It s flexible. Key features of the Flexible Income Annuity. Flexible Income Annuity

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1 It s flexible Key features of the Flexible Income Annuity Flexible Income Annuity This is an important document and you should read it before deciding whether to buy your pension annuity from us

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3 Purpose of this document This key features booklet gives you a summary of our Flexible Income Annuity. It will help you decide whether you want to buy your pension annuity from us. Please read the Key Features booklet with: your personal illustration which shows the amount of income you may get from us (based on the information you have provided) information including fund fact sheets for the investment funds you would like to invest in the Policy Terms and Conditions booklet. The Flexible Income Annuity is an investment-linked annuity. This means we invest your pension in the stock market and other financial investments. Your income level could be maintained or grow if the markets increase in line with the performance levels we set (we call this required fund performance ). However, if your required fund performance isn t achieved, then your income will reduce accordingly. Purpose of this document The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial services regulator. It requires us, MGM Advantage, to give you this important information to help you decide whether our Flexible Income Annuity 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. 3

4 Aims, your commitment and risks Its aims Our Flexible Income Annuity aims to: pay you a regular income for the rest of your life give you flexibility to change your income levels according to your lifestyle needs give your retirement income the potential to grow over time let you decide your investment strategy and give you the flexibility to change investment funds within our range of funds give you a minimum income guarantee, so you know that your income will never drop below a certain level give you options to provide for another person (a second annuitant) after your death (see Q18) enable you to benefit from your continuing survival, because your fund receives monthly lifetime bonuses (see Q8). Your commitment You buy the Flexible Income Annuity with some or all of the money from your pension fund. You choose an income between the minimum and maximum we set. At the outset you choose whether to include death benefits for your spouse, civil partner or dependant (see Q18). Once the annuity starts, you will be committed to receiving an income for the rest of your life. 4

5 Risks Once you have bought your annuity, you will not be able to cash it in, get any lump sum from it or use it as security for any form of borrowing. This is the same for all annuities. This is an investment-linked product, which means we invest your pension in the stock market and other financial investments. Your income level will normally stay the same if markets increase in line with the performance level we calculate we call this the required fund performance (see Q13). If your required fund performance isn t achieved, then your income will reduce accordingly. However, your income will never be below your minimum income guarantee (see Q11). Taking higher income reduces the potential for future income increases, and raises the likelihood that income will fall. Our assumptions about the life expectancy of people with flexible income annuities may change and this may affect your income (see Q13). The annuity will stop paying out when you die, unless you have chosen death benefits (see Q18). If your income doesn t increase at the same rate as inflation, its spending power will reduce. However, your income will never be below your minimum income guarantee (see Q11). Aims, your commitment and the risks 5

6 What is the Flexible Income Annuity from MGM Advantage? The Flexible Income Annuity pays you a regular income for life, allowing you: We have designed it for customers who: The Flexible Income Annuity could be right for you if you accept that: to choose the income that suits you within the income ranges we offer the opportunity for investment growth while your policy continues to be invested in the funds we offer, and a minimum income guarantee a minimum that we guarantee to pay you. want the freedom to choose the level of income they wish to receive at key stages of their retirement, and are willing to accept some investment risk in return for potentially higher-growing income. You may receive a better rate if you provide us with details of your health, lifestyle and demographic (see Q21 in the Questions and answers section). your income limits may change at each income review (see Q12), your income could go down as well as up (see Q12). How much do I need to invest? To buy our Flexible Income Annuity you need a pension fund of at least 10,000 after you have taken any tax-free cash, and after we have taken or paid any adviser charge or implementation fee (see Q23-24). 6

