Aon Group Personal Pension Plan

Transcription

1 Aon Group Personal Pension Plan Retirement Planning Booklet November 2009 Valid until April 2010 Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

2 Contents Introduction...1 Section 1 - Annuities and related options...3 Section 2 - How do I draw my retirement benefits?...8 Section 3 - Aon Annuity Finder...10 Section 4 - Phased Retirement...17 Section 5 - Unsecured Pension...19 Section 6 - Alternatively Secured Pension...21 Section 7 - Summary of Options...23 Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

3 Introduction What is the purpose of this Guide? The purpose of this Guide is to explain the main factors that you need to consider at retirement, in terms of taking benefits from the Aon Group Personal Pension Plan (the Plan). This document should not be relied upon in making any decisions at retirement, but has been provided by Aon Consulting Limited (Aon) at the request of Aon Limited (the Company) purely for your general guidance. When can I retire? A Normal Retirement Age of 65 has been set for all employees. However you have the ability to choose a selected retirement age (SRA) by contacting the Plan provider Scottish Widows at any time. You can take some or all of your benefits from the Plan at any time between the ages of 50 and 75. The earliest age at which you can take your benefits will increase to 55 from 6 April You do not need to leave the Company or other employment before you can take your benefits and you do not need to ask permission of the Company. Your pension will generally be smaller the earlier you retire because: fewer contributions will have been paid in, your fund will have been invested for a shorter period of time, and your pension income will potentially be paid for a longer period of time. On the other hand, the later you retire the higher your pension is likely to be because: - more contributions will have been paid in, your fund will have been invested for a longer period of time, and your pension income will potentially be paid for a shorter period of time. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 1 of 1

4 What options do I have at retirement? Under current legislation there are a number of options that are available to you at retirement: - Purchase a Pension Annuity Phased Retirement Unsecured Pension (otherwise known as Income Drawdown) Alternatively Secured Pension (only available over age 75) In most cases it is possible to take part of the benefits as a lump sum. From personal pension plans, such as the Aon Group Personal Pension Plan, this is 25% of the total value of your fund. Any lump sum taken is tax free so people taking benefits may consider doing this as pension income is taxed. This Guide concentrates on the Pension Annuity option since this is currently the most popular option. Details of the other three options are included in later sections of the Guide. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 2 of 2

5 Section 1 Pension annuities and related options What is a pension annuity? A pension annuity is provided by an insurance company at retirement and uses your pension fund to guarantee to provide a series of payments in retirement which are payable for your life. At retirement, you are free to choose your pension annuity provider; it may be Scottish Widows or an alternative provider if you use the Open Market Option as discussed below. It is worth reviewing the market as Scottish Widows, or the provider of any other pension funds you have, may not provide the best pension annuities in the market. Can I take a tax-free cash sum at retirement? Under current legislation, at retirement you have the option to use 100% of your personal pension fund to secure a pension or to take a tax-free cash sum of up to 25% of your fund, with the remaining fund being used to provide you with a pension. Is there a maximum benefit limit? There is no limit placed on the level of benefit that you can be provided with under a registered pension scheme. However, if you were to have pension benefits that exceeded a certain value (known as the Lifetime Allowance), you would trigger tax charges. For the 2009/10 tax year, the Lifetime Allowance is 1.75 million. Thus, pension benefits that exceed this limit will be subject to additional tax implications. Both Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution schemes count towards this limit. What are trivial pension benefits? Where pension benefits are small, it may not be economically justifiable for Scottish Widows or another pension arrangement to pay out a minimal regular pension for life. Equally, small pension payments may be little use; therefore the rules surrounding triviality allow such small pension benefits to be paid as a one-off lump sum, subject to a tax charge. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 3 of 3

