HOW TO MANAGE YOUR PENSION ONLINE

Transcription

1 HOW TO MANAGE YOUR PENSION ONLINE ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ONLINE MEMBER SERVICES, INCLUDING THE WHAT IF? CALCULATOR, AND HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR PENSION

2 PUTTING THE PERSONAL TOUCH INTO CORPORATE PENSIONS ONLINE MEMBER SERVICES EXPLAINED PAGE 1 6 REASONS TO MAKE THE MOST OF SCOTTISH WIDOWS MEMBER SERVICES PAGE 1 WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE WHAT IF? CALCULATOR PAGE 3 VIEWING AND DOWNLOADING POLICY AND PREMIUM SUMMARY STATEMENTS PAGE 4 THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR INVESTMENT PAGE 5 ACCESSING ONLINE MEMBER SERVICES PAGE 6 IMPORTANT NOTES ONLINE MEMBER SERVICES EXPLAINED At Scottish Widows, we recognise the importance of providing relevant information to our policyholders, and are focused on putting the personal touch back into corporate pensions. By joining your employer s Scottish Widows pension scheme, you have online access to your policy, together with additional facilities designed to help you make the most of your pension plan. These include: What if? Calculator Current and historic fund values Access to unit purchase history Change address/contact details View and download Policy and Premium Summary Statements Request copies of previous annual benefit statements. Our range of online services provides you with a quick and simple way to keep track of your pension plan. Using these facilities gives you the opportunity to take control of your own finances and keep yourself informed. However, if you are at all unsure or you would like further advice, we recommend you speak to your financial adviser before making any changes to your plan. This guide tells you all you need to know about using online member services and how to get the most out of your pension plan. You can access these facilities online at 1

3 6 REASONS TO MAKE THE MOST OF SCOTTISH WIDOWS MEMBER SERVICES BENEFITS TO YOU Using Scottish Widows member services You re in control Be pro-active with your finances and try to seek the best outcome for you. It s easy We ve designed our online services with your convenience in mind. Just follow the on-screen prompts. It s free We don t currently charge you for using these services. You can recalculate your benefits as often as you like, currently without any costs. Secure services With our investment in the latest security technology, your online interaction is secure. Your unique customer ID and PIN are sent in separate letters to your home address so you can register for online services confident in the knowledge that your details are secure. You can change your PIN online to a combination of your choice. WHAT IF? CALCULATOR Flexible basis You choose whether to allow for inflation, or not, in calculating your projected retirement fund. It s your investment We don t just give you a hypothetical scenario. You link into your actual plan information securely online, giving you useful results. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE WHAT IF? CALCULATOR WHAT IS IT? Scottish Widows What if? Calculator is an interactive tool, which allows you to see your projected pension value based on current information, and calculates how this may change should you wish to make changes. It has been built with your needs in mind and pulls current information directly from your actual pension plan, giving you useful results. We take into account any secondary contributions you are making. We use information you give us, such as retirement date, payment levels or any transfer values, to work out what you might get in retirement. Our calculator allows you to compare what you might get based on your current situation, with what you could get if you make some changes. 1

4 HOW DOES IT WORK? Input changes into the What if? section to see how this outcome could change. It only takes minutes to choose your variables and receive the final calculation. Just click Reset to start again. You can change the basis for the calculations, or experiment with different payment levels, to check whether you re on track to receive sufficient income in retirement to maintain your lifestyle. See What You Might Get Back to find out what your situation could be if you continue as you are currently. Select Print Results to keep a record of the information. You can try as many different scenarios as you like. The figures provided by the What if? Calculator are only examples and aren t guaranteed they re not minimum or maximum amounts. What you will get back depends on how your investment grows including the final value of your plan and the tax treatment. The value isn t guaranteed and can go down as well as up The value of your plan could fall below the amount(s) paid in. If, after seeing these illustrations, you want to make changes to your plan, call the Corporate Member Helpdesk on Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 08:00 18:00. 2

5 VIEWING AND DOWNLOADING POLICY AND PREMIUM SUMMARY STATEMENTS Viewing and downloading statements online allows you to instantly access, view and download PDF statements which are based on the latest information available. All information contained within Policy and Premium Summary Statements is correct at close of business on the previous working day. POLICY SUMMARY STATEMENTS This provides an in-depth policy overview based on the latest fund value and fund split, allowing you to monitor pension performance and assist any fund-switching decisions you may choose to make. Further details include personal details, current premium payment, last payment date and charging structure. PREMIUM SUMMARY STATEMENTS The Premium Summary allows you to view payments for any period up to 12 months with options to select a specific calendar, renewal or tax year since the inception of the policy. Premium Summary Statements are useful when completing tax returns and provide further information on any secondary payments made. Please note: Any payments shown under the secondary payments column relate to payments made from either your own bank account or from a 3rd party bank account, not your employer. These payments do not include those paid through the company pension scheme. 3