7 Questions and answers Q1 How does the Flexible Income Annuity work? We describe it in more detail in the policy document and in this section. In summary, it works as follows: You choose a fund or funds you would like us to invest your pension invested in from our fund range (see Q14). You choose if and how you would like to leave money in the event of your death (see Q18). You choose your starting income from within the range we set (see Q6). We calculate the investment fund performance needed to maintain your income. This will depend on the choices you make as described above as well as your personal circumstances (see Q13). At any time you are free to: change your income levels within the range that applies to your annuity at that time, or switch investment funds within the range available at that time, unless the annuity has moved to a fixed-income basis (see Q16). You will receive annual statements telling you how your fund is performing and whether we have credited any lifetime bonuses to your annuity. Every three years we will review your income and compare the current fund value to the fund value that would be needed to maintain your existing income level at your chosen required fund performance. At age 90 your policy will convert to a fixed-income annuity (see Q7). Q2 How do I qualify for the Flexible Income Annuity? To qualify, your pension fund must be worth at least 10,000 after you have taken any tax-free cash and after we have taken or paid any adviser charge or implementation fee. There is no upper limit on your pension fund. However, we will look at investments of more than 2 million individually and, if agreed, different terms may apply. 7 Questions & answers

8 You must be between 55 and 85 years old to buy a Flexible Income Annuity. Q3 How do I buy the Flexible Income Annuity? You buy the Flexible Income Annuity by either: transferring your entitlement under a registered pension scheme(s) to the MGM Immediate Vesting Personal Pension and then buying the Flexible Income Annuity so that you can take your pension benefits, or using the open market option with your entitlement under a registered pension scheme. The open market option allows you to buy your annuity from a provider of your choice - not necessarily the company where you ve saved your pension funds. 8 You may transfer entitlements from more than one pension scheme to the MGM Immediate Vesting Personal Pension. You can use the open market option only with your entitlement under one pension scheme (this is an HM Revenue and Customs rule). You can invest money from any registered pension scheme. Examples of suitable pension schemes are: personal pension plans stakeholder schemes retirement annuity contracts freestanding additional voluntary contribution plans money purchase occupational pension schemes, but only if you are using the open market option, not if the trustees are buying a scheme pension additional voluntary contribution schemes, but only if the scheme provides money purchase benefits and you are using the open market option. Q4 Can I take tax-free cash when I buy this annuity? You can normally take up to 25% taxfree cash (or pension commencement lump sum) from your pension fund before converting it to an annuity. You need to apply for your tax-free cash at the same time as you buy your annuity. If you are using your open market option and buying your annuity with a pension fund from another provider, you will receive this tax-free cash from your current pension provider.

9 If you decide to transfer your pension fund to the MGM Immediate Vesting Personal Pension before buying an annuity, we will then pay you your tax-free cash and use the rest of your pension fund to buy our Flexible Income Annuity. This will be reduced by any adviser charge or implementation fee paid to any intermediary (see Q23 and 24). You may, for example, decide to take tax-free cash in this way if you have more than one pension fund and wish to combine them before buying your annuity. If your fund is from an income drawdown pension, you cannot take a tax-free cash sum as this is only allowed when you start to take your pension benefits. Q5 Do I pay tax on my income? Yes. You pay tax on your annuity income in the same way as you pay tax on earned income, normally through the PAYE system. Q6 What level of income can I expect to receive? You can choose the level of income you would like to start with from the minimum and maximum income range we set. We calculate this range by setting a benchmark income figure. This is equivalent to 100% of a defined annuity rate. To set the defined annuity rate, we use the average of the top three market annuity rates for healthy lives or, if you qualify for an enhanced annuity, MGM Advantage s own enhanced annuity rates. We allow for: your personal circumstances and that of any dependants the death benefits you have chosen your state of health. The minimum level of income will be 50% of the benchmark figure and the maximum will be 120%. On your illustration we will show you the income range available and the required fund performance needed to maintain your selected income level in future. If you choose a higher starting income, this will leave a smaller fund invested so there will be less potential for income growth. If you choose a lower starting income, this will leave more of your money invested so there will be more potential for income growth. Questions & answers the value of investments in your policy 9

