KEY FEATURES OF THE MORTGAGE REVIEW PLAN. Important information you need to read

Transcription

1 KEY FEATURES OF THE MORTGAGE REVIEW PLAN Important information you need to read

2 THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY IS A FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATOR. IT REQUIRES US, SCOTTISH WIDOWS, TO GIVE YOU THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO HELP YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER OUR MORTGAGE REVIEW PLAN IS RIGHT FOR YOU. YOU SHOULD READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE BUYING, AND THEN KEEP IT SAFE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. THESE KEY FEATURES SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOUR KEY FEATURES SCHEDULE. FULL DETAILS ARE CONTAINED IN THE PLAN RULES AVAILABLE FROM US ON REQUEST. ITS AIMS To provide a cash lump sum in addition to your existing Mortgage Plan(s) to repay the mortgage amount covered in full or in part, at the end of the term. YOUR COMMITMENT You agree to make monthly premiums by direct debit over the term of the plan. If you selected the Waiver of Premium option on your original Mortgage Plan you will automatically be covered for Waiver of Premium on this Plan. If you make a claim, you must continue your premiums to all your Plans for the first 26 weeks of your disability. RISKS This Plan may be used together with your existing Mortgage Plan(s) to pay off an outstanding mortgage liability in the event of death. However, they may not be sufficient to cover any early redemption charges imposed by your mortgage lender. Should the lender be unwilling to waive such charges, they may have to be met from other sources. We will regularly review the performance of this Plan in conjunction with your existing Mortgage Plan in accordance with the Plan Rules. This is to check whether the Plans in total are on target to repay the required cash lump sum at the end of the term. If they aren t, we will inform you of the options you have. Even with these reviews, the value of this Plan and your other plans at the end of the term will depend on the performance of the investment fund(s) you have selected. If the proceeds are less than the Sum Assured, you will be responsible for the shortfall. The value of your plan can go down as well as up and you could get back less than you invested. You re likely to get back less than you invested if you cash in your plan in the early years. The plan can invest in a range of investment funds that carry different types and levels of risk. For details of the specific risks that apply to each investment fund, please see our guide Fund aims and facts. You should read this guide before making any investment decisions. In certain circumstances, there maybe a delay if you cash in your plan or switch between investment funds. We assume a specific level of charges when calculating the figures shown in your key features schedule, but these may turn out to be higher. This is a non-qualifying Plan. There may be a liability to income tax on the proceeds of this Plan. Further details can be found within the Further Information section of this document, under Tax. The current tax treatment of your plan is described in this document but tax rules may change in the future. 1

3 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS AM I COVERED FOR ILLNESS OR DISABILITY? Not automatically. However: If you have selected the Living Cover option on your original Mortgage Plan, 101% of the bid (selling) value of the units attached to this Plan will be paid if you are diagnosed as having one of a number of specified disabilities or conditions (further details can be found in the Plan Rules). If you have selected the Waiver of Premium option on your original Mortgage Plan, the premiums to your Mortgage Review Plan will also be maintained by us up to age 65 if you are unable to work through illness or disability after a deferred period of 26 weeks. CAN I BE SURE THAT MY PLANS WILL REPAY MY LOAN? No. The Mortgage Review Plan does not guarantee to pay a fixed amount on maturity. However: Your Plans are designed to achieve the required amount to repay the outstanding loan covered, provided you follow any future review proposed. You will be liable for any shortfall which occurs, if the proceeds of your Plans are less than the amount required to repay your mortgage. We will regularly review the performance of your existing Mortgage Plan(s) and your Mortgage Review Plan(s) to check whether they are on target. We will regularly keep you informed regarding the progress of your Plans. If your Plans are not on target, we will inform you of the options that are available. WHAT HAPPENS IF I DIE? 101% of the bid (selling) value of the units attached to your Plan on the valuation day after we receive written notification of the death will be paid. (This will be in addition to the death benefit payable from your original plan(s).) On a Joint Life Plan, the benefits will be paid on the first of the lives assured to die. WHAT IF I STOP PAYING? If you stop paying premiums, the Plan will be made paid-up. A period of 30 days will be given before this action is taken. A paid-up policy fee may be charged. The value of this Plan will continue to depend on investment performance and the charges we make. These charges could reduce the value of your Plan to zero. Reviews will stop on this Plan and your original Mortgage Plan. WHAT IF I CASH-IN MY PLAN EARLY? If you cash-in (surrender) your Plan, you will receive the value of the units in your Plan at their current bid (selling) price. There may be a liability to tax on the proceeds of this Plan. Further details can be found within the Further Information section of this document, under Tax. JARGON BUSTER Units Units are like shares in a fund. The price of each unit depends on the value of the investments held by the fund and the number of units in it. Unit prices can be found on the Scottish Widows website The offer price is the price at which units are bought and the bid price is the price to look at when calculating how much your units are worth. 2

