Overview
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The Scheme
The information on these pages is about the Consumers’ Association Pension and Employee Benefit Scheme – the Scheme. The Scheme is a Defined Benefit arrangement and we also call it a Hybrid arrangement.
If you started working for Which? (or for one of its associated companies including Consumers’ Association Ltd, RICA, Which? Financial Services) before April 2004, you had the opportunity to become a member of the Scheme. If you were such a member and you haven't yet taken your Scheme benefits, then you have a deferred pension in the Scheme.
If you also later switched to the Defined Contribution (DC) Section then all those DC Section benefits have been transferred to the Consumers’ Association Retirement Savings Plan (CARSP), a section of the Aviva Master Trust, which is administered by Aviva.
Whether or not you switched to the DC Section, if you made additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) to any Fund Manager other than Prudential, the money in those arrangements has also been transferred to CARSP. This includes all the AVCs made to Clerical Medical, Utmost Life (Equitable Life as was) and Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM).
If you started working for Which? between April 2004 and December 2023 and joined the Scheme, you became a member of just the Defined Contribution Section. If so, all your benefits have been transferred to CARSP and you are no longer a member of this Scheme.
If you joined the pension arrangement at Which? on or after 1st January 2024, you are not and have never been a member of this Scheme. You may have joined CARSP.
Find out more about the Scheme using the links at the top of this page. If you have any questions – including whether you are a Scheme Member – please contact us.
Consumers' Association Retirement Savings Plan (CARSP)
From 1st January 2024 while you are an active member of the Which? pension arrangement, your monthly contributions are paid by Which? into the Consumers’ Association Retirement Savings Plan (CARSP), a section of the Aviva Master Trust, which is administered by Aviva.
In addition, the Trustees of the Consumers’ Association Pension and Employee Benefit Scheme (CAPEBS) transferred your entire DC Section Pension Account to CARSP. This Pension Account was built up with contributions and AVCs into the DC Section between 1st April 2004 and 31st December 2023.
If you are a member of CAPEBS and have money invested in CARSP, you have the opportunity to transfer back to this Scheme some or possibly all of the money that is invested in the CARSP Funds when you retire.
Please note that the information on these pages is about the Consumers’ Association Pension and Employee Benefit Scheme. The information on these pages does not provide you with any details about CARSP. For information about the Aviva Master Trust, see the CARSP website.
If you are a current employee, you can also find information about the Aviva Master Trust and CARSP under the Pensions section of the Intranet Hub.
Providing that you haven't yet used any of your benefits, see the following table for whether you have Scheme benefits, Aviva Master Trust benefits or both:
| I joined the Company before 1st April 2004 | I joined the Company between 1st April 2004 and 31st December 2023 | I joined the Company on or after 1st January 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| You had the opportunity to join the Scheme. If you did join, then you may have later switched to the DC Section. | You had the opportunity to join the DC Section of the Scheme only. | You have never been a member of the Scheme. |
| If you did join, then you have a deferred pension in the Scheme, and you may also have deferred Prudential AVCs. | You have no Scheme benefits, but you may have deferred Prudential AVCs. | You have no Scheme benefits. |
| If you had money in other AVCs, it was transferred to the Aviva Master Trust. You may be allowed to transfer some or all of this money back to the Scheme when you retire. | If you had money in AVCs, it was transferred to the Aviva Master Trust. | You never made AVCs to the Scheme. |
| If you had money in a DC Section account, it was transferred to the Aviva Master Trust. You may be allowed to transfer some or all of this money back to the Scheme when you retire. | The money in your DC Section account was transferred to the Aviva Master Trust. | You had no money to transfer, but you may have joined the Aviva Master Trust. |
Contact Which? Pensions
If you’d like to join the current pension arrangement, the Consumers' Association Retirement Savings Plan, a part of the Aviva Master Trust, or want to change the amount you save every month, you can email the Payroll Team at payroll@which.co.uk, or see the Intranet Hub.
To find out more about the Consumers' Association Retirement Savings Plan, visit the Aviva website. For any other questions, contact the Pensions Team at pensions@which.co.uk.
If you are an ex-employee and a member of the Consumers' Association Pension and Employee Benefit Scheme (the Scheme), please contact us using the details below.
By email
Please get in touch at pensions@which.co.uk.
If you need to send personal information, please request a "ShareFile link" – we will send you a link which will enable you to send the information to us securely.
By phone
You can contact us or leave a message at 020 7770 7007 or 020 7770 7553.
Please have your National Insurance Number to hand. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training.
By post
The address for any correspondence by post is:
Pensions Team
Which? Ltd
2 Marylebone Road
London
NW1 4DF
If you are not a member of a Which? Pension Scheme or have a question about pensions in general, see our Pensions & retirement page.