NOW: Pensions vs Scottish Widows: NOW: Pensions takes £2 a month and 0.3% a year in its investment plans; Scottish Widows prices each employer section.
Most members do not choose between these two: the employer does. Here the two master trusts are set side by side, each from its own pages and trustee reports. Can an FCA-authorised adviser set your employer's NOW: Pensions or Scottish Widows terms against your plans? The request form on this page collects your number, and they ring you back, free of charge. Investments can fall as well as rise, so you may get back less than you paid in.
NOW: Pensions is not Nest, and Scottish Widows runs more than one scheme
On its pages for advisers, Scottish Widows describes its master trust as "specifically aimed at medium to large sized employers with 500+ members" and lists a Group Personal Pension among its other workplace products. Those routes are set out in Scottish Widows vs Smart Pension and their charges in Scottish Widows pension fees; this page compares the master trust.
The Pensions Regulator lists "NOW: Pensions Trust" and "Scottish Widows Master Trust" among authorised master trusts, with "National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)" as a separate entry, so NOW: Pensions is not Nest (see Nest pension charges). Your employer picks the scheme and you decide whether to stay in, as auto-enrolment explains; workplace providers compared covers the wider field.
Taking your money: retirement options at NOW: Pensions and Scottish Widows
NOW: Pensions members can leave savings where they are, take all as cash, or take some. Cash comes in one chunk at a time, and no more than once in a calendar month. Annuity and drawdown "aren’t available in now:pensions", so you would transfer out for either. NOW: Pensions points to Pension Wise, which "offers free guidance about your options for retirement" (Pension Wise explained).
Scottish Widows offers "four Investment Pathways for investment at retirement, for members who have not received financial advice": leave invested, buy annuity, long-term income and take money. The buy annuity pathway suits someone "to set up a fixed, guaranteed income for life within the next five years". Members who skip the pathways can use the core funds or the Scottish Widows default drawdown strategy, and the Chair's Statement for the year to 5 April 2026 says drawdown accounts are priced the same as saving in the same funds. Pension drawdown and pension annuities set out the options; defined contribution options at retirement brings them together.
Which route fits turns on your pot, your tax and how far Scottish Widows lets you take cash in stages. An FCA-authorised adviser rings back for free, booked through the short form here, and can cover those.
NOW: Pensions vs Scottish Widows charges
NOW: Pensions says of its administration charge: "It costs you £2 a month or £24 a year. We don’t take the monthly administration charge if it would make the value of your now:pensions savings £100 or less." In the investment plans there is also 0.3% of your savings a year; DIY funds cost between 0.25% and 0.55% a year, depending on the funds (NOW: Pensions costs page, read 26 October 2026). The monthly charge rose from £1.75 on 1 September 2025, and its trustee's statement for the year to 31 March 2025 says "Charging levels are the same for every employer."
Our working, excluding transaction costs, on a £10,000 pot left for a year: £2 x 12 = £24, plus 0.3% = £30, makes £54, or 0.54%. A flat monthly fee takes a bigger share of a small pot and a smaller share of a large one; NOW: Pensions charges has the detail.
Scottish Widows works differently. Its Chair's Statement for the year to 5 April 2026 says charges "are set commercially by Scottish Widows" for each section of the scheme, and lists two types members pay: a total charge, which differs from fund to fund, and transaction costs. Members in default arrangements paid a total charge of between 0.13% and 0.50% that year, and the average for members saving for retirement was approximately 0.23%, both excluding transaction costs. No performance fees apply. The 0.75% cap on a single percentage charge for default funds is set in regulation 6 of SI 2015/879; Scottish Widows' highest default figure sits below it.
These are not like for like: a flat fee plus a percentage against a range of percentages, in different years. Your own Scottish Widows section's charge is found through the "Helping You" link on your annual benefit statement, which leads to your infosite. Pension charges explained shows how to compare the two forms.
What is the default investment at each scheme?
At NOW: Pensions, the default is the lump sum plan. De-risking starts 10 years before your planned retirement age, which NOW: Pensions assumes is your State Pension age unless you tell it otherwise. At that age, 30% is in the growth fund and 70% in the retirement countdown fund. It also warns that "If you retire earlier or later than this, the de-risking phase may not work the way it’s designed to." More in NOW: Pensions funds.
At Scottish Widows, the trustees chose the Lifetime Investment Extra Growth Path, aimed at flexible access, as default on 29 January 2026, replacing the Growth Path. The scheme describes it as "100% in growth assets in the early years", with de-risking that starts 12 years before your selected retirement age, and private markets investments "with the aim of boosting returns". An employer may choose a different default for its section, so check which applies; Scottish Widows pension funds goes further.
Service: phone lines, apps and trustee reports
NOW: Pensions members can call 0330 100 3334 from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, use live chat, or log in to the now:u app, which gives "24-hour secure access". The trustee's statement for the year to 31 March 2025 reports that over 99% of contributions were reconciled and invested within statutory timeframes and that member satisfaction was 92%. Administration moved to a new administrator at the start of May 2025, after that year ended.
Scottish Widows members can call 0800 085 4993, also 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or use the app. For the year to 5 April 2026 its trustees report a 99% call answer rate, with 98% of time-critical processes and 99% of general administration requests completed on time.
NOW: Pensions' trustee rated its charges very good value for money (year to 31 March 2025); Scottish Widows' trustees rated their scheme Good to Excellent overall (year to 5 April 2026). Different years, measures and scales make this no league table.
Leaving, switching funds and other providers
Can I leave NOW: Pensions or Scottish Widows and move my pot?
NOW: Pensions does not charge you to transfer out, though the provider receiving the money could. What Scottish Widows does for your section is for an adviser to explain free after you fill in the form. How to transfer a pension lists the checks first.
Can I move out of the default fund?
At Scottish Widows, "Members can also choose the investment approach, risk level and retirement option that best suits them." At NOW: Pensions you can pick DIY funds, but "you can’t mix the DIY funds with the investment plans."
I also have an old pot with Aviva, Royal London, Standard Life or Legal & General. Where are their figures?
The same four checks apply: charges, default fund, retirement routes and service. See Standard Life, Aviva, Royal London and Legal & General. The People's Pension is also covered.
What to look up in now:u or your infosite
Find your employer's charge and default, then check your retirement age against the plan's, and note which retirement routes you want inside the scheme. Unsure how your employer's NOW: Pensions or Scottish Widows terms stack up for your plans? Use the request form here to book a free ring-back, when your own position gets weighed by an FCA-authorised adviser.