mypension YOUR GUIDE TO THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION (DC) SECTION OF THE SONY UNITED KINGDOM PENSION SCHEME

Transcription

1 mypension YOUR GUIDE TO THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION (DC) SECTION OF THE SONY UNITED KINGDOM PENSION SCHEME

2 WHAT S INSIDE? your choices, your benefits 4 becoming a member 5 contributions 6 mypension Salary Sacrifice 8 investing for the future 9 retirement benefits 10 death benefits 12 leaving the Scheme 13 State Pensions 14 temporary leave and working part-time 15 help and more information 16 glossary of terms 18 2 MEMBER GUIDE

3 HAVING A GOOD RETIREMENT IS ALL ABOUT PREPARATION. THE SONY UK PENSION SCHEME, CALLED mypension, GIVES YOU A GREAT START IN PLANNING AHEAD. OUR AWARD mypension has been awarded the Pensions Quality Mark Plus by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) something that has been achieved by very few company pension schemes. It means we ve had to meet certain contribution requirements with a very generous company contribution and also shows that mypension is well managed. HOW IT WORKS This guide explains how mypension works and the benefits of being a member. There is also some general information about State Pensions, while at the back you can find all the legal information about how Scheme is set up. We have tried to keep this guide as simple as possible, but where we ve had to use pensions words they are explained on pages 18 and 19. CONTACT US If you need to talk to anyone about mypension, you should contact the Sony pensions helpline by: phone on on sonyukpension@towerswatson.com writing to The Sony United Kingdom Pension Scheme, PO Box 545, Redhill RH1 1YX You can also visit the Scheme s website for more information: MEMBER GUIDE 3

4 YOUR CHOICES, YOUR BENEFITS IT S EASY TO JOIN BECAUSE SONY AUTOMATICALLY MAKES YOU A MEMBER WHEN YOU START WORKING FOR US. The way it works is straightforward. The Company opens a retirement savings account (known as a Pension Account) in your name. You then get to choose: YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS If you pay between 2% and 6% of your pay into mypension, Sony will pay in twice as much as you. So, if you pay in just 5%, you will actually see 15% being put into your pension. Tax and National Insurance savings mean the cost to you works out at less than 5%. You can pay in more than 6%, and Sony will match extra contributions on a one for one basis up to 8% - but that s the most that the Company will match. YOUR BENEFITS IF YOU LEAVE mypension in your first three months of membership You will get a refund of your contributions....after three months You can keep your savings invested in mypension Or You can transfer your pensions savings to another pension scheme (e.g. your new employer s pension). You don t have to pay any money back to Sony. YOUR INVESTMENTS Your contributions are invested, with the aim of making your pension savings grow. You can choose how to invest your contributions, but we also have options for those people who don t want to get involved. IF YOU RETIRE (FROM AGE 55*) You have full flexibility on how you take your pension savings at retirement. You can take the money out in one payment, or leave it invested and take money out as and when you need it, or you can use it to buy an annuity (a pension for life). Not all of these flexible options are available directly through the Plan, so you might need to transfer your savings out of the Plan when you want to access them. IF YOU DIE and you re still contributing to mypension Your loved ones will get a lump sum payment of four times your Pensionable Salary, plus a refund of your contributions and investment growth, plus a pension for your partner and children. and you no longer work for Sony but you haven t retired Your loved ones will get a lump sum payment equal to the value of your pension savings in mypension. and you ve retired It depends on the choices you make at retirement. Your pension savings can, in some cases, be passed on to your loved ones, free of tax. 4 MEMBER GUIDE * rising to 57 from 2028

