In April this year, we issued an important announcement to our Scheme members to let them know that the Property - active Fund had been temporarily closed at short notice.

At that time, many property fund managers across the UK decided to temporarily close their property funds to protect members from mispricing following the economic uncertainty created by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Trustee has been informed that the Property - active Fund is now open. Members can now:
• Make contributions to the Property - active Fund
• Sell or switch-out any built-up Defined Contribution (DC) pension pot that is currently invested in the Property - active Fund
• Switch any built-up DC pension pot into the Property - active Fund

What does this mean for members investing in the Property - active Fund?

When the Property - active Fund closed it could not accept further contributions. The Trustee instructed the Scheme administrator to redirect members’ monthly contributions, that would have been invested in the Property - active Fund, into the Cash - active (ex-Property) Fund from April 2020 onwards. Members who were making contributions to this Fund at the time it closed will receive a separate communication from the Trustee explaining what the re-opening of the Property - active Fund will mean for them. This will include members who have chosen the Property - active Fund either within Freechoice or members who are using the Flexicycle or Lifecycle 2 investment strategy.

Contributions redirected to the Cash – active (ex-Property) Fund will be automatically switched back into the Property - active Fund. Any DC pension pot that built up in the Cash - active Fund during this period will also now be switched back to the Property - active Fund. We expect this to be completed around early December.

What do affected members need to do?

If affected members do not want their contributions or the part of their DC pension pot that was redirected to the Cash - active (ex-Property) Fund to be automatically switched back into the Property - active Fund they must log in to My Pension or contact the Scheme administrator to make a different choice. Please refer to the specific communication from the Trustee for information on when any alternative investment choices will need to be submitted by.

Using My Pension

Step 1
If you are already logged in to the HSBC network, you will not need your username and password. If you are not on the HSBC network and you have forgotten your User ID or Password, you can find help with logging in to My Pension, including a step by step guide to using the Account Recovery service at https://epa.towerswatson.com/doc/HSB/pdf/faq_login.pdf. 

Step 2
Once you have logged in to My Pension select the ‘My Pension’ dropdown and then click on the ‘Change my investments’ tab to amend your investment selections. You can choose from a range of actively and passively managed Freechoice funds or you can choose from the range of target investment strategies. For more information on the range of investment options available go to https://futurefocus.staff.hsbc.co.uk/active-dc/landing/manage-your-investments.

The Trustee recommends that you review the fund factsheets before making any investment decisions. The DC factsheets can be found here. These provide more information about each investment option, including the risks associated with each type of investment.

You may also want to consider speaking to a financial adviser. To learn more about finding a financial adviser you can go to www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk.
Need more help to update your investment selections?

If you have any questions or need more help to update your investment selections, you can contact the Scheme administrator, Willis Towers Watson by:

Emailing: hsbcpension@willistowerswatson.com
Calling the helpline on 01737 227575

Please note that the telephone helpline operates between 9:00am and 5:30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday, and a voice messaging service operates outside of these hours.