6 To qualify for this form of lump sum benefit, you will need to satisfy the following: Firstly, the value of your pensions from all sources, inclusive of those in payment, is within 1% of the Lifetime Allowance (i.e. 17,500 for the 2009/10 tax year). That you are aged between 60 and 75. Any triviality payments must be taken within a 12 month period of your first triviality payment. On receiving a lump sum trivial payment, your rights under the Plan or another pension arrangement will cease. How are these Trivial payments taxed? You are able to receive 25% of your trivial lump sum tax-free. The balance of this payment is taxed as part of your income for that tax year. Where the lump sum is paid in respect of benefits already in payment, the whole lump sum is taxed as income. What is an Open Market Option? Under the Plan terms with Scottish Widows you have an Open Market Option facility. This means that you can purchase your pension annuity with an alternative pension provider, enabling you to receive the highest possible income from your pension fund and perhaps an annuity more appropriate to your circumstances, i.e. if you are eligible for an impaired life annuity, due to ill health. Provided the value of your pension account is 1,000 or more, the Company have arranged for you to be helped with this option by making available to you Aon s Annuity Finder Service. The cost of this service will be met by a commission paid by the pension annuity provider. The Aon Annuity Finder Service is a market-leading, fast and efficient online service providing you with the type of annuity that best suits your circumstances, at a competitive rate. The Service will provide you with accurate quotations from leading pension annuity providers. The most competitive provider s forms can be downloaded, printed and completed by you, before being returned to the Annuity Desk to process for you. A telephone Helpdesk is also provided if you have any questions, to help you decide what type of annuity best suits your circumstances and to assist you with the completion of the forms. The Helpdesk is manned by experienced pension annuity consultants so you can be confident that you are receiving accurate information. Whilst, the consultants cannot give you advice they can put you in touch with an adviser if required, there may be an additional Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 4 of 4

7 cost for this service which will be explained to you. Further details of the Aon Annuity Finder are included in Section 4. Should you wish to use Aon s Annuity Finder Service and see what pension annuity you could purchase with your pension fund, you can do this at anytime, at no cost. A commission is only generated if you decide to proceed and purchase a pension annuity. You need to log onto or click on the link on the Scottish Widows microsite which can be viewed at and enter the following details: Plan Username: Aon2009 Password: Aon2009 This will then allow you access to set yourself up personally and create your own user name and password. Can I change my mind about my pension annuity in the future? You should be aware that, once you have purchased a pension annuity, the terms you choose at outset will be set and cannot be changed at a later date. In essence, this means that by purchasing a pension annuity you have spent your pension fund to give you a guaranteed income for the rest of your life, however long you live. If you die shortly after purchasing an annuity, the income you will have received is likely to be far less than the value of the fund, so it can seem like poor value, however you can build in a guaranteed period to minimise this. Alternatively, if you live a long time in retirement, the total income received may be far more than the original value of your fund and therefore can represent good value. What factors are used to calculate the pension annuity income I will receive? The pension annuity rate, i.e. the level of regular income that the pension provider will pay to you in respect of the fund available to purchase the pension annuity, is dependent upon a number of factors including: Interest Rates: Broadly if interest rates increase, the level of income that can be secured will increase and vice versa. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 5 of 5

8 Life Expectancy: Providers regularly assess the impact of healthier life styles and medical advances in determining on average how long individuals will live. Based upon these factors, current statistics and projections, they calculate how long on average individuals will live in retirement; this period is increasing. Post Code: As the calculation of pension annuity rates becomes more sophisticated, providers factor in where you live. Medical Conditions: If you suffer from certain medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer or heart problems, your life expectancy may be reduced and as a result, you may be able to receive a higher income in retirement. Therefore any medical conditions or illness should be disclosed to your adviser / provider at retirement. If you are a regular smoker, you may be entitled to receive a higher income in retirement, as on average smokers will not live as long as non-smokers. Your Retirement Age: The younger you are at retirement, the lower the potential income will be at retirement. On the other hand, the older you are, the larger the potential income will be at retirement. This is because annuity rates are partly governed by life expectancy and how long potentially the pension will have to be paid. In considering the age at which you would like to take retirement, the number of years you have been saving and investing can make a significant difference to the size of your retirement fund. This should be borne in mind when setting your objectives in terms of your anticipated retirement age. Pension Increases: You can choose whether your pension remains at its starting level throughout retirement or increases in payment to mitigate the effects of inflation. A level pension will provide a higher income initially than an increasing pension, but its buying power will gradually be eroded by inflation. Spouse / Civil Partner / Dependants: If you have a spouse, civil partner or someone who is financially interdependent or dependant upon you, you may want to ensure that in the event of your death, they continue to receive an income for the rest of their life. The proportion of your pension income that they receive is up to you, although typically for an interdependent (i.e. spouse) this might be set at half of your pension. You may select between 0-100% based on the level at which you expect outgoings to reduce on your death and taking into account your Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 6 of 6