5 BECOMING A MEMBER SONY CONTRACTUALLY ENROLS ALL OF ITS EMPLOYEES INTO mypension SO THAT THEY START RECEIVING VALUABLE BENEFITS FROM mypension AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. JOINING mypension You will be automatically enrolled into mypension, so you don t have to do anything. On joining, you ll pay the lowest contribution rate and your Pension Account will be invested in the medium-risk LifeChoice investment option. Once you are a member, you can choose to pay more or invest differently if you like. OPTING OUT You can opt out of mypension, but you ll be missing out on Sony s contributions and valuable benefits for your retirement, along with those for your family and dependants (except for employees in England who remain entitled to the lump sum life assurance benefit). Before you opt out, you should think very carefully about the valuable benefits you are giving up. To opt out: complete and sign a mypension opt-out form, available on the pension website or contact the Sony pensions helpline on to request a paper copy. You will be sent confirmation of your decision to opt out. If we receive your instruction to opt out within three months of joining mypension, we will remove you from mypension and refund any contributions you ve paid, less tax and National Insurance contributions as appropriate. If you opt out at a later date, your contributions will remain invested in the Scheme until you retire or until you transfer them out to another approved pension plan. RE-JOINING AND RE-ENROLMENT If you opt out of the Scheme but you later decide that you want to join, you can. To opt in, raise a case through yourhr who will deal with your query. Please note that you may be re-enrolled into the Scheme anyway, because the Government says we must do so every three years (and possibly sooner, if your personal circumstances change). We ll contact you when this happens, and you can opt out again if it s still not right for you. TRANSFERRING IN You may have benefits in a previous pension arrangement (either another company scheme or a personal pension). If so, you may be able to transfer these benefits into mypension, as long as the Company agrees. The value of what you transfer would be invested along with the other savings in your Pension Account. If you are interested in this option, you should contact the Sony pensions helpline. PERSONAL DETAILS You should keep your personal details up-to-date so that the administrators have a record of any changes in your personal circumstances. If your marital status changes (you marry, separate, get divorced, are widowed and so on), you move, or have a child, you should tell the Sony pensions helpline by: phone on on sonyukpension@towerswatson.com MEMBER GUIDE 5

6 CONTRIBUTIONS WHATEVER YOUR AGE OR CIRCUMSTANCES, SAVING INTO A PENSION SCHEME OVER THE LONG TERM IS RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS OF BUILDING A NEST EGG FOR RETIREMENT. IT IS TAX-EFFICIENT, WHICH MEANS THE COST TO YOU IS REDUCED, AND YOUR PENSION SAVINGS GET A BOOST BECAUSE THE COMPANY PAYS IN, TOO. In our type of pension plan, the more you pay in the more chance you have of building up a decent amount of money by the time you stop working. Even paying in just a small bit more each month can make a difference and the sooner you start the better. That s because pensions get more expensive as you get older. Say you wanted to save enough to have a pot of 50,000 when you retire. If you only start saving when you re 40, you will need to put away a lot more each month to get to that amount than if you were 20. WHAT IT COSTS When you first join mypension you contribute 2% of your Pensionable Salary each month into your Pension Account, but you can choose to pay more see below. When you pay into mypension, Sony will pay in extra as well, up to certain limits. The table below shows the matched contribution rates as a percentage of your Pensionable Salary. YOU PAY SONY PAYS TOTAL CONTRIBUTION 2% 4% 6% 3% 6% 9% 4% 8% 12% 5% 10% 15% 6% 12% 18% 7% 13% 20% 8% 14% 22% 8% + 14% 22%+ Note: The minimum contribution rate of 2% will increase to 3% for members and 6% for Sony by October 2018 we will let members know before this change happens. Pensionable Salary is your basic rate of annual salary, as well as any extra payments for working certain shifts. 6 MEMBER GUIDE