10 If you ask us for a change in income level (called an on request review see Q9), we will calculate a revised benchmark and new minimum and maximum amounts. Similarly we will calculate a revised benchmark at a mandatory three-year review. We calculate these benchmarks with reference to annuity rates in a way that is consistent with our initial benchmark calculation for you. Q7 What will happen to my income as I get older? Your future income will depend on: the amount of income you have already taken the performance of your chosen investment funds the amount of any lifetime bonuses (see Q8), and 10 our latest assumptions about life expectancy the level of our charges and those of fund managers the level of any ongoing and one-off fees you agree with your adviser. Normally, there won t be any changes to your income in the first three years unless you decide to change to a different level of income. When you reach your 90th birthday, we will automatically move your annuity to a fixed-income basis. We will do this by using terms set at that time. The annuity will include any death benefits (see Q18) you originally selected, for example, spouse or civil partner benefits, and will not be any lower than the minimum income guarantee (see Q11). Value protection (a type of death benefit which ends at age 75, explained in Q18) will not be available if you move to a fixed-income option. The fixed-income annuity will be payable for the rest of your life and will not reduce. Remember that you will also have the option of transferring the annuity to another provider up to and including your 90th birthday, if they are prepared to accept it. You should be aware that some providers may not accept these funds you will have to shop around. Q8 What are lifetime bonuses? One of the ways annuities work is by pooling policyholders life expectancy. As an annuity, the Flexible Income Annuity is an insurance contract where you stand to benefit from your continuing survival. Each month we add extra units to your policy as a lifetime bonus.

11 The level of lifetime bonus also depends on the death benefits you have chosen. This is because the cost of providing those benefits we meet by reducing the lifetime bonus rate. We review lifetime bonuses each year, and in future they could be higher or lower than we estimate in your illustration. If we believe that policyholders are living longer than we originally thought, the lifetime bonuses will be lower. If we believe our original expectation was correct or too cautious, lifetime bonuses will stay the same or go up. Lower lifetime bonuses could lead to a lower income, whereas higher lifetime bonuses may enable us to maintain or increase your income at the next three-year review (see Q12). When you convert to a fixed income (see Q7 and Q16) lifetime bonuses will no longer apply. Instead, we will take into account the lifetime bonus rates that apply at the time of conversion when we calculate the fixed income. You will not be affected by future lifetime bonus reviews. Q9 Can I change my income levels? At any time after we have made the first payment (provided you have not changed to the fixed-income option), you have the flexibility to change both your level of income and the funds your annuity invests in. However, before you do we recommend you seek financial advice. If you do request a change in income level, we will calculate new minimum and maximum amounts. Within this new range you can choose a new income level (see Q6). We will calculate a new required fund performance percentage based on the revised income level you choose (see Q13). Your income can never go below the minimum income guarantee (see Q11). Q10 Why would I choose a different income level? There are many reasons why you might choose a different income level. For example, you may decide you need more income for a few years, and are happy to accept that your income may reduce later as a result. Equally, you may decide you can afford to take less income now but would like more later, for example, if you plan to work part-time, or you have a spouse/civil partner who is still working. Questions & answers 11

12 Q11 What is the minimum income guarantee? The minimum income guarantee (MIG) ensures your income will never fall below a certain level. The proposed MIG amount is shown in your illustration. The MIG that applies to your annuity will be shown on your policy schedule. This will remain your MIG for your lifetime and your income will never reduce below this amount. If you choose a joint-life benefit and you die before your second annuitant, we will calculate their MIG in the same proportion as their chosen benefit. For example, if you choose 75% spouse benefit, their MIG will be 75% of yours. There is an exception to this if you choose both the value protection option and the joint-life option (see Q18). We will make any payment under the value protection option first, and our MIG calculation will allow for the resulting reduction in fund as well as the percentage you have chosen. Every month we will calculate a benchmark income in the same way as we would at an income review (see Q6), using your current fund value. If the investment value of your annuity has fallen so that 120% of the benchmark level is lower than the MIG, the MIG will then apply for the duration of the annuity. Your income will then no longer depend on investment performance. Q12 Will MGM Advantage ever change my income levels? We will automatically review your income on every third anniversary of your policy. We calculate your new income level using your required fund performance (RFP) percentage (see Q13) and the latest information we have about life expectancy. If our view of life expectancy remains unchanged and the actual performance of your policy is: higher than your RFP, your income will increase the same as your RFP, your income will remain the same lower than your RFP, your income will go down. 12

