Branches and Representatives are advised that our members who are in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan – RMDCP – are due to imminently receive an important communication from the Trustee (Appendix A) advising that the scheme is winding up with all savings/assets invested moving to the Legal & General Mastertrust from July 2026.
Background
For clarity purposes eligibility to be a member of the RMDCP scheme members would have to have been employed by Royal Mail between 1st April 2008 and 6th October 2024.
The RMDCP scheme has been administered from its inception by Scottish Widows and essentially operates on the basis that each individual has a pension pot which sits within an overall investment plan (either the Default Lifecycle option or one of their choice), with the aim of growing the pot over time through the investment returns. The assumption that Scottish Widows adopts in terms of investments is that members will take their pension pot at age 65 (although it can be taken from age 55).
As a consequence of the introduction of the new Collective Plan, the RMDCP was closed to new entrants on 7th October 2024 and subsequently completely closed to new payments on 6th October 2025, which rendered it a “legacy scheme”. This position led to the Trustee of the RMDCP, along with Royal Mail, to make a decision to move all monies held in the RMDCP to a Master Trust. An extensive selection process was undertaken to identify a suitable destination for members’ pots and Legal & General was chosen from the shortlist.
From July 2026, the L&G Mastertrust will receive retirement savings/assets from the RMDCP which will be placed into a default fund called “The Lifetime Advantage Fund”. The L&G Mastertrust is one of the largest in the UK and became the first insurance-based master trust to reach £30bn in assets. The RMDCP Trustee states “This scale, alongside the member experience offering and investment choices impressed the Trustees and made it the clear choice for member pots”.
L&G is a major UK financial services company that runs pensions and investments for millions of people, and a master trust is a type of pension scheme used by many employers. Because a master trust looks after a very large number of members:
- it can offer lower charges
- better online services
- and more support as members approach retirement.
As a consequence of the RMDCP Trustee decision, I have been in further dialogue with the Scheme Executive regarding the transfer of member assets to the Legal and General Mastertrust to clarify a number of points, particularly around scheme membership numbers, death in service, Ill health Retirement etc. I have received helpful responses (in blue) to my questions, which are reproduced in the attached Appendix B.
The Postal Executive has recently received a presentation from the RMDCP Executive along with a Legal & General expert and is satisfied that these changes are positive overall and to the benefit of our members currently in the RMDCP.
It should be noted that more information can be obtained from the dedicated microsite that L&G have set up. The link is as follows and is live now:
Furthermore, two Webinars have been arranged as follows:
Tuesday 14th April 10.30 to 11.30
Thursday 23rd April 14.00 to 15.00
RMDCP members will be encouraged to join the webinar and pose questions. Registration for the Webinars can be made via the microsite. The RMDCP Executive is also planning wider communications to engage with scheme members.
In conclusion, the Postal Executive has carefully considered this matter and is of the opinion that the move away from Scottish Widows to the L&G Mastertrust is a positive development.
Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
Attachment 1: 26LTB087 -Royal Mail – Winding up the RMDCP Scheme – L&G Mastertrust
ROYAL MAIL: WINDING UP THE RMDCP SCHEME – TRANSFER OF MEMBER ASSETS TO LEGAL AND GENERAL MASTERTRUST IN JULY 2026
Branches and Representatives are advised that our members who are in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan – RMDCP – are due to imminently receive an important communication from the Trustee (Appendix A) advising that the scheme is winding up with all savings/assets invested moving to the Legal & General Mastertrust from July 2026.
Background
For clarity purposes eligibility to be a member of the RMDCP scheme members would have to have been employed by Royal Mail between 1st April 2008 and 6th October 2024.
The RMDCP scheme has been administered from its inception by Scottish Widows and essentially operates on the basis that each individual has a pension pot which sits within an overall investment plan (either the Default Lifecycle option or one of their choice), with the aim of growing the pot over time through the investment returns. The assumption that Scottish Widows adopts in terms of investments is that members will take their pension pot at age 65 (although it can be taken from age 55).
As a consequence of the introduction of the new Collective Plan, the RMDCP was closed to new entrants on 7th October 2024 and subsequently completely closed to new payments on 6th October 2025, which rendered it a “legacy scheme”. This position led to the Trustee of the RMDCP, along with Royal Mail, to make a decision to move all monies held in the RMDCP to a Master Trust. An extensive selection process was undertaken to identify a suitable destination for members’ pots and Legal & General was chosen from the shortlist.
From July 2026, the L&G Mastertrust will receive retirement savings/assets from the RMDCP which will be placed into a default fund called “The Lifetime Advantage Fund”. The L&G Mastertrust is one of the largest in the UK and became the first insurance-based master trust to reach £30bn in assets. The RMDCP Trustee states “This scale, alongside the member experience offering and investment choices impressed the Trustees and made it the clear choice for member pots”.
L&G is a major UK financial services company that runs pensions and investments for millions of people, and a master trust is a type of pension scheme used by many employers. Because a master trust looks after a very large number of members:
- it can offer lower charges
- better online services
- and more support as members approach retirement.
As a consequence of the RMDCP Trustee decision, I have been in further dialogue with the Scheme Executive regarding the transfer of member assets to the Legal and General Mastertrust to clarify a number of points, particularly around scheme membership numbers, death in service, Ill health Retirement etc. I have received helpful responses (in blue) to my questions, which are reproduced in the attached Appendix B.
The Postal Executive has recently received a presentation from the RMDCP Executive along with a Legal & General expert and is satisfied that these changes are positive overall and to the benefit of our members currently in the RMDCP.
It should be noted that more information can be obtained from the dedicated microsite that L&G have set up. The link is as follows and is live now:
Furthermore, two Webinars have been arranged as follows:
Tuesday 14th April 10.30 to 11.30
Thursday 23rd April 14.00 to 15.00
RMDCP members will be encouraged to join the webinar and pose questions. Registration for the Webinars can be made via the microsite. The RMDCP Executive is also planning wider communications to engage with scheme members.
In conclusion, the Postal Executive has carefully considered this matter and is of the opinion that the move away from Scottish Widows to the L&G Mastertrust is a positive development.
Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
Attachment 1: 26LTB087 -Royal Mail – Winding up the RMDCP Scheme – L&G Mastertrust
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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