7 TAX-EFFICIENT SAVINGS All pension contributions (up to a very high limit called the Annual Allowance) benefit from tax relief. If you are a basic rate taxpayer, this means that every 1 you pay into your Pension Account only costs you 80p. In addition, if you use mypension Salary Sacrifice to pay contributions, you get an extra National Insurance saving. This example shows how pensions tax relief and salary sacrifice work: Paul earns 2,500 a month ( 30,000 a year) and his contribution rate is 2%, or 50 a month. In addition, Sony pays double Paul s contribution (so, an extra 100). This means that a total of 150 a month is invested in Paul s Pension Account. However, after allowing for tax relief at 20%, every 1 Paul pays will only actually cost him 80p. In addition, because he pays his contributions through mypension Salary Sacrifice, he pays less National Insurance too. This means the actual cost to Paul is only 34 a month for a total payment of 150 a month into his Pension Account. Good value for money! Sony s contribution AVCs are payable through mypension Salary Sacrifice. Also, AVCs are not matched by the Company so it makes sense to pay the maximum matched contribution rate before considering AVCs. KNOW YOUR LIMITS: Annual Allowance You may contribute up to 100% of your total earnings towards your pension and receive tax relief, subject to the Annual Allowance. The Annual Allowance is the limit on the value of pension savings you can build up each year tax-efficiently, including any AVCs you pay. For the 2015/2016 tax year, the Annual Allowance is 40,000. The Annual Allowance applies to your total pension savings to all UK registered pension schemes in a tax year. This includes both your contributions and those paid by the Company on your behalf. The Annual Allowance is measured over the Scheme s Pension Input Period, which runs from 1 April to 31 March each year. You can carry forward any unused Annual Allowance from one year for up to three years. If you want to make contributions in excess of your Annual Allowance, or if you want to make AVCs to a separate arrangement, you can, and still be a member of mypension. If your contributions exceed the Annual Allowance you will pay tax at your highest marginal rate on any contributions above the Annual Allowance. Paul s contribution National insurance savings and tax relief Actual cost to Paul ( 34) Please note: If you plan to take out some of your Pension Account from age 55, without actually retiring, the Annual Allowance can in some cases drop to 10,000 a year. MANAGE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS PAYING IN MORE AVCs are extra contributions paid to your Pension Account above 8% of your Pensionable Salary. You may pay AVCs as a percentage of your Pensionable Salary regularly each month, and/or as a lump sum. AVCs are a flexible way of increasing your retirement benefits and benefit from tax relief as well. You may choose to invest your AVCs in different funds from your matched contributions. Please see the Scheme s investment guide for more information. You can change your contribution rate at any time. Simply log onto our secure electronic administration system, epa, and choose the rate you wish to pay. You can also use epa to pay Additional Voluntary Contributions. Use epa to start, increase, reduce or stop paying AVCs at any time. epa also allows you to choose the funds in which your contributions and AVCs are invested (see page 9). epa MEMBER GUIDE 7

8 mypension SALARY SACRIFICE mypension SALARY SACRIFICE SAVES BOTH YOU AND THE COMPANY NATIONAL INSURANCE (NI) CONTRIBUTIONS. ALMOST ALL ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SCHEME BENEFIT FROM THIS ARRANGEMENT. HOW IT WORKS mypension Salary Sacrifice works like this: Instead of making contributions to mypension by a deduction from your pay, the Company pays an amount equal to your chosen level of contributions directly into the Scheme, in addition to its normal contributions. In return, the Company reduces your basic salary by an amount equal to the contributions made on your behalf. You and the Company pay less NI. The Company keeps a record of your basic salary before mypension Salary Sacrifice, known as your pre-sacrifice salary. This will be used for any salary-related calculations, such as pay reviews, overtime and bonuses, so they are not affected by mypension Salary Sacrifice. Your pre-sacrifice salary will also be used in any personal official letters issued by the Company on your behalf, such as mortgage letters, loan applications or job references. It is important to remember that by participating in mypension Salary Sacrifice, you are agreeing to a change in your terms and conditions of employment. This is because you are agreeing to a reduced salary in return for the Company agreeing to pay additional contributions directly into the Scheme on your behalf. No other aspect of your terms and conditions of employment is affected. OPTING OUT OF mypension SALARY SACRIFICE If you wish, you can choose not to pay your contributions through mypension Salary Sacrifice. You need to complete a Salary Sacrifice opt-out form, available on the pension website: You will remain a member of mypension but will pay pension contributions direct from your (unreduced) pay. 8 MEMBER GUIDE

