Key features of the Group Personal Pension Plan Helping you decide

Transcription

1 Key features of the Group Personal Pension Plan Helping you decide This important document gives you a summary of the Group Personal Pension Plan. Please read this with your illustration, if you have one, and keep it for future reference.

2 The Financial Services Authority is the independent financial services regulator. It requires us, Zurich Assurance Ltd, to give you this important information to help you to decide whether our Group Personal Pension Plan is right for you. You should read this document carefully so that you understand the plan, and then keep it safe for future reference. Contents Its aims...3 Your commitment...3 Risk factors...3 Questions and answers About the plan Is the Group Personal Pension Plan right for me?... 5 How flexible is it?... 5 How much can be paid into my plan?... 5 What are the charges?... 6 Can I transfer the value of other pension plans into this plan?... 6 What about tax?... 6 Managing your plan How will I know how my plan is doing?... 7 How and where are the payments invested?... 7 Can I choose my own funds to invest in?... 7 What if my circumstances change?... 8 Taking your benefits When can I take my benefits?... 8 What are my choices?... 8 What might I get back?... 9 What happens to the plan if I die?... 9 What if the plan isn t right for you? Can I opt out? Can I cancel single or transfer payments? Can I transfer my plan value? Other information...11 How to contact us of 12

3 The Zurich Group Personal Pension Plan The Group Personal Pension Plan (the plan) is a long-term investment. Your employer has set it up to enable you to save for your retirement and may also be making payments into it. When you take benefits, you ll have some choices. These include taking part of your plan value as a tax-free cash sum and using the rest to buy another plan called an annuity. An annuity will give you an income for life (a pension). If you re unsure whether the Group Personal Pension Plan is right for you, please speak to a financial adviser. Its aims What this plan is designed to do Make it easy for you to get started and begin saving for your retirement by: giving you access to pension funds available through Zurich giving you tax relief on personal payments. Help provide for your family when you die. Your commitment What we ask you to do Make regular payments, or at least one single payment. You or your employer can make them. You can also make transfer payments into this plan. Keep your money invested until you take your benefits. This means payments will be locked away until then. Risk factors What you need to be aware of The value of your plan can go down what you get back is not guaranteed. The levels of risk and potential investment performance differ depending on the pension funds you choose. Your plan may not buy the pension you expect. For example, investment growth or annuity rates (or both) could be lower than expected at the time you take your benefits. Over time, inflation will reduce the buying power of money. For example, if inflation is 2.5%, then in 20 years time 10,000 will buy only the same as 6,100 buys today. Please read Zurich Pensions fund guide for details of fund risks. Take financial advice if: your circumstances change, for example if you are nearing retirement you are considering making a transfer payment into or out of this plan. You need to take financial advice to make sure you understand the consequences of your decisions. 3 of 12

4 Other documents you should consider reading This document gives you key information about the plan. If you want more detail on specific points, please read the following documents. We have highlighted when they are relevant throughout this document. You can find these documents on our website or you can contact the Zurich Retirement Solutions Support Centre (support centre) for copies. Please see How to contact us for our contact details. Your guide to retirement saving Gives you information about how your plan works and the investment choices. Introduction to investing A guide to help you select the appropriate pensions funds for you. Zurich Pensions fund guide A brief description of the funds available, their objectives and the types of risks involved. Fund factsheets There is a fund factsheet for every fund available to you. It tells you what the fund is designed to do. Group Personal Pension Plan Terms and conditions Gives you the full terms and conditions that apply to this plan. A few notes to help you Your pension transfer checklist This sets out what you may need to think about before transferring from an existing pension scheme. Help along the way A guide to pension plan tax Explains the tax advantages of pension plans and how any benefits may be taxed. 4 of 12

