How to invest easily with Beach

Investing easily with Beach

Beach is designed to make lifetime savings and investing as simple as possible. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and then add money. You’ll be provided with the right accounts to open (to make the most of tax savings), and everything you need to know to make sure the investment plan is right for you when you sign up (such as how and where the money is invested).

You’ll be able to choose from an easy access pot and pension pot, or both, and both pots combined are what’s often used for lifetime savings. For instance, you’d have a pension pot for your retirement savings, and an easy access pot for general life savings.

Within your easy access pot is an optional ISA, which is an account where you can invest tax-free (so all the money you make within your ISA will be free of tax). You can save as much as £20,000 per tax year into your ISA (a tax year runs from April 6th to April 5th the following year). There’s also a standard account, which isn’t tax-free, but has no limits on how much you can save, so a great option if you’ve reached your ISA limit either with Beach, or elsewhere.

Your pension pot is an account for retirement savings, and you can add money directly from your bank account, and/or transfer any old pensions you might have (such as from an old job). Beach will also help you find lost pensions if you’re not sure where they are.

When you add money to a pension pot with Beach, you’ll get a 25% bonus from the government, added straight into your pension pot, and if you pay 40% or 45% tax on your income, you’ll be able to claim this back from the government too. This is called tax relief, and it’s to help you save more for retirement.

That’s it. No complicated investment decisions to make, no confusing jargon. Beach offers you the most popular accounts, and the investment plans within those accounts are suited to general life and retirement savings. Sounds pretty easy right?

ISA investment plan

The investment plan within your easy access pot (so your ISA and/or standard account) is designed for lifelong saving and investing. The idea is you can add to it whenever you like, and the investment strategy remains the same, to continue growing over time, in a sensible way.

It includes a wide range of investments, such as some of the largest brands in the world, and a range of industries, such as technology and manufacturing, and from across the world, with the majority based in the US and UK.

Investments in companies are called equities, and this is where you own a share of the company, aptly called a share (or sometimes called stocks). As companies grow in value over time, often as economies grow (such as the US and UK) and as they grow and increase revenue and profit, the value of companies increases too. The experts behind the scenes make sure they’re choosing the right underlying companies to suit the investment strategy (and continually monitor it).

The investment plan also includes a portion of bonds, which are effectively loans to governments (for instance the UK and US), and sometimes large corporations, in exchange for a regular interest payment. These are often the best interest rate you can get (in terms of a comparison with a high street bank’s savings account), and seen as one of the safest investments possible, as a government (country) is highly unlikely to default on their debt (not pay what they owe).

Roughly, there’s 70% equities (stocks and shares) and 30% bonds, and this can change slightly over time. Having both of these within an investment plan aims to balance growth over time, reducing the ups and downs of the value of your investments over time, so (hopefully) it grows in a more steady fashion (although there's no guarantees).

There will be ups and downs, so that’s not to say there won’t be, which is typical of all investing, but over time, the idea is to grow significantly.

The investment plan is managed by BlackRock, the largest investment company in the world (when measured by assets they manage). They also consider things like reducing climate change, so when saving with Beach your pension could have a more positive impact on the environment and the world in general (compared to pension options without this focus).

Beach pension plan

The pension plan (investments within your pension) are tailored to your current age, so there’s no complicated investment decisions to make, and the pension plan will adjust over time with the aim of growing larger when you are younger (which can have bigger ups and downs) and then gradually reduce these ups and downs each year until you’re ready for retirement, at which point the goal is to provide a regular income.

Technically speaking, it adjusts the risk level, which is the mix between stocks and shares (also called equities) and things like bonds, which are essentially loans to governments and large companies who pay regular interest, and generally seen as safer investments. So if you’re younger, there will be a higher percentage of equities and when you’re older there will be a higher percentage of bonds.

The pension plan is also managed by BlackRock.

Top up when you like, or regularly

With Beach, you can set up a regular top up, for instance adding money each month, or you can add one-off top ups as and when you like. With your ISA you can add up to £20,000 per tax year, and after that, you can save as much as you like within your standard account. All the money you make within your ISA is completely tax-free.

Saving regularly can mean your savings build up steadily over time, and there’s no chance of forgetting to add money, but some people prefer to add an amount before the end of the tax year, or at the start of the new tax year, and again during certain times in the year, you can do any of these easily with Beach.

Adding money is easy to do, and it’s all sorted in a few taps by setting up a Direct Debit, or by sending money instantly via bank transfer directly to your pension pot.

Note: tax treatment will depend on your personal circumstances, and this isn’t financial advice.

Combine pensions

With Beach, you can combine old pensions too, so you can have all your retirement savings in one place, ready for when you retire. So if you have any old work pensions from previous jobs you can transfer those across to Beach, who will handle the whole process, you just need to add a few details within the app. There’s no phone calls or complicated paperwork to fill out, Beach is a digital pension provider, so it’s all managed in the app.

In the future, Beach is planning to offer a drawdown feature, so when you retire, you can still manage your pension with Beach. You’ll be able to withdraw money depending on your retirement plans and lifestyle, while your pension continues to grow within your Beach account.

Find lost pensions

Beach can also track down lost pensions, so even if you don’t know the pension provider or policy number, Beach can try and find them and then transfer them across to your Beach pension. Our team of handy pension detectives will get on the case, and give you regular updates as they go.

Excellent customer service

Beach is receiving great feedback on our customer service, with fast response times, and even offering WhatsApp support so you can chat away with us when you like, fitting customer support around your busy lifestyle and outside of your email inbox (we won’t be offended if you leave us on read!). There is also email support and you can send us a message in-app.

Download and start saving today

Dare we say we’re one of the most modern savings and investments providers in the UK? Find out for yourself by downloading Beach from either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Beach is for anyone looking to save more for their future, with an investment suited for general life savings, invested sensibly by experts, and tax-free within an ISA. There’s also a pension pot, designed for retirement savings, where you can combine pensions and find lost pensions.

‍Note: Retirement planning and tax treatment will depend on your personal circumstances, and this isn’t financial advice. This article doesn’t include every tax situation. For detailed advice tailored to your specific circumstances and needs, it is best to speak with a financial adviser.