9 INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT ARE PAID INTO YOUR PENSION ACCOUNT ARE INVESTED. THE SIZE OF YOUR PENSION ACCOUNT AT RETIREMENT IS AFFECTED BY HOW QUICKLY YOUR INVESTMENTS GROW, SO YOUR INVESTMENT CHOICE IS IMPORTANT. Your investment guide gives you some tips on what to think about when deciding where to invest your contributions. There is more information about the different investment funds and also what happens if you don t make a choice in the guide. If you need another copy, please visit the pension website: Each year you will receive a statement, telling you how much has been paid into your Pension Account and where that money is invested. You can also see your current investment choices online through epa: This means that you can monitor your retirement savings just as you would keep track of any other savings account. You can make as many changes to your investment options as you like, free of charge, through epa. INVESTMENT RISK The value of your Pension Account may go down as well as up the level of risk and the potential rewards depend on the investments you choose. You should be aware that how funds have performed in the past is not a guide to future performance. No guarantees can be made about investment growth. INVESTMENT CHARGES The Company pays all the administration costs of maintaining your Pension Account while you are still an active member. You will have to pay investment fund management charges for your Pension Account and these charges (which can be viewed in the Fund Fact Sheets on the website) will be taken off its value. MEMBER GUIDE 9

10 RETIREMENT BENEFITS WHEN YOU RETIRE, YOU CAN USE THE FULL VALUE OF YOUR PENSION ACCOUNT IN WHATEVER WAY BEST SUITS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. YOUR RETIREMENT OPTIONS A single lump sum payment: You could take all your Pension Account in a single lump sum. The first 25% of this lump sum would be tax free and the rest taxed as income at your highest marginal tax rate in that year. If you have a large amount in your Pension Account then you may wish to consider the tax implications of this approach. A series of lump sum payments: After taking your tax-free cash you could take your remaining pension savings in a series of yearly cash payments to make the most of any tax allowances. Income drawdown: You also have the option of income drawdown, where you leave your retirement savings invested and gradually draw out the money to live on in retirement. Buy an annuity: You can choose to buy (from an insurance company) a pension, payable for life. This is called buying an annuity. Your annuity payments would be taxed as income. A mixture of the above: You may wish to take part of your Pension Account as a series of smaller yearly lump sums and then use the remainder to buy an annuity to give you a guaranteed yearly income. Some of the options shown above are available directly through the Scheme (e.g. buying an annuity and withdrawing your benefit in one lump sum), but multiple withdrawals and drawdown are not available through mypension. If you want to access these flexibilities, you will have to transfer your pension savings to another pension arrangement. However you decide to take your benefits, they will generally be subject to tax (with the exception of the tax-free 25%) under current legislation. 10 MEMBER GUIDE

11 EARLY RETIREMENT The earliest you are allowed to access your retirement benefits is 55. The Government is proposing to raise this minimum retirement age to 57, from FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT If the Company agrees, you can draw your benefits from mypension and continue to work for the Company. You will be given the opportunity to re-join mypension if you want. However, please note that this may reduce your Annual Allowance from 40,000 to 10,000 (See page 18). LATE RETIREMENT The Scheme s normal retirement age is 60, but you can continue working past 65 if you want to. You will continue to be covered for the death-in-service benefit until up to age 70. LIFETIME ALLOWANCE The Lifetime Allowance is the overall level of benefits you can build up at retirement without incurring a tax charge. The Allowance is currently 1.25 million for the 2015/2016 tax year, but from April 2016 it will be reduced to 1 million. SUMMARY You can retire from age 55 after leaving Sony s employment, but you will need the Company s consent to retire before your Normal Pension Date (age 60). You will also need to draw any defined benefits (if relevant) from the Scheme at the same time. When you retire, you can take up to 25% of the value of your Pension Account as tax-free cash. To help you to plan for retirement, you will receive a benefit statement once a year showing the value of your Pension Account and an illustration of the pension this may provide. Your State Pension may also be payable. The date any State benefits start to be paid may be different from the date the Scheme benefits start to be paid. PENSION WISE Free guidance Pension Wise is a free Government service that aims to give free impartial guidance to anyone with DC pension savings, to help them understand their options at retirement. You can visit for more information. It is your responsibility to keep track of the pension benefits you have built up (including previous or other pension arrangements, but excluding the State Pension). If the value of your benefits is higher than the Lifetime Allowance, you will have to pay a tax charge. MEMBER GUIDE 11