5 Questions and answers About the plan Is the Group Personal Pension Plan right for me? Depending on your personal circumstances, it may be right for you if: you re employed you can afford any payments you make, now and in the future you re under age 74. You should note that if you had built up large pension benefits before April 2006 and have applied to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for a protected lifetime allowance, you may lose protection if you, or your employer, make further payments to the plan. More information on eligibility is in Your guide to retirement saving. How flexible is it? You or your employer can: regularly pay a fixed amount or an amount based on a percentage of your salary, and these amounts can be changed at any time make single payments at any time reduce payments, stop making payments or take a payment break and then restart them later. Doing this will reduce the amount of pension you get. When your circumstances change you should speak to a financial adviser to help you decide if the plan is still right for you. Your employer may offer a facility enabling you or your employer (or both) to make payments that change automatically on prearranged dates. These are called tiered payments. Full details are in the What are the payments section of the Your guide to retirement saving. How much can be paid into my plan? When you are enrolled into the plan, your employer s and your payments must be at least equal to the government s new standards. You can pay more if you want to. You can only make payments to the plan if they will receive tax relief from HMRC. There may also be tax implications, depending on the amount you pay. Please see What about tax? on page 6. The current minimum single payment is 20. Single payments must be made by cheque. Your employer will deduct any regular payments from your salary and send them, with any payments they make, to us. 5 of 12

6 What are the charges? We take charges for managing your plan and investments. Details of the current charges are shown in the Your guide to retirement saving document we supply with this key features document. Please read Your guide to retirement saving. We will send you an illustration showing what charges we currently take, and how they may affect the value of your investment over time. If you leave your employer and keep this plan, the charges may be higher than those shown in your illustration. Can I transfer the value of other pension plans into this plan? Yes, usually. You should speak to a financial adviser to find out the risks and potential benefits of transferring. Some pension schemes entitle you to a specific level of benefits based on your salary and length of service, but this plan does not. You won t know what you get from this plan until you take your benefits. Please read the A few notes to help you Your pension transfer checklist. If you are a member of that type of pension scheme, your financial adviser should give you a transfer-value analysis report. This shows the benefits you may be giving up. It will also give you an estimate of what is required for the new plan to have a reasonable chance of giving you the same or better benefits than your existing scheme. What about tax? You make payments before any basic-rate tax relief is added. We claim the basic-rate tax relief for you from HMRC and invest it in your plan. Tax relief means money that would otherwise go to the government is paid into your pension plan instead. You can receive tax relief on your personal payments, up to 3,600 (including tax relief) each year or 100% of your relevant UK earnings, whichever is higher. If you re a higher-rate or an additional higher-rate taxpayer, you can claim your tax relief above the basic rate through your tax return. This tax relief is not invested in your plan. Please read the Help along the way A guide to pension plan tax. You won t receive tax relief on employer or transfer payments. You may have to pay income tax on your benefits when they are paid to you. The amount of tax you pay will depend on your circumstances. There are other HMRC limits on payments and benefits which may affect you. Please read the Guide to Pension plan tax for more information. We ve based this information on our understanding of current UK law and HMRC practice. Future changes in law and tax practice or in your own circumstances could affect taxation. 6 of 12

7 Managing your plan How will I know how my plan is doing? We ll send you a statement each year showing the current value of your plan and projected future values. You can get an up-to-date valuation at any time by visiting our website at You ll need to use your personal ID and password, which we ll give you when you start the plan and select the Investment values and Switches tab. Or call our customer helpline you ll find the telephone number in How to contact us on page 12. Full details are in the Your guide to retirement saving. How and where are the payments invested? When joining the plan your payments will be automatically invested in the default investment option chosen by your employer. We offer a range of pension funds to invest in. Your employer decides which of these funds are available for you to choose from. We use your payments to buy units in your chosen pension funds. Each pension fund is divided into units of equal value. We use the value of the units to work out how much your plan is worth at any time. The value of the units will fall and rise depending on how the pension fund investments perform. So will your plan value. Each pension fund invests in one or more asset types. Asset types include money-market instruments, equities, bonds, gilt and fixed-interest securities, and property. Each asset type brings different risks. You may be able to choose the Lifestyle investment option. Lifestyle links two or more pension funds available under your plan and invests payments automatically. As you approach your selected retirement age, we gradually move your investments from one fund to another to help protect you from sudden falls in value. If the Lifestyle investment option is not available, then you should speak to a financial adviser about protecting your investment as you approach retirement. We may add new funds, merge two or more funds or close funds. Can I choose my own funds to invest in? Please read The Zurich guide to selecting pension funds and fund factsheets. Please read the Zurich Pensions fund and Your guide to retirement saving. Full details are in the Investing your payments section of the terms and conditions. Yes, you can this is called fund switching. Once the plan has started, you can choose to switch from the default investment option to an investment option of your choice. We don t charge for doing this at present but we may do so in the future. If you have requested web access you can ask us to switch funds via the web. Otherwise you can write, fax, or telephone using the details in How to contact us on the back page. You may be able to redirect future payments into different funds and leave your existing investment as it is. We don t charge for doing this. Full details are in the Investing your payments section of the terms and conditions. 7 of 12