4 WHAT HAPPENS IF I MOVE HOUSE? If you move home, your Plan can still be used to repay part or all of a new mortgage. WHAT ARE THE DEDUCTIONS FOR? These cover the cost of the following benefits and services: managing the investments in your chosen funds buying and selling the investments administration of your Plan Waiver of Premium, if applicable. WHAT RULES APPLY TO MY KEY FEATURES SCHEDULE? Your key features schedule is part of your Key Features document. The following points relate to this schedule: for the purposes of illustration, the figures shown in the key features schedule have been calculated assuming the units are invested in a typical investment fund throughout the full term of the Plan the key features schedule shows what your Plan benefits may be in the future, but these are only illustrations and do not represent an actual offer the illustrations are valid for 30 days unless you have a birthday during this period the premium shown assumes that the life or lives to be assured are acceptable at smoker or non-smoker rates, as indicated a copy of the Plan Rules is available on request free of charge from Scottish Widows at the address on page 5. 3

5 FURTHER INFORMATION JOINT PLANS Where you take a Plan out with someone else, you jointly own the Plan and we will always need both signatures on any instruction. If one of you no longer has an interest in the Plan, a formal assignment will be required to change the ownership. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Please read this Key Features document carefully before signing the nomination form. Even after your nomination has been accepted you will still have an opportunity to change your mind if you wish to. CAN I CHANGE MY MIND? After your nomination is accepted, and once your Plan has started, you will receive a Notice of Your Right to Cancel. You will then have 30 days in which you can change your mind. If you do cancel, any premiums you have paid to this plan will be returned, and the policy will be cancelled. If you don t cancel, the plan will continue and we ll collect the premiums you ve agreed to make. INVESTMENT FUNDS AND THEIR RISKS Your payments will buy units in one or more of the investment funds available from Scottish Widows. Further details of the funds available and their risks can be obtained from our Customer Services Department at PO Box 28091, 15 Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh. EH16 5XZ or call us on If the value of the units increases, the value of your Mortgage Review Plan also increases. If the value of the units go down so does the value of the Plan. These funds invest in a wide range of stocks, shares, property and cash, both in the UK and overseas. The value of the investment is not guaranteed and may go up and down depending on investment performance (and currency exchange rates where a fund invests overseas) and you could get back less than you invested. CHARGES We charge for managing and investing the plan. We take our charges partly from your premium(s), and partly from the value of the plan. Your key features schedule shows how charges might affect what you might get back. We can change, at any time, most of the charges we make. We may do this if our costs turn out to be unexpectedly high, compared to our charges. Your charges could increase if: a tax rule or law change increases our costs or decreases our income from charges; our staff or overhead costs are more than we anticipate; or our income from charges is less than we anticipate. TAX Scottish Widows is liable to Corporation Tax on the investment income and realised gains of the funds. As a result, the benefits payable are usually free from any personal liability to UK Capital Gains Tax or basic rate Income Tax. This is a non-qualifying plan. If you are a higher or additional rate taxpayer or any gain from this plan makes you a higher or additional rate taxpayer, there may be a liability to income tax at the difference between the basic rate and higher rate(s) of tax on death, maturity or surrender of your Plan or on payment of the Living Cover benefit, if applicable. If there s a tax liability when the plan pays out, any entitlement you may have to the personal allowance, Age Allowance or Child and/or Working Tax Credit may be affected. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in future. 4

6 HOW TO CONTACT US OTHER INFORMATION If you ve any questions, or any changes you want to make to your plan, please contact us. You can phone us, send us a fax, or write to us. Call us on during the following times: Monday to Friday 8.00am 6.00pm Saturday 9.00am 12.30pm We may record and monitor calls to help us to improve our service. Fax number Website Office address Scottish Widows, 15 Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BU HOW TO COMPLAIN If you ever need to complain, please contact us. If you re not satisfied with our response, you can complain to: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9GE Tel complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk Website Complaining to the Ombudsman won t affect your legal rights. We ll communicate with you in English. 5

7 LAW The plan is governed by the laws of England and Wales. The information contained in this Key Features document represents Scottish Widows interpretation of the law and HM Revenue and Customs practice as at date of publication. Changes to tax rules and other laws may affect your contract terms. MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS Under these regulations, there is a requirement to prove the identity of people who wish to effect a life, pension or investment product. You may therefore be asked to supply documents as evidence of your identity and your address. COMPENSATION Your plan with Scottish Widows is fully covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. More information about compensation arrangements is available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, who can be contacted on or or via their website at HOW TO CLAIM You can notify us of a claim in writing at the address on page 5 or by contacting us on At this stage we will write to you to explain what you should send us. It is very important that you keep your policy documents in a safe place as these contain important information about what is covered under your plan. We may record or monitor calls to help us improve our service. TERMS AND CONDITIONS These Key Features give a summary of the Mortgage Review Plan. They don t include all the definitions, exclusions and terms and conditions. Full terms and conditions of each benefit are given in the Plan Rules which are available on request from Scottish Widows. Charges, terms and limits may change. 6

8 Scottish Widows Limited. Registered in England and Wales No Registered office in the United Kingdom at 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Financial Services Register number /15