Which PensionBee plan is best depends on you, so no plan is ranked here. This page sets out how the plans differ, what they cost and what to ask.
People who search for the best PensionBee plan are usually hoping for a name. Picking one for a particular reader is a personal recommendation, and a page that does it for strangers is not a safe place to find one. What can be done fairly is to lay out how PensionBee describes each plan, what each one charges, and the questions worth putting to a regulated person. Pension Wise, from MoneyHelper, offers free guidance that is impartial and backed by government. Should your own figures need a second look, an FCA-authorised adviser firm will return a call at no cost when the form on this page comes in. For the wider picture of costs, see pension charges and fees.
Why no plan is named as the best
PensionBee's own plans page says that when you join, your pension goes into one of two default plans depending on your age, and that these "have been designed for the needs of a typical non-advised customer, so they may not be suitable for you". If they are not, it says you can switch or "seek independent financial advice". The firm is telling readers that its starting point is built for a typical customer, not for you.
Nothing on this page says what you should hold. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than was paid in. What suits a person turns on when the money will be needed, how much of a fall they could live with, and what else they have. For the rest of the picture, see PensionBee's fees, how the service works and what customers say.
The six plans, as PensionBee describes them
All figures below are from PensionBee's plan pages and fees page, read on 19 October 2026, with the plans in the order PensionBee lists them. The "risk" column is PensionBee's own simplified higher, medium or lower label; its page notes that plan factsheets "may use a different scale, representing the money manager's own methodology".
| Plan | What PensionBee says it does | Manager named | Risk label | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Leaders (default under 50) | Invests in "approximately 1,000 of the world’s largest and most recognised public companies" | BlackRock | Higher | 0.70% |
| 4Plus (default 50 and over) | Aims for 4% a year above the Bank of England's base rate over a minimum of five years; holdings may be adjusted weekly | State Street | Medium | 0.85% |
| Tracker | Invests in global shares and bonds, following the world's markets | State Street | Medium | 0.50% |
| Climate | Tracks a Paris-Aligned Index excluding fossil fuel producers, weighted towards lower carbon emissions | State Street (plans page) | Higher | 0.75% |
| Shariah | Invests only in Shariah-compliant companies, approved by an independent Shariah committee | HSBC Global Asset Management and State Street | Higher | 0.95% |
| Preserve | Short-term investments in creditworthy companies; the page shows 100% fixed income | State Street | Lower | 0.50% |
Each plan page also has a line on who the plan could suit. Those lines are the firm's marketing, not a test of whether a plan fits you, so none is repeated here. Climate and Shariah apply a values screen; they differ from the others in what they hold, not in being safer.
The 4Plus plan page says it "aims to grow your pension savings by 4% per year above the Bank of England's base rate over a minimum five-year time period". The overview card on the plans page words it differently, as growth "above the cash rate". Either way it is an aim, not a promise.
What each plan costs, and the £100,000 halving
PensionBee's fees page describes one annual fee that depends on how much you have saved; joining is free, and switching plans carries no fee from PensionBee. The fee is "calculated based on the daily value of your PensionBee plan" and charged monthly. Across the six plans it runs from 0.50% to 0.95%, and the fee is halved on the part of the pot above £100,000.
The page's own illustration: £250,000 in Global Leaders pays 0.70% on the first £100,000 and 0.35% on the remaining £150,000, an overall 0.49%. Its grid gives the overall rate for each plan at exactly these pot sizes:
| Plan | Under £100,000 | £250,000 | £500k | £1 million |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Leaders | 0.70% | 0.49% | 0.42% | 0.39% |
| 4Plus | 0.85% | 0.60% | 0.51% | 0.47% |
| Tracker | 0.50% | 0.35% | 0.30% | 0.28% |
| Climate | 0.75% | 0.53% | 0.45% | 0.41% |
| Shariah | 0.95% | 0.67% | 0.57% | 0.52% |
| Preserve | 0.50% | 0.35% | 0.30% | 0.28% |
Our working on a £150,000 pot, using the same method, for three plans picked only to span the range (the lowest fee, which Tracker shares with Preserve; a default; the highest), not as a shortlist: Tracker is £100,000 × 0.50% plus £50,000 × 0.25%, which is £625 a year (0.42% overall); Global Leaders is £700 plus £175, £875 a year (0.58%); Shariah is £950 plus £237.50, £1,187.50 a year (0.79%). A lower fee is a lower cost, nothing more. It says nothing about what a plan will return, and fees come out whether markets rise or fall.