8 What if my circumstances change? You must tell us if you: are no longer entitled to tax relief on your payments stop living in the UK leave your employer. Taking your benefits When can I take my benefits? Under the terms of the plan, you can start taking benefits at any time from the minimum pension age of 55 up until age 75, even if you re still working. If you don t want to take your benefits until after your 75th birthday, you will have to transfer your plan value to another plan. Please see Can I transfer my plan value? on page 10. If you have ill health or a protected retirement age, you may be able to take your benefits earlier than the minimum pension age. Please read the Help along the way A guide to pension plan tax. What are my choices? When you start to take your benefits you can choose to: convert all your plan value into a pension, by buying another plan called an annuity. Your pension will give you an income for the rest of your life, which may be taxable take part of your plan value (usually up to a quarter) as a tax-free cash sum and the rest as pension. If you take a tax-free cash sum, your pension will be smaller transfer your plan value to a plan that allows you to delay buying a pension. This choice may not always be suitable. You should always speak to an adviser if you are considering this option. You can buy your annuity through Zurich or from another provider (this is often called the open market option ). Another provider may be able to give you better annuity terms. You may also get better annuity terms from another provider if you have ill health or there is a lifestyle reason why you are not expected to live as long, such as long-term heavy smoking. A financial adviser will be able to help you choose the right annuity and provider. In certain circumstances, you may be able to take your full plan value as a cash sum. You may be able to do this, for example, if you have severe ill health or if the value of your pension fund below a certain amount. Once all of your plan value has been used to buy benefits, the plan will end. We ll give you full details about your choices when you want to take your benefits or just before your selected retirement age. Full details are in the Choosing when to take your benefits section of the terms and conditions. 8 of 12

9 What might I get back? We will send you an illustration to give you an idea of what you might get. However, your final pension will depend on: how much has been paid in how long money is invested how well the investments perform if you take a tax-free cash sum charges the type of pension you choose annuity rates tax rules. What happens to the plan if I die? To show you what you might get back, we have to assume a rate at which the value of your pension investment could grow. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) sets the assumed growth rate at 7%. It also asks us to give you two more projections, based on rates that are 2% below and 2% above the assumed rate, to help show the uncertainty of returns. The growth rates we use in our pension illustrations depend on the funds you choose and the amount you invest in them. We assume you will continue to invest in the funds you chose at the start. The FSA ask us to use lower growth rates if we believe your chosen funds are likely to grow at less than 7% a year for example, if you invest in fixed interest funds. We make long-term assumptions about all the types of asset that make up your chosen funds. You can see these on our website at zurich.co.uk/asset, or you can contact us for these. Our contact details are on page 12. If you die before you take your benefits, we ll pay your beneficiaries, at our discretion, a cash sum or pension income (or both). Beneficiaries can include any surviving spouse, registered civil partner or dependants. If you place your plan under an individual trust, we ll pay the cash sum to the trustees. The trustees will then decide how to distribute the cash sum among your beneficiaries. Your plan will then end. Full details are in the What happens if you die before you take your pension benefits section of the terms and conditions. 9 of 12