12 DEATH BENEFITS MEMBERSHIP OF mypension PROVIDES ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL PROTECTION FOR YOUR LOVED ONES, SHOULD YOU DIE AS A SONY EMPLOYEE, THAT INCLUDES A LUMP SUM PAYMENT AND A PENSION. FOR CURRENT EMPLOYEES You are covered for valuable lump sum life assurance benefits of four times your Pensionable Salary (calculated on 6 April immediately before your date of death). If you are an active member of mypension, your death benefit will also include an amount equal to the total value of any employee contributions you paid, or of the contributions made by the Company (in lieu of employee contributions) via mypension Salary Sacrifice (see page 8), together with any investment returns. TELL US YOUR WISHES You can tell the Trustee who you would like to receive these benefits by filling in an Expression of Wish Form (available from the pension website, or through epa). The Trustee will have the final say in who will receive these benefits, but will always take account of your wishes. Payments made in this way do not normally qualify for inheritance tax and can be paid without waiting for the legal procedures for dealing with your estate to be completed. It is important to keep your Expression of Wish Form up-to-date. If your personal circumstances change, make sure you fill in a new form. DEPENDANTS PENSIONS There are two types of pension for the dependants of active members of mypension: Partner s pension A pension will be paid to your partner (see page 19 for definition) which will be equal to 25% of your Pensionable Salary (calculated on 6 April immediately before your date of death). If your partner is more than 10 years younger than you, this pension may be subject to reduction. Children s pension A pension will be paid to your children (dependent children under the age of 18, or 25 if they are in full-time education, as set out in current Trust Deed and Rules) of a third of the partner s pension for each child, up to a maximum of three children. If there are more than three children, the Trustee will decide how the total pension will be shared out. FOR FORMER EMPLOYEES If you choose to leave your Pension Account invested and you die before age 75, your spouse or dependants could take your remaining pot as a lump sum, or as income, currently payable tax-free. If you die on or after age 75, the remaining pot would be subject to tax at 45% for 2015/2016 if taken as a lump sum or alternatively, could be taken as income and subject to income tax in the normal way. Whatever age you die, any remaining money or investments purchased with money taken out of your Pension Account could be subject to inheritance tax. Once these payments have started, these pensions will increase each year in line with increases in the Retail Prices Index, currently up to a maximum of 5% a year. 12 MEMBER GUIDE

13 LEAVING THE SCHEME BEFORE LEAVING THE SCHEME, YOU SHOULD THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT THE VALUABLE BENEFITS YOU ARE GIVING UP INCLUDING MATCHING EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS. OPTING OUT You can opt out of mypension, but you ll be missing out on Sony s contributions and the valuable benefits for your retirement, along with those for your family and dependants (except the lump sum life assurance benefit for employees in England). To opt out: complete and sign a mypension opt-out form, available on the pension website, or contact the Sony pensions helpline on to request a paper copy. You will be sent confirmation of your decision to opt out. If we receive your instruction to opt out within three months of joining mypension, we will remove you from mypension and refund any contributions you ve paid, less tax and National Insurance contributions as appropriate. LEAVING If you leave the Company, you will not be able to pay contributions into your Pension Account, and Sony s contributions will stop, too. You have two options in relation to the value of your Pension Account that has built up in the Scheme: You can leave your Pension Account invested until a later date or until you retire. The value of your Pension Account will continue to earn investment returns, but a fee for administration will be deducted every year. (Currently, Sony pays that administration fee for all active members.) You will continue to receive a statement showing the balance of your Pension Account once a year. If you die after leaving the Company, while your Pension Account is still invested in mypension, the full value of your Pension Account will be used to provide benefits for your dependants. So, it is important that you keep your Expression of Wish Form up-to-date. You may transfer the full value of your Pension Account to another approved pension arrangement. To see the value of your Pension Account, simply log on to epa. If you have any questions about taking a transfer and obtaining the value of your Pension Account, please contact the Sony pensions helpline (see page 3). Even if you leave the Company, you can still access your Pension Account through epa and change your beneficiaries. Go to: If you opt out at a later date, your contributions will remain invested in the Scheme until you retire or until you transfer them out to another approved pension plan. MEMBER GUIDE 13