9 overall financial situation, and if your interdependent has their own pension or other income. By including this option, it will reduce the pension payable to you at outset. Guaranteed Period: You can select a guaranteed period, so that a pension is paid in retirement for a minimum number of years irrespective of how long you live. It is fairly common to establish a pension with a five-year guaranteed period although, it is possible to include a maximum ten-year guaranteed period. Again, this will reduce the amount of your starting pension. Investment linked: Rather than having a level or increasing annuity income that is guaranteed, it is possible to select an annuity that is linked to investment returns, so that the income you receive depends on the performance of the fund(s) selected. This option does involve a degree of risk as your income can fluctuate in retirement, and is therefore only likely to be appropriate if you have additional sources of income. Generally, the more options you include in your annuity (e.g. a pension increasing by 3% per annum with a 50% spouse s pension and a 5 year guarantee), the lower your initial pension annuity will be. Your personal situation and financial requirements will determine whether some of the above factors need to be taken into account and ultimately the level of income you will receive in retirement. You should always shop around before buying an annuity by using the Open Market Option to ensure that you receive the best possible value from your pension fund. You might also find it valuable to seek appropriate financial advice to help you with your decisions, as you will not be able to amend your pension annuity once it is purchased. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 7 of 7

10 Section 2 - How do I draw my retirement benefits? Six months before your selected retirement age, you will receive a quotation of your pension account fund value and a retirement quotation from Scottish Widows. This is also available at anytime online by logging into the Scottish Widows membersite. A link to the login page is on You will have the following options: Option 1: Option 2: Option 3: Option 4: Option 5: Option 6: Leave all your pension account invested until a later date. Take the whole of your pension account as a lump sum this is possible if your pension is trivial you will have tax deducted on the balance over 25%. Take a tax-free cash lump sum and defer taking a pension until a later date. Buy a pension annuity Aon s Annuity Finder can assist you with this. Buy a pension annuity with Scottish Widows. Only take part of your pension account to provide benefits whether this is possible will depend on the value of your pension account and may be subject to an administration fee leaving the balance invested to be taken at a later date. Once you have made a decision on how to take your Plan benefits, you should complete the relevant Option in the Scottish Widows Retirement pack. If you do not respond to Scottish Widows, they will write to you again eight weeks before the Plan s Normal Retirement Age (age 65) when they will ask you if you wish to draw your benefits. If so, they will issue you with an up-to-date pension account fund value and retirement quotation and the process explained above will start. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 8 of 8

11 Your retirement quotation will include the percentage of the Lifetime Allowance that your benefits under the Plan represent. If you have retirement benefits from other sources whether already in payment or not (other than from the State), the value of these should be added to your benefits under the Plan to ascertain if, together with the Plan benefits, they exceed the Lifetime Allowance. If your benefits from one or all sources exceed the Lifetime Allowance, you are recommended to obtain appropriate financial advice. If you wish to take the Open Market Option and set up an annuity with another provider using the Aon Annuity Finder, you should print off the annuity purchase form from your selected provider and send it to: Annuity Helpdesk Aon Consulting Limited Briarcliff House Kingsmead Farnborough Hampshire GU14 7TE Tel: Financial Advice Should you have any questions relating to the options available at retirement these should be directed to your own financial adviser. If you do not have a financial adviser, a list of Independent Financial Advisers local to you can be obtained from IFA Promotion whose contact details are noted below: Website: Please note that any such advice is taken at your own expense. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 9 of 9