10 What if the plan isn t right for you? Can I opt out? Yes. when we send your plan documents, we ll also send you details of how to opt out of the plan. You have one calendar month from receiving the plan documents to do this. The letter accompanying your plan documents will include confirmation of your opt out end date. If you decide to opt out, we will return your payments, and your employer s, to your employer. Your employer will return your payments to you. Can I cancel single or transfer payments? Can I transfer my plan value? Yes. When we send your plan documents, we ll also send you details of how to cancel any single payments. You can cancel single payments within 30 days of receiving your plan documents. However, if you have made a single payment and the fund value has fallen, you may not get back the full amount you paid in. You cannot cancel single payments made after your plan has started. You can cancel transfers within 30 days of receiving your plan documents. If your previous scheme will take the transfer back, we will return it, less any fall in the fund value. If your previous scheme will not take it back, you will be responsible for finding an alternative pension scheme. You can also cancel single payments and/or transfer payments before you receive your plan documents by calling us, using the telephone number in How to contact us on page 12. If you do not cancel your plan, your money will be locked up until you take your benefits. This can be locked up in this plan, or another pension plan if you decide to move it. Yes, you can transfer your plan value at any time before you start taking benefits. There isn t a charge for transferring. When all your plan value has been transferred, your plan with us will then end. You should speak to a financial adviser before making a transfer. 10 of 12

11 Other information We classify you as a retail client under the Financial Services Authority rules. This means you ll receive the highest level of protection for complaints and compensation and receive information in a straightforward way. How to complain If you need to complain, please contact us as shown in the How to contact us section on page 12. You can ask us for details of our complaints handling process. If you re not satisfied with our response and your complaint relates to how your plan was sold, you can complain to: Financial Ombudsman Service South Quay Plaza 183 Marsh Wall London E14 9SR Telephone: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk If you re not satisfied with our response and your complaint relates to the administration of your plan you can complain to: The Pensions Advisory Service 11 Belgrave Road London SW1V 1RB Telephone: enquiries@pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk The Pensions Advisory Service will review your complaint and may refer it to the Pensions Ombudsman, who is at the same address. These services are free and using them won t affect your legal rights. Compensation If we re unable to meet our financial obligations in full you may be entitled to help from Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The compensation you ll receive will be based on their rules. If you need more information, you can contact the FSCS helpline on , write to the address below or visit the website Financial Services Compensation Scheme 7th Floor, Lloyds Chambers 1 Portsoken Street London E1 8BN If you have a financial adviser they will recommend products that are suitable for your needs. You have a legal right to compensation if an authority decides that a recommendation was unsuitable when it was made. Terms and conditions This key features document gives a summary of the Group Personal Pension Plan. It doesn t include all the definitions, exclusions, terms and conditions. You should have been given a copy of the terms and conditions along with this document. It is also on your company intranet and our website. We ll let you know if there are any changes to the terms and conditions. Law The plan is governed by the law of England. Our regulator We are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). We are entered on its register under number You can find this on the website or telephone the FSA on Communicating with you Our plan documents and terms and conditions are in English and all our other communications with you will be in English. 11 of 12

12 How to contact us If you want to contact us, you can write, phone, or fax: Write to: Zurich Retirement Solutions Support Centre PO Box 135 Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL52 8ZP UK Phone: Monday to Friday 8am 5.30pm (we are not open on public holidays). We may record or monitor calls to improve our service. An answerphone is in operation outside office hours. Fax: Keep in touch It s important that we keep in touch so, if you change your address or any of your contact details, please let us know. We d like everyone to find it easy to deal with us. Please let us know if you need information about our plans and services in a different format. All our literature is available in large print or braille, or on audiotape or CD. If you are a textphone user, we can answer any questions you have through a Typetalk operator. Please call us on Or, if you prefer, we can introduce you to a sign language interpreter. PW (02/13) RRD Zurich Assurance Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for its life assurance, pension and investment products. Registered in England and Wales under company number Registered Office: UK Life Centre, Station Road, Swindon SN1 1EL. Telephone: We may record or monitor calls to improve our service.