14 STATE PENSIONS THE STATE PENSION WILL ONLY PROVIDE FOR YOUR MOST BASIC NEEDS IN RETIREMENT. THAT S WHY IT S SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE ANOTHER SOURCE OF MONEY WHEN YOU RETIRE. STATE PENSION AGE State Pensions are payable from your State Pension Age. From December 2018, the State Pension Age for both men and women will start to increase, to reach 66 by October After that, it will increase again to 67 (between 2026 and 2028), and then to 68 (between 2044 and 2046). STATE BENEFITS For someone reaching State Pension Age before April 2016, the State currently provides two levels of retirement benefit: the Basic State Pension; and NEW STATE PENSION For someone reaching State Pension Age from April 2016, the Government has introduced a new single-tier State Pension, which does away with the current two-tier system. You will receive a full State Pension if you have paid enough NI contributions during your working life. If you do not have a full record of NI contributions you may receive a reduced State Pension. If your NI contribution record is less than 10 years, you will not receive anything under the new system. For more information about the new State Pension, see: the State Second Pension (S2P). You will receive a full Basic State Pension if you have paid enough NI contributions during your working life. If you do not have a full record of NI contributions you may receive a reduced Basic State Pension. The amount of S2P you receive depends on your NI contributions, your earnings and whether you ve claimed certain benefits. This will automatically be paid with your Basic State Pension. 14 MEMBER GUIDE

15 TEMPORARY LEAVE & WORKING PART-TIME MATERNITY LEAVE AND ADOPTION LEAVE During your maternity/adoption leave, you will continue as a member of mypension. The Company will continue contributing to your Pension Account while you are on ordinary maternity/adoption leave and for any period of maternity/adoption absence during which you are paid. During this time, the mypension Salary Sacrifice contributions made on your behalf will continue. When you advise the Company of your intention to take maternity/adoption leave, you should contact yourhr who will discuss your options with you. The Company s contributions will be based on the amount you would have been earning if you had not been on maternity leave. No contributions will be made during any period of unpaid maternity or adoption leave. PATERNITY LEAVE During any period of paid ordinary paternity leave, pension contributions will continue. PERIODS OF UNPAID LEAVE During any other period of unpaid leave, no pension contributions will be made. NOTE FOR EMPLOYEES WORKING PART-TIME If you work part-time, all contributions paid into your Pension Account will be based upon your actual Pensionable Salary. If you move between working full-time and part-time while you are a member of the Scheme, the Company will automatically review if you remain eligible to contribute to your Pension Account through Salary Sacrifice (see page 8 for details). MEMBER GUIDE 15