12 Section 3 - Aon Annuity Finder This Guide has been designed to help you navigate your way through the Aon Annuity Finder. The Aon Annuity Finder is easy to use and will only take you a few minutes to complete your pension annuity purchase. A decision on your pension annuity purchase is not required on your first attempt, the Aon Annuity Finder allows you to login at any time to check existing quotations or obtain new ones. The Aon Annuity Finder is provided on a non-advised basis and should not be regarded as advice. If you are in any doubt about the course of action you should take, you should seek appropriate financial advice. Using the Plan s Username and Password from page 5, you will be able to access the Aon Annuity Finder and set up your own Username and Password. Please keep your own Username and Password details in a safe place to re-access the site. Before logging on you need the details of your pension account fund value which will be included in the Scottish Widows Retirement pack or you can obtain this online. Please ensure that you read all of the instructions carefully and if you need help in understanding any of the terminology used, there is a Frequently Asked Questions document that is accessed by clicking on those words at the top of each page of the Aon Annuity Finder. If you need any additional help with navigation, an explanation of any aspect of the annuity purchase process, or if you are experiencing any difficulties please call the Annuity Helpdesk on You can also the Helpdesk on: annuityfinder@aon.co.uk. Should you have pension funds outside of the Plan, you may use the Aon Annuity Finder to provide illustrative quotations. However, you may only use the Aon Annuity Finder in respect of the open market option under the Plan and a commission will be paid to Aon should you proceed to purchase a pension annuity. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 10 of 10

13 * 1. Access the Aon Annuity Finder by going to: Enter the Plan username and password in the boxes. Click on Log In to progress to the next page. 2. Please read the Welcome page carefully. If you are ready to continue, you must click the empty box at the bottom of the page and then click on Proceed which appears to the right of the screen. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 11 of 11

14 3. Please ensure that you read and understand the Terms of Business Letter and the Services and Costs Disclosure Document before proceeding. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 12 of 12

15 4. Click on I am currently an active member of the scheme and complete the information to create a new Username and Password for your own personal secure account. Click on Register to proceed. 5. If you do not know your scheme name and membership number, just enter the Company s name and leave the number blank. Once you have completed the pension details, click Add to List. Click Select and then Yes if you wish to receive a tax-free cash payment. Your Retirement pack will indicate if your pension account includes both Protected Rights and Non-Protected Rights. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 13 of 13

16 6. Please complete the health details. Should Yes be selected, a pop up box appears detailing the next steps. 7. You have two options - the multi quote option will provide a comparison of the most popular annuity benefits, enabling you to select the best match for your needs. If you know the options you want, select own quote basis and complete the annuity options section. To proceed click Get Quote. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 14 of 14

17 8. Within a short space of time, the annuity quotes are displayed. Please select the most suitable quote for your needs by clicking on click here. 9. The next screen shows the highest annuities available on your selected basis. You need to select a quote to continue. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 15 of 15

18 10. You are advised to read through your key features document, illustration and application form. Please complete the application form and send this to the Annuity Helpdesk address shown on the screen. 11. The final screen is the Quotes File. This provides a summary of the annuity quotes you have requested to date and saves them for future reference. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 16 of 16

19 Section 4 - Phased Retirement Do I have to draw all my pension benefits at once? It is possible to draw your pension benefits in stages to phase your retirement. Via this route, typically your pension fund is split into 1000 segments. You are then able to use as many of these segments as necessary, to provide the level of retirement benefits you require for the time-being, leaving the balance of the segments invested. The following year or later, you may draw pension benefits from more segments. Phased retirement may be used in conjunction with pension annuity purchase or Unsecured Pensions, otherwise known as Income Drawdown (Section 5). Phased retirement is an option under the Plan. You may also transfer your accumulated fund to another pension plan to take advantage of this option. It is important that you seek appropriate financial advice in order to select a suitable pension provider. Can I take a tax-free cash sum if I phase my retirement? Each time you draw on segments, you can take 25% of the value of those segments as a tax-free cash sum. If you do not have a particular need for a capital sum, in the first year, your income will consist of the tax-free cash sum plus the income from an annuity purchased by, or Unsecured Pension calculated using the remaining 75% of the value of the segments. You will continue to receive the annuity or Unsecured Pension in subsequent years but, by converting more of the remaining segments in the following years, you are also able to top up with further tranches of tax-free cash and further annuities / Unsecured Pension. The graph below shows how this might work over the first four years of your retirement. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 17 of 17