13 Changes to life expectancy will affect our income calculation life expectancy could decrease (which would lead to higher income), or it could increase (which would lead to lower income). You can ask us to change your income level or RFP at any time (see Q9) until we change your annuity to a fixedincome basis (see Q16). Q13 What is the required fund performance? The required fund performance (RFP) figure is a guide to the investment performance needed to pay you income in line with the income level you choose. It takes into account our charges and any fees you have asked us to pay your intermediary. Your RFP may change if you switch funds, the percentage invested in each of your chosen funds has changed, or our charges have changed since the last review. The RFP may also change if you ask us to make other fee payments to your intermediary. When you tell us what you have agreed with your intermediary we will tell you the effect on the RFP. The impact of any ongoing fee on RFP takes account of the size of the fee relative to your fund value. If you have agreed to pay a regular fixed amount (or flat fee ) rather than a percentage of the value, the impact on RFP will change over time depending on the size of your fund. Thus if your chosen investments do better than the RFP, the impact of the flat fee reduces so the RFP would also reduce. In a similar way, poor performance increases the flat fee s impact compared to the size of fund, so the RFP would increase. There are two situations when, even if the actual investment performance equals the RFP, the income level could reduce at the next review. 1. When our opinion changes on how long Flexible Income Annuity policyholders are living. If we think policyholders are living longer, this will reduce future lifetime bonuses. If the RFP remains unchanged, this will result in a reduced income. 2. When units are sold to produce income at a time when unit prices are falling. This would mean selling a higher number of units to produce regular income and pay our monthly charges. So the investment performance has to be higher to compensate. Questions & answers 13

14 The reverse of these two situations is also true. So if we believe Flexible Income Annuity policyholders are not living as long as we originally predicted or fewer units are sold because investment returns are better, the income level could increase at the next review even though the actual investment performance is the same as the RFP. Q14 How will my pension pot be invested? At the outset, you choose funds you would like your pension pot invested in from the range we offer for the Flexible Income Annuity. You can also alter your fund choices (within that same range) at any time. The fund (or funds) you choose should fit well with your attitude to risk. With the Flexible Income Annuity you can decide how much risk you wish to take by choosing from cautious, balanced or adventurous funds. Generally, higher-risk investments such as our adventurous funds provide the potential for higher returns but also increase the risk of lower returns, which might lead to lower income levels in future. If you choose the maximum income and want this level of income to be kept up in future, using the more adventurous funds is more likely to make this happen. However, you would then need to accept the greater risk of a fall in your income. If this does not fit well with your attitude to risk, you should consider choosing a lower level of income and more cautious funds. Your financial adviser can help you do this. The investment fund summary guide available on our website provides more detail. There may be times when we move an investment to another fund selected by MGM Advantage (for example if a fund closes or is regularly underperforming, compared to its objective). We will keep you informed if this happens. You can see up-to-date information on the funds on our website: 14

15 Q15 What happens if the investment funds I choose don t provide the returns I expected? With any investment there is potential for negative investment returns. In addition, cash-based funds also have limited growth potential. Each year we will send you a statement so that you can keep an eye on the performance of your selected funds. We also monitor your income and fund performance every month. We will contact you if your fund is significantly underperforming or if you are approaching the point when your MIG will be applied (see Q11). We won t change your income level unless you ask us to (except in the circumstances described in Q11) but we will always recommend you seek financial advice in this situation. As your income is linked to fund performance, lower than required investment returns could lead to reduced income after your next income review. But your income will never be lower than your minimum income guarantee (see Q11). We recommend that you speak to your intermediary at each review. Q16 What if I no longer want to accept the risk that my income could fall? If your retirement income needs to change, you are free to switch to a fixed-income basis. A fixed-income annuity will provide a guaranteed fixed income for the rest of your life. Once you have a fixed-income annuity, you cannot move back to an investment-linked annuity. Q17 Can I move my annuity to another provider? It may be possible to transfer your lifetime annuity to another lifetime annuity if legislation and HMRC rules allow and the other arrangement is willing to accept the transfer. Transfer to anything other than a lifetime annuity will not be permitted. If you decide to transfer, you ll be required to provide information about your health and we will then offer you a transfer value. Questions & answers 15

