to switch out of the replacement investment fund(s) shortly after your pension savings are moved to administration by Aviva.

Question 6

Will I need to log in to a different pension portal to access details of my pension savings?

You won’t need new login details to access details of your Mercer Master Trust pension savings account via Mercer Money.

While the administration switchover is happening, your Mercer Money account will display details of the Mercer Master Trust pension savings that are currently administered for you by Scottish Widows, as well as your Aviva-administered savings.

Once the switchover is completed, the full value of your Mercer Master Trust pension savings account will be in your Aviva policy.

For more information, including details of the key steps that will take place as we move your Mercer Master Trust pension savings from administration by Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva, please login to Mercer Money and click on ‘View Plan’ in your Pension dashboard.

Question 7

What if I’m already drawing on my pension savings in the Mercer Master Trust?

Any income you are currently drawing from your pension savings will continue to be paid by Scottish Widows until your savings are moved to administration by Aviva. A temporary administration freeze will be applied while the savings administered for you by Scottish Widows are moved to Aviva. To allow for this, any payments you are due to receive during the administration freeze will be paid to you in advance by Scottish Widows.

If you are a contributing member of the Mercer Master Trust, you will be informed of any changes to your payment dates closer to the time.

If you and your employer are not contributing to the Mercer Master Trust, details about any changes to your payment dates are in the communication sent to you separately about this.

Once the administration freeze ends, Aviva will take over payment of your income.

Question 8

What if I want to start to make withdrawals from my pension savings?

If you wish to start drawing on your pension savings before they are moved to administration by Aviva, you should arrange this with Scottish Widows. If you wish to start drawing on your pension savings after they are moved to administration by Aviva, you will be able to arrange this with Aviva.

Question 9

What if I decide I want to leave my pension savings with Scottish Widows?

Your pension savings will automatically be moved into your Mercer Master Trust policy administered by Aviva. Scottish Widows will no longer be providing pension administration services for the Mercer Master Trust and so it is not possible for your Mercer Master Trust pension savings to remain with them.

Question 10

What will happen to my pension records?

The Trustees of the Mercer Master Trust remain responsible for your records and your data.

Shortly after the administration switchover is completed, the administration records for your membership of the Mercer Master Trust will be securely transferred to Aviva for you. From this point, you will be able to access your transaction history, savings balance history, and investment growth values from the time your savings were administered by Scottish Widows within your Aviva policy in Mercer Money.

However, please note that if you previously signed a ‘Letter of Authority’, giving Scottish Widows permission to share your pension details with someone else, such as another pension provider, a financial adviser or a family member, you will need to provide a new Letter of Authority to Aviva for that access to your details to continue. For example, you may need to sign a Letter of Authority to authorise the Mercer Master Trust administrator to liaise with a previous pension provider to arrange a transfer of pension savings into or out of the Mercer Master Trust.

To find out about obtaining a new Letter of Authority, please contact the Mercer Master Trust Administration team at Aviva (for contact details, see Question 19).

Question 11

Will I have to nominate beneficiaries all over again?

No, details of any beneficiaries you have nominated will be securely transferred to Aviva, along with the other administration records for your membership of the Mercer Master Trust. If you haven’t nominated a beneficiary, or if you wish to change or confirm your nomination, you may find this more straightforward to do online after the switch of administration to Aviva.

Question 12

Will there be a charge for moving my savings to administration by Aviva?

There will be no explicit charge for moving your pension savings from administration by Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva. Units held with Scottish Widows will be sold on the same day as units are bought with Aviva. Most funds invest in the same underlying funds, so the same unit price will be used for most trades, which means that there will be no difference between the buy and sell price.

In the case of the five funds listed below, the funds administered by Scottish Widows have the same investment objective and overall strategy as those administered by Aviva. However, the underlying funds are different. It is possible the managers of these funds will reflect costs associated with trading in the unit price. This is dependent on the level of trading activity on the day and on whether there are net inflows or outflows in the funds. Any such charge will only be known after the event but is expected to be zero, or very small, for the vast majority of members and will very likely be offset by the lower fund charges when the move from administration by Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva takes place. These funds are:

  • SW Mercer Passive Over 15 Year Gilt CS2
  • SW Mercer Passive Over 5 Years Index Linked Gilt CS2
  • SW Mercer Passive Overseas Equity CS2
  • SW Mercer Passive UK Corporate Bond CS2
  • SW Mercer Passive UK Equity CS2


Question 13

What if I want to change my retirement date?

If you wish to change your retirement date before the pension savings that are currently administered by Scottish Widows are moved to administration by Aviva. please inform both Scottish Widows and Aviva about this.

If your pension savings are invested in the default Mercer SmartPath investment strategy, this will ensure that the savings currently administered by Scottish Widows and those administered by Aviva are invested in a way that correctly reflects your adjusted retirement date.

If you don’t do this, the savings currently administered for you by Scottish Widows and those administered by Aviva may be invested in different funds and may not be invested in a way that reflects your adjusted retirement date.

Question 14

I’ve got a protected retirement age/tax-free cash sum entitlement etc. Will I lose this when Aviva takes on the administration?

No, any protections or guarantees that apply to your Mercer Master Trust pension savings will remain in place. This is because your savings will remain in the Mercer Master Trust. Only the provider that administers your pension savings account is changing.

Question 15

I already have pension savings in the Mercer Master Trust that are administered by Aviva. Will these be affected by this change?

No, if you already have Mercer Master Trust pension savings administered by Aviva, these will not be affected in any way by the move of the pension savings currently administered for you by Scottish Widows to administration by Aviva.

Question 16

I’ve connected wider financial details to Mercer Money. Will those connections be lost?

No. Your other financial connections in Mercer Money will not be affected by the switch in administration provider.

Question 17

Will I still be able to use the Destination Retirement online retirement planning and advice service?

Yes, if you are aged 45 or over you will continue to be able to access this service via Mercer Money in the same way as you can today.

Question 18

How will the Mercer Master Trust Administration team at Aviva communicate with me?

The Administration team will communicate with you using the email address and postal address we hold for you.

To confirm these details are up to date, please login to Mercer Money, click View Plan on the Pension dashboard, then select Check your details. If any of your Contact Details are incorrect, please click Update and enter your current email address and/or postal address.

Question 19

What if I have a question that isn’t answered here?

If you have a question about the change of administrator that isn’t answered here, please contact the new Mercer Master Trust Administration Team at Aviva. They are available weekdays from 8am to 5.30pm and will record or monitor your call.

If you have a question about the Mercer Master Trust savings currently administered for you by Scottish Widows, or if you wish to draw on them before they are moved to Aviva, please contact the current Mercer Master Trust Administration Team at Scottish Widows. They are available weekdays from 8am to 5:30pm.

If you have a question about your Mercer Money account, you can contact the Mercer Money Customer Success Team. They are available weekdays from 9am to 5pm.


Closing investment funds and replacement investment funds compared

These tables compare the aims of each of the closing investment funds and the Replacement investment funds listed in the reply to Question 5 above.


Issued by the Mercer Master Trust Trustee Board acting in conjunction with the founder of the Mercer Master Trust, Mercer Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England No. 984275. Registered Office: 1 Tower Place West, London, EC3R 5BU.