The annual fee is not the only possible cost. Transaction costs arise "when your money manager buys or sells investments to maintain your plan" and are "separate from your annual management fee". Switching plans can also bring costs known as an "anti-dilution levy". Withdrawing the whole pot when it has been with PensionBee for less than a year carries a £150 fee. Pot size, age and timing all change which of these costs matter, so someone who wants an FCA-authorised adviser to weigh them together may use the form on this page.
Past performance and risk
PensionBee's plan pages show past-performance figures; this page repeats none of them. The caveat beside the charts on the 4Plus, Tracker, Shariah and Preserve pages reads:
Past performance is not an indication of future performance. With investments, your capital is at risk and you could get back less than you invest.
— PensionBee, 4Plus Plan page, read 19 October 2026
The FCA's rules point the same way: COBS 4.6 requires information showing past performance to include a prominent warning that the figures refer to the past and are not a reliable indicator of future results. A plan that has recently done well can fall later, and one with a lower risk label can fall too. A "higher" label means PensionBee puts the plan towards the more volatile end of its own range, not that it will return more.
What to weigh, and what to ask
The free route first. A Pension Wise appointment covers the ways of taking money from a defined contribution pension. It is open to people with a UK-based defined contribution pension who are 50 or over, and some younger people in specific circumstances. It explains options for taking money, not which fund to hold while you save.
For a view of your own position, MoneyHelper says to use only an adviser that the FCA regulates, who must tell you what the advice will cost before you commit. Advice is optional for most things and can be costly, so weigh whether it is right for you. Questions worth taking along:
- When might I need to start taking money, and does the plan's aim fit that time frame?
- How would I feel if this plan lost value just before I needed it?
- What is my total annual cost at my pot size, including transaction costs?
- Do my other pensions hold the same kinds of investment, so that I am not carrying the same risk twice?
- Do I want a plan chosen on values, such as the Climate or Shariah plans, and have I read what it actually holds?
- What happens if I switch later, and what might switching cost?
If you are moving old pensions in, how to transfer a pension covers what to check first, drawdown what changes once money is being taken out, and choosing a pension provider sets out what to compare between providers. Charges and funds on a SIPP differ again; see what a SIPP is.
PensionBee plans: questions people ask
What is PensionBee's default plan?
PensionBee says it invests new customers in Global Leaders if they are under 50 and in 4Plus if they are 50 or over. It describes each as designed for a "typical non-advised customer" and says it may not be suitable for all customers.
What does PensionBee invest in?
That depends on the plan. Its pages describe company shares, a mix of shares and bonds, an actively adjusted multi-asset approach, a climate-focused index, Shariah-compliant companies and short-term fixed income, run by BlackRock, State Street and HSBC Global Asset Management.
Is there a PensionBee ethical plan?
PensionBee's pages describe two plans with a values screen: Climate, which excludes fossil fuel producers, and Shariah, which invests only in Shariah-compliant companies. Read each plan's factsheet to see what it holds.
Can I change plans later?
Yes, at any time, and PensionBee makes no charge for it, though switching can bring small transaction costs such as an anti-dilution levy.
Your next step
Which plan, if any, suits you depends on when you will need the money and how much risk you can carry, and a plans page cannot weigh either. Should you prefer to talk the plans over, the enquiry goes in on the form on this page, free of charge, and a call follows from an FCA-authorised adviser firm.
Sources, read 19 October 2026: PensionBee Ltd, plans page and the Global Leaders, 4Plus, Tracker, Climate, Shariah and Preserve plan pages, and fees page (undated; footer 2026); FCA Handbook, COBS 4.6; MoneyHelper, Pension Wise and Find a retirement adviser (archived copies). Fee arithmetic is this site's working from PensionBee's published rates.