20 What is the minimum and maximum level of income I can take? As you can see from the example provided, phased retirement, like an Unsecured Pension, gives you the ability to vary your income year-by-year (or less frequently). Can I still buy an annuity at a later date? You can decide at any time in the future to complete your phased retirement and draw on the balance of the segments. In the meantime, as your pension fund remains invested until the segments are drawn; the capital value of your pension fund may fall as well as rise in line with your chosen investment funds. Again, you will have the option to take 25% of the remaining fund as a tax-free cash sum and use the balance fund to secure a pension annuity or provide an Unsecured Pension. The level of income will depend on annuity rates and interest rates at that time. By delaying drawing your pension you may find that annuity rates fall in the future, meaning you could eventually purchase less income with your fund than might have been possible had an annuity been purchased at outset, alternatively you will be older and should get a higher pension for your fund, as your life expectancy will be shorter. By age 75, any segments that have not been taken have to be used either to purchase an annuity or go into Alternatively Secured Pension (Section 6). Just prior to age 75 it is still possible to take 25% of the remaining segments as a tax-free cash sum. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 18 of 18

21 Section 5 - Unsecured Pension Is there an alternative to buying an annuity? As an alternative to using your pension fund to secure a pension annuity, you can opt for an Unsecured Pension by transferring your pension funds to a suitable income drawdown pension arrangement. However, by age 75 you will be required to either purchase an annuity or move into an Alternatively Secured Pension (Section 6). Via an Unsecured Pension, instead of your pension fund being used to purchase a guaranteed pension annuity, your fund remains invested and you draw a regular income directly from the pension fund. Within limits this gives you the ability to vary your income level on a year-by-year basis to meet your requirements and delay purchasing an annuity to give you flexibility to cope with changing circumstances. As with a pension annuity, the income received is taxable. It should however be noted that, as the remaining fund continues to be invested, the value of the fund can fall as well as rise, depending upon how well the selected investments perform. Can I take a tax-free cash sum at retirement? As with the pension annuity option, via an Unsecured Pension, you can take up to 25% of the fund as a tax-free cash sum when you retire. What is the minimum and maximum level of income I can take? There is no minimum level of income you could, in some years choose to draw no income at all if you wished but the maximum income that can be drawn in any year is governed by legislation. This is currently around 120% of the single life annuity that could be purchased with your fund based on your age. The maximum level has to be recalculated every five years, however most advisers would recommend you review the level of income you receive on an annual basis to take account of fluctuations in the fund value and annuity rates as well as your own financial requirements. Although this option may enable you to receive a high level of income initially, the level of income may be unsustainable e.g. because the growth of your remaining pension fund is insufficient to replace the level of income being taken. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 19 of 19

22 Can I still buy an annuity at a later date? You can decide at any time in the future to stop the Unsecured Pension and buy a pension annuity. However, you may find that annuity rates have fallen and you receive a lower income than you might have achieved by buying an annuity at outset. Conversely, should interest rates have risen, then you may receive a higher income than you might have achieved by buying an annuity when you first retired. Annuities have two essential components: life expectancy, otherwise known as mortality rates, and investment returns. Annuity rates improve with age due to mortality rates increasing. It is generally assumed therefore that it is advantageous to defer buying an annuity for as long as possible, all other things being equal. However, insurance companies set their annuity rates knowing that some annuitants will die before their average life expectancy and some will live beyond it. The unused funds of those who die earlier than expected help to pay the annuities of those who live on; by delaying buying an annuity you lose the cross-subsidy generated by those who die before you purchase an annuity. To compensate for this, your investments need to grow by an additional amount. This is known as mortality drag. It is important to note that by age 75, any funds that are still held within the drawdown pension arrangement, have to either be used to purchase an annuity or to create an Alternatively Secured Pension (Section 6). What if I die whilst drawing an Unsecured Pension? Should you die whilst receiving an Unsecured Pension; the remaining fund can be used in a number of ways depending on the circumstances. These are: The payment of a dependant s Unsecured Pension for any interdependent who is under the age of 75 when you die. The same rules govern the payment of an interdependent s Unsecured Pension as with the payment of your Unsecured Pension with the maximum level of interdependent s Unsecured Pension set at the point the entitlement arises; or The payment of a dependant Alternatively Secured Pension for any interdependent who is 75 or over when you die, see Section 6; or A pension annuity may be purchased for your interdependent thus securing the future income level; or The surviving spouse or dependant(s) may encash the fund in its entirety subject to a tax charge of 35%. If this option is selected then the future income stream will, of course, cease; or The fund may be paid out under trust for beneficiaries as determined at the trustees discretion; the tax charge of 35% will again apply. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 20 of 20

