Aviva Master Trust reaches £20bn as focus grows on financial wellbeing

Aviva’s workplace pension master trust has reached £20 billion in assets under management, as the provider expands its focus on financial wellbeing, technology and member engagement. The Aviva Master Trust now supports more than 650 employers and holds the retirement savings of more than 650,000 members across the UK.

Aviva said growth had been driven by employers joining the master trust, ongoing member contributions and investment performance, alongside increased demand from sectors including independent schools and universities.

The milestone comes as workplace pensions increasingly sit within a broader conversation about employees’ financial wellbeing. Alongside growing the scheme, Aviva has introduced a financial wellbeing tool designed to help workplace pension members understand and manage their financial health.

Available free to Aviva Master Trust members through the Aviva app and online pension portal, the tool also gives employers and trustees information about engagement levels, which Aviva said could help them tailor support more effectively.

For employers, that reflects a wider challenge around workplace financial wellbeing. Providing access to a pension is only one part of supporting employees’ longer-term financial security; whether people understand and engage with their finances and retirement planning is also important.

Aviva has also added My Future Vision as a selectable default investment solution. The option allocates between 20 and 25 per cent of assets to private markets depending on where members are on their journey towards retirement, providing access to specialist asset managers operating across global private markets.

Louise Williamson, Head of Aviva Master Trust, said: “This is an important milestone for the Aviva Master Trust and reflects its strong, sustainable growth. We’re grateful to the employers and advisers who trust us with their workplace pension provision and have helped make this achievement possible. Scale matters because it gives us greater scope to innovate through technology and deliver service improvements which support the employers and members that we’re here to serve.”

Dr. Chris Noon, Chair of the Aviva Master Trust, said: “It is great to see the Aviva Master Trust reach this milestone and not least because behind the numbers are people who are investing in their future – and that’s what really matters. We are thankful to our employers, advisers and members for the confidence they have in the scheme.”

The development also highlights the potential role workplace pension providers can play in wider financial wellbeing strategies.

Aviva said the scale of the master trust gives it greater scope to invest in technology and service improvements designed to support employers and members.