6 THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR INVESTMENT If you re making payments to your pension plan already, you ve taken the first step towards ensuring you will have an income in retirement. But do you have a realistic idea about how much income you could have potentially? Will it be enough to maintain the lifestyle you re used to, or will it be just enough to survive on? WHEN THE STATE PENSION ISN T ENOUGH It s increasingly important for all of us to consider an alternative, private pension plan in addition to that which the state will provide. The government knows there is a gap between what people require to live on in retirement, and what will be available to them, and it is encouraging us to take control and plan ahead for our own future. We can in general expect to live longer than previous generations, and you usually need to plan for an income for 20 or 30 years or more after you stop working. TAX ADVANTAGES Saving your money into a pension plan allows it to benefit from tax relief at your highest rate. So if your basic rate of tax is 20%*, for every 80 you pay into your plan each month, the government will automatically top up your pension with an additional 20. If you re a higher or additional rate taxpayer, you may be able to claim further tax relief via your annual tax return. It s one of the most tax-efficient ways to save. The value of the tax benefits of a personal pension depend on your personal circumstances. Both your circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. *If you re a Scottish taxpayer the tax relief you ll be entitled to will be at the Scottish rate of income tax, which may be different from the rest of the UK in the future. REVIEW YOUR FINANCES It s important to review your pension plan regularly, especially when your circumstances change. A financial adviser can help you assess your situation and make recommendations, for example, regarding the funds your plan invests in, or your payment levels, or your retirement date. MAKE THE MOST OF THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU Our online member services are not a substitute for advice, but the What if? Calculator can give you an indication of the income you might get in retirement (given certain assumptions as outlined in the Important notes section on the What if? Calculator). By changing the variables used in the calculation for example, increasing or decreasing your payments you can see how much pension income you might have as a result. If you are at all unsure, you should speak to your financial adviser before making any changes. REMEMBER THE FUTURE It s important to remember that your circumstances in the future depend on what you do now. You may feel that stopping payments or leaving your pension plan to its own devices saves you time and money now, but what about the future? When you no longer have an income from work, you need a pension fund big enough to maintain your lifestyle and sustain you throughout the years. RETIREMENT PLANNING Planning for the future can help you secure the retirement you re looking for. If you d like some help with your retirement planning, visit where we have tools that can help: Change your life in an hour - which offers case studies from real customers who talk about their retirement experiences and how they prepared. Retirement Planning - a tool that can help you prepare for retirement by taking you through the A-Z of pensions, to providing calculators, to discussing options. 4

7 ACCESSING ONLINE MEMBER SERVICES ACCESS HOURS Access is normally 24 hours Monday to Saturday, with 1/2 hour outage at 10pm, and 8am to 6pm on Sundays. HOW TO REGISTER By joining your employer s Scottish Widows pensions scheme, you have online access to your pension plan and online member services. To register or log in, access the Scottish Widows website at You will then see the screen below. Follow the on-screen prompts to register. You will be asked to enter your: Policy number Date of birth address (this is not compulsory) Warning: sending personal information by is not secure. Only include your address if you agree to Scottish Widows sending you s. A customer ID and PIN number will be posted to you in two separate letters. If you have been registered automatically your customer ID and PIN will be sent to you even though you have not registered online. 5

8 Once you have your customer ID and PIN, you can access your pension plan online by navigating to the web page displayed on the previous page and entering your details. This page is accessed from the Scottish Widows corporate pensions website at You might also be able to follow a link from your employer s or financial adviser s website. GROUP MONEY PURCHASE SCHEMES If you are a member of an occupational or group money purchase pension scheme, you will only be able to view the details of that policy online if the scheme trustees have given you their permission. Trustees must contact Scottish Widows to confirm this permission. CONTACT US If you have any problems with your online services please contact our website helpline on between 08:00 18:00, Monday to Friday or 09:00 12:30, Saturday. Or to make any changes to your plan, call the Corporate Member Helpdesk on Lines are open between 08:00 18:00, Monday to Friday. We may record and monitor calls to help us improve our service. IMPORTANT NOTES Full terms and conditions are available on request from Scottish Widows. Charges, terms and limits may change. 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 /16