23 Section 6 - Alternatively Secured Pension What is an Alternatively Secured Pension (ASP)? If you reach age 75 and have not purchased a pension annuity and do not wish to, provided your drawdown arrangement permits, you may draw a regular income directly from the pension fund via ASP. Whilst this works similarly to an Unsecured Pension (Section 5) the detailed rules differ. How does an ASP work in practice? Just like an Unsecured Pension, the income available under ASP is drawn directly from your pension fund. The income levels that are available are based on single life annuity rates at age 75 and you would be able to draw an income between a lower and upper limit of 55% and 90% respectively. The amount of income must be reviewed on an annual basis. Can I take a tax-free cash sum at retirement? Tax-free cash may only be withdrawn from pension arrangements before your 75th birthday. Prior to moving the funds into ASP you will be able to take the maximum tax-free cash sum of up to 25%, if you have not already done so, although this will reduce the amount of pension income you can subsequently receive. Can I still buy an annuity at a later date? You can decide at any time in the future to switch from ASP and buy a pension annuity. However, you may find that annuity rates have fallen and you receive a lower income than you might have achieved by buying an annuity when you first retired. Conversely, should interest rates have risen, then you will receive a higher income than you might have achieved by buying an annuity when you first drew benefits. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 21 of 21

24 What if I die whilst drawing ASP? Should you die whilst receiving an ASP the remaining fund can be used in a number of ways depending on the circumstances. These are: The payment of a dependant ASP for any interdependent who is 75 or over when you die. Generally, the same rules will apply to the payment of an interdependant s ASP as the payment of your ASP with a maximum level of interdependent s ASP calculated at the point the entitlement arises; or The payment of a dependant s Unsecured Pension for any interdependent who is under the age of 75 when you die, see Section 5; or The purchase of an interdependent s pension annuity; or The payment of either a charity lump sum or an unauthorised member payment. A charity lump sum can only be paid if there are no remaining interdependants alive at the time of payment, to a charity nominated by you and will be tax-free. An unauthorised member payment is subject to tax of up to 70%; Inheritance Tax may also be payable. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 22 of 22

25 Section 7 - Summary of Options The table below summarises the key points of all of the four options detailed in this Guide. Option Is my pension income guaranteed? Can I vary the amount of my pension income? Can I take a tax-free cash sum at retirement? Can I still purchase an annuity at a later date? Pension Annuity Yes No Yes Not applicable Phased Retirement Income on the segments used to purchase an annuity are guaranteed once bought Yes Yes- the tax-free cash sum is included in the income you receive each year Yes Unsecured Pension No Yes, between the upper and lower limits set by legislation Yes Yes Alternatively Secured Pension No Yes, between the upper and lower limits set by legislation Yes, but must be taken prior to moving into ASP Yes If you are unsure you should seek appropriate financial advice about your options before taking your retirement benefits. This Guide was approved by Aon Consulting Limited whose registered office is Briarcliff House, Kingsmead, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7TE, a company authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Aon Consulting Limited s registration number, as detailed on the Financial Services Authority s Register, is You can check this by visiting or by contacting the Financial Services Authority Consumer Helpline on Further information regarding Aon can be found in the Plan Guide dated July Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Page 23 of 23

26 Aon Consulting Limited 11 Devonshire Square London EC2M 4YR United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Published by Aon Consulting Limited Registered office Briarcliff House, Kingsmead, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7TE Copyright Aon Consulting Limited All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or by any means, including photocopying or recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the copyright holder. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.