People's Pension funds come as three ready-made profiles and eight self-select funds; members who choose nothing start in the "balanced" profile.
This guide sets out what the scheme itself prints about its funds, from the default to the Ethical and Shariah options, and how their charges compare. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you paid in. If you are unsure how a People's Pension fund sits beside your other savings, arrange a free call back about your pots via the form on this page, then weigh your fund choice with an FCA-authorised adviser. Overall costs are in The People's Pension fees and charges, and rival schemes in the People's Pension comparison.
The People's Pension investment funds: the whole range
There are two ways to invest. The first is a profile, which picks a fund for you and moves your savings as you age. The second is to self-select from eight funds, which stay put until you move them. Members "can change their investments through their account or app", the scheme's investment options page says (archived 5 June 2026).
The eight funds, with the scheme's risk label for each as printed on its fund pages:
| Fund | What the scheme says it does | Risk label |
|---|---|---|
| Global Investments (up to 85% shares) | Mostly world company shares, with some lower-risk bonds | Medium to high |
| Global Investments (up to 60% shares) | Shares and bonds, with more in bonds | Medium |
| Global Investments (up to 100% shares) | Mainly company shares worldwide | High |
| Pre-Retirement | Bonds and shares, with a smaller share in shares | Medium |
| Annuity | UK government and corporate bonds | Low |
| Cash | Short-term money market assets and deposits | Low |
| Ethical | Global company shares with exclusions | High |
| Shariah | Global company shares following Islamic principles | High |
The scheme describes the Annuity Fund as meant for people who plan to buy an annuity, and as a way to help protect savings if annuity rates go down. How an annuity works explains that route.
Balanced, Cautious or Adventurous: how the profiles differ
All three profiles begin in a Global Investments fund and differ in how much of it can be shares. Balanced starts in the up to 85% shares fund, Cautious in the up to 60% fund and Adventurous in the up to 100% fund. The scheme says Adventurous invests "solely in higher-risk assets", so the value of savings "can rise and fall sharply, especially in the short term", with greater growth potential over the long run. Cautious aims to protect savings by investing mainly in lower-risk assets while still offering some long-term growth potential.
Weighing them comes down to how many years you have left, how you would feel about a sharp fall, and what your other pensions already hold. The scheme itself warns that "higher returns usually come with higher risk". An adviser can talk through where your own position sits if you leave your number on the form.
What is the People's Pension default fund?
The "balanced" profile is the default. The scheme calls it its "core investment strategy" and says savings go there if a member does not choose. The Trustee's governance statement for the year ending 31 March 2025 says the default "is used by 98.44% of the membership".
Fifteen years before your selected retirement date, all three profiles begin shifting savings into the Pre-Retirement Fund, a little each year. The scheme's table starts with 93.75% in the Global Investments fund and 6.25% in the Pre-Retirement Fund, reaches an even 50% each partway through, and has everything in the Pre-Retirement Fund by the year before the retirement date. The scheme's example is a planned retirement age of 65, where "investment switching would begin at age 50".
Unless a member picks another date, the scheme uses their State Pension age as the retirement age, and the date can be changed in the online account. Self-select funds do not shift at all: the scheme says they "don't automatically move into lower-risk investments as retirement approaches", so members need to review them. Taking money out is covered in how to withdraw your People's Pension, and your options at retirement.
Does The People's Pension have an ethical fund or a Shariah fund?
It has both. The Ethical Fund tracks global shares and, in the scheme's words, "aligns with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement". It excludes companies that produce fossil fuels or earn a substantial part of their income from tobacco, alcohol, gambling, pornography, weapons, recreational cannabis, for-profit prisons or non-sustainable palm oil. Of the companies left, those doing better on cutting emissions get more of the money.
The Shariah Fund invests in global company shares through the HSBC Amanah Global Equity Index and follows Islamic principles, leaving out firms in areas such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Because of those exclusions it holds fewer companies than the other funds, so its value is more likely to go up and down more often than some of the scheme's lower-risk funds, especially in the short term. One rule is specific to this fund: members can choose their own split between funds, "except for the Shariah Fund, which requires 100% of savings if selected". More on halal options across providers is in halal pensions in the UK.
Do People's Pension funds carry different charges?
Not in their management charge. The Trustee Chair's governance statement, covering the year to 31 March 2025, lists 0.5% a year against all eight funds, before any savings reward on savings over £3,000. What varies by fund is transaction costs, the cost of buying, selling, lending or borrowing investments inside a fund. These are not part of the annual management charge; they reduce the fund's net returns, and the statement gives them only as an average over the five years to 31 March 2025, from 0.00% (Cash) to 0.09% (Global Investments, up to 85% shares). The fund-by-fund figures, the yearly flat charge and the savings reward are on the fees and charges page, and pension charges explains how costs add up.
Fund prices, factsheets and past performance
Each fund has a unit price. The scheme's unit prices page says prices "update daily and affect how many units are bought or sold on a given date", and also carries historical prices. Each fund has a factsheet, and the scheme publishes a quarterly investment report. Factsheets show past performance, which the scheme says "doesn’t guarantee or act as a guide to future performance"; no returns are quoted here.
Fund questions from People's Pension members
Is The People's Pension high risk?
That depends on the fund. The scheme labels its up to 85% shares fund, the default's starting point, as medium to high risk, and its Cash and Annuity funds as low risk.
Can I split my savings between several funds?
Yes, for the self-select funds: members choose the percentage for each. The exception is the Shariah Fund, which takes all of your savings if you pick it.
How do I change my People's Pension fund?
Through your online account or the scheme's app. Switching from a profile to self-select funds means giving up the automatic move to lower-risk investments.
Is the Annuity Fund meant for everyone nearing retirement?
No. The scheme describes it as designed for people who plan to use their pension to buy an annuity. Other ways to take the money, such as drawdown, are explained separately.
Checking your fund against your other pensions
Which fund suits you turns on your age, your other pots, your health and your plans. Pension Wise offers free, government-backed guidance (what Pension Wise is). An FCA-authorised adviser can weigh a fund against your age, other pots and plans by phone, at no cost, once you send this page's call-back form. Eligibility questions are covered in People's Pension eligibility, and the scheme's background in what The People's Pension is.