COVID-19 support and advice: Workplace savings and retirement
Everything you need to know at this time
As the pandemic continues to impact all our lives, we know how tough it is. That's why we're doing all we can to support you when you need us, while keeping our people safe.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on stock markets across the world. In turn, this saw an inevitable fall in the value of pensions and investments, in line with the markets they're linked to.
The longer-term impact of COVID-19 on the financial markets is, of course, difficult to predict. We want to assure you that, in this uniquely challenging time, we’re actively communicating with our customers and are advising them to take financial advice before making any decisions relating to their pensions or investments.
Maintaining our service
We’ve put robust plans in place to make sure we can still serve our customers now we have closed our offices to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
Aviva has invested heavily in technology which enables our staff to work efficiently from home, so they can continue to maintain our customer service levels. From the earliest stages of the outbreak, we’ve prioritised the technical needs of our customer-facing colleagues, as we aim to minimise any impact to you and your employees.
Customer service is being maintained and our telephone lines remain open. We’re making sure that we prioritise tasks that enable us to deal with payments to our customers, as well as work relating to retirements and bereavements. Many of our key operations, such as processing and investing contributions, are automated and other tasks can be completed by our customers through self-service apps or websites. Thanks to this capability, and the diligence of our operational teams, we aren’t anticipating any material reduction in our ability to meet your needs and those of your employees throughout this period of uncertainty.
We’re also working closely with our third-party suppliers to further enhance our ability to maintain a high standard of customer service. We’re in regular contact with our fund managers, and we’ll be able to communicate any changes to funds promptly and clearly, should this become necessary.
Investments
Investment diversification is important during challenging times. The Aviva workplace pension default funds are designed to include a mix of investments – such as UK and international equities, UK property, UK fixed income and international fixed income – so they aren’t solely reliant on the performance of one investment market.
We’re in regular contact with our default fund management partners BlackRock – who oversee My Future – and Aviva Investors, who manage My Future Focus. Both managers continue to adopt a long-term perspective and, in view of the general uncertainty and volatile market conditions, have not made any significant changes to the funds.
Rest assured that we’ll communicate any important changes to our members as they arise, frequently updating online information as well as sending out direct communications as appropriate.
COVID-19 updates
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, please visit the pension solutions contact us page. If you need to call us, waiting times may be longer than normal under the present circumstances.