16 HELP AND MORE INFORMATION You can find more information on mypension on the pension website: If the website does not give you the information you need, you can get help by contacting the Sony pensions helpline by: phone on on writing to The Sony United Kingdom Pension Scheme, PO Box 545, Redhill RH1 1YX Remember, you can manage your Pension Account online through epa: PROBLEMS WITH YOUR PENSION If you have any questions about your pension, you should first contact your local yourhr or the Sony pensions helpline. PENSION WISE Pension Wise is a free and impartial guidance service set up by the Government, which aims to help you understand what your retirement choices are and how they work. You ll be able to get help on the Pension Wise website ( over the phone from the Pensions Advisory Service, or face to face at branches of the Citizens Advice Service about: what you can do with your Pension Account; how the different options work; and what s tax-free and what s not. You should access the guidance available from Pension Wise and we recommend that you consider taking independent financial advice before making any decisions on your pension. Use the website to find an independent adviser in your area. Settling disputes The Trustee aims to run mypension in the best interests of all members. If you do have a problem that cannot be sorted out with the Sony pensions helpline, there is an internal dispute resolution procedure you should follow. Information on this can be found on the Sony Pension Scheme website under the Trustee section. First, you should send your complaint addressed to the Arbiter (a Trustee Director who will initially look into your dispute under the first stage) through yourhr. If you are not satisfied with their response, you should refer your complaint to the Trustee. Before you make any complaint, you should write to the Secretary to the Trustee to ask for a copy of the full complaints procedure, or download a copy from the pension website. THE PENSIONS ADVISORY SERVICE (TPAS) If you have a problem which cannot be sorted out by the Company or the Trustee, you can contact TPAS. This independent service was set up to give help and advice to anyone having difficulties with their pension. You can contact TPAS at any time, whether you have been through the internal dispute resolution procedure or not. You can contact TPAS by: phone on visiting their website at www pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk writing to The Pensions Advisory Service, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB 16 MEMBER GUIDE

17 PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN If TPAS cannot resolve your pension problem, the Pensions Ombudsman is available to investigate and resolve some types of disputes connected with pension schemes. If you have been through the internal dispute resolution procedure, you can contact the Ombudsman by: phone on visiting their website at on writing to The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB THE PENSIONS REGULATOR The Pensions Regulator provides support and advice to trustees, administrators and employers, and makes sure that employers meet their pension responsibilities and that schemes are run to a high standard. The Pensions Regulator does not deal with queries about individual s pension benefits, but if you have concerns about the way the Scheme is run you can report it to the Regulator, by: phone on visiting the website at on wb@tpr.gov.uk writing to The Pensions Regulator, Napier House Trafalgar Place, Brighton BN1 4DW Tax approval and allowances The Scheme is a Registered Pension Scheme under the Finance Act This means that all contributions paid to mypension currently qualify for tax relief, and returns earned on your investments in your Pension Account are exempt from (are not subject to) tax. In return for these valuable tax breaks, HM Revenue & Customs sets allowances for the benefits you can receive and the contributions that can be paid. Any benefits and contributions above these allowances will not receive the same tax treatment. Financial advice By law, the Company, the Trustee and the Sony pensions helpline are not allowed to give you any financial advice. The Money Advice Service can help you choose a financial adviser and find one local to you. You can find out more from the Money Advice Service by visiting the website at: The Trust Deed and Rules mypension is the DC Section of the Sony United Kingdom Pension Scheme, which is run using a Trust Deed and Rules. The money you and the Company pay into your Pension Account is held separately from any Company assets, and is used to buy your retirement benefits. You can see a copy of the Trust Deed and Rules on the pension website. Go to (select Trustees on the home page and go to Governing Documents ). Nothing in this guide overrides the Trust Deed and Rules. The Trustee The Trustee is responsible for running the Scheme in line with the Trust Deed and Rules, and for making sure that it looks after the interests of all the Scheme s members. The Trustee employs professional advisers including actuaries, legal advisers, investment managers, auditors and administrators. The Trustee also monitors the Scheme s investment performance. Regular communication You will receive a personal benefit statement each year showing the balance of your Pension Account and what your pension is likely to be when you reach age 60. You can also see the Trustee s annual report and accounts on the pension website, or if you ask yourhr. Amending or ending the Scheme Although the Company intends to continue the Scheme, it has the right to amend or end the Scheme at any time in the future, in line with the Trust Deed and Rules. Protect your pension If you are approached by a company or individual promising to help you free your pension, or offering a free pension review, please be very careful. Many people have been tricked out of their pension savings. You can visit to find out how to protect your pension. MEMBER GUIDE 17

18 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ANNUAL ALLOWANCE The Annual Allowance is the HM Revenue & Customs limit on the amount of tax-free contributions that can be paid into your Pension Account and benefits that may build up in any single tax year. ANNUITY An insurance product which guarantees you an income for the rest of your life. You may use your Pension Account to buy an annuity when you retire. BASIC STATE PENSION If you reach State Pension Age before April 2016, you will get a full Basic State Pension if you have paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions during your working life. CIVIL PARTNER A civil partner is someone who has entered into a formal arrangement (known as a Civil Partnership) with a same-sex partner so they have the same legal status as a married couple. Your civil partner will be treated in the same way as a husband or wife for death benefits. DEFINED CONTRIBUTION (DC) If you are a member of a DC pension scheme, your benefits are based on what is contributed to your fund. The size of your benefit at retirement depends on how much money is put into your Pension Account and how much your Pension Account grows through investment returns. When you retire, you can use the money that has built up in your Pension Account to provide you with an income. DRAWDOWN This is where you keep your Pension Account invested after retirement and gradually draw an income from it. There is a risk that you may run out of money during your retirement. This option is not available directly through the Scheme, so if you wanted to use drawdown you would have to transfer the value of your Pension Account out of the Scheme, to a provider who offered this as an option. epa A secure electronic administration system where you can manage your Pension Account. COMPANY Depending upon where you are employed, the Company refers to either Sony Europe Limited (formerly Sony United Kingdom) or Sony Global Treasury Services plc. LIFETIME ALLOWANCE The Lifetime Allowance is the limit against which the value of your pension benefits from all registered pension schemes must be tested when you retire (or die). 18 MEMBER GUIDE

19 mypension The Defined Contribution Section of the Scheme. NORMAL PENSION DATE Your 60th birthday. This is the normal date used for working out your pension benefits. SALARY SACRIFICE This is an agreement between you and the Company that means both parties pay lower NI contributions. Instead of making contributions to the Scheme by a deduction from your pay, the Company pays an amount equal to your chosen level of contributions on your behalf, reducing your basic salary by the same amount. PARTNER This is your legal spouse, civil partner or an adult partner (of either sex), whom you have nominated on your Expression of Wish form, and who, in the Trustee s opinion, is financially dependent on you, or is financially interdependent with you for their standard of living at the time of your death. You may nominate only one person as your partner. PENSIONABLE SALARY Your basic rate of annual salary, as well as any extra payments for working certain shifts. PENSIONABLE SERVICE This is your service while you are a member of the Scheme, as well as any service in previous pension arrangements from which you have transferred benefits into the Scheme. SCHEME The Sony United Kingdom Pension Scheme. STATE SECOND PENSION (S2P) S2P replaced the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) in April 2002, as an additional level of State Pension. From April 2016, S2P and the Basic State Pension will be replaced by a single-tier new State Pension. TRUSTEE The Trustee of the Scheme is made up of a Board of Trustee Directors who are appointed by either the Company, or its members to look after the Scheme. By law, Trustee Directors must act in the best interests of all the members of the Scheme. PENSION WISE A free guidance service set by up the Government, to help members of DC pension schemes understand their options at retirement. MEMBER GUIDE 19

20 mypension CONTACTS If you have any questions about mypension, you should contact the Sony pensions helpline by: phone on or on writing to The Sony United Kingdom Pension Scheme, PO Box 545, Redhill RH1 1YX Remember, you can manage your Pension Account online through epa: You can also visit the pension website for more information: Data protection The Company, the Trustee, the administrators and advisers need to hold and process information about you connected with the Scheme. This information is held on paper and in digital form, and may include sensitive information. At all times this personal information will be held and processed in line with the Data Protection Act The Act gives you the right to see your record if you ask, but you may have to pay a small fee for this.