16 We will calculate the transfer value to fairly represent the future benefits you would have received from your policy. This takes into account our view of your future life expectancy. We will also take an administration charge for processing the transfer. We will tell you the transfer value before you decide to proceed. The transfer value may be lower than the fund value of your policy, particularly if your health or the health of your dependants has declined. Any reduction will also allow for any lifetime bonuses we have given, because we based these on the assumption that you would not transfer the policy. If you transfer out within five years of the start date, we will make a charge to recover our costs in setting up your policy. This charge will be 2.5% of your plan s value within one year of the start date, decreasing by 0.5% each year afterwards. If an intermediary helped set up your policy on a commission basis, the decreasing charge will be twice those rates. We will also take from your plan s value any additional commission we paid the intermediary if he or she exchanged ongoing commission for initial commission. Finally we take a 250 charge for calculating the transfer value. We may increase the level of this charge in line with the increase in the retail prices index from 1 January 2014 to the 1st day of the January before your transfer request. We will explain this at the time of transfer. You should be aware that some providers may not accept the funds from your annuity you may have to shop around. You must use any transfer to buy a lifetime annuity which must be within HM Revenue and Customs rules. Q18 Can my annuity provide an income for my dependant if I die? Yes. There are three ways of protecting your investment in the event of your death. If you want to choose one of them, you must do so when you first buy your Flexible Income Annuity. 1) The joint-life option 16

17 You can choose to take your annuity with a joint-life option. This means that on your death, up to 100% of your fund (depending on the percentage you choose) is available for the other person (your second annuitant) to: a) continue to invest in our Flexible Income Annuity, in which case your RFP (see Q13) will apply to their portion of the fund unless they choose a different income level. Lifetime bonuses will continue to apply (see Q8), or b) move to the Flexible Income Annuity fixed-income option (see Q16) You can only choose a joint-life option in favour of the named second annuitant at the time you buy the Flexible Income Annuity. The income payable to your dependant on your death may be taxable at a rate set by HMRC for such payments. If you die before age 75 any income payments made to your dependant will be tax-free. If you die from age 75 onwards any income payments made to your dependant will be taxed at their marginal rate of income tax. 2) The guarantee period option This option allows you to ensure that we pay an income for a guaranteed length of time, even if you die before the guarantee period ends. You can choose to have a guarantee period of between one and 10 years from the policy start date. If you die before the guarantee period ends, we will pay a fixed income until the end of the guarantee period. So for example, if you choose to guarantee your income for 10 years, but die three years after taking out this annuity, we will continue to pay the income for the remaining seven years. We will have discretion to decide who will receive payment of the fixed income for the rest of the guarantee period. However, although the final decision is ours, you may tell us your wishes by nominating one or more people to receive payment. The income payable to beneficiary(s) on your death may be taxable at a rate set by HMRC for such payments. If you die before age 75 the income payments will be made to beneficiary(s) tax-free until the end of the guarantee period. If you die from age 75 onwards the income payments made to beneficiary(s) will be taxed at their marginal rate of income tax. Questions & answers 17

18 The fixed-income payments to the end of the guarantee period will be 100% of the benchmark income figure as described in Q6, calculated at the latest of: the start date the last income review, and when you last requested an income change. If you have chosen the joint-life option, we pay the guarantee first. The joint-life income starts when the guarantee period ends. If your income is the fixed-income option, when you die we will pay the fixed income for the rest of the guarantee period. If a pollicy is still within a guarantee period the spouse will not have the option to transfer out or convert to a fixed income until the guarantee period has ended and will be in relation to the value of the spouse benefits only. 3) Value protection This option allows you to protect a percentage of your purchase price if you die before age 75. You can choose a percentage up to 100%. If you die before age 75, we will make a payment equal to your chosen percentage of purchase price less any annuity payments we have already made to you. The lump sum may be taxable at a rate set by HMRC for such payments. The value protection payment will be paid tax-free to your beneficiary. We will make the remaining payment as a lump sum and we will decide who receives it. However, although the final decision is ours, you may tell us your wishes by nominating one or more individuals to receive the payment. So if you have also chosen the jointlife option, the other person (your second annuitant) will receive an income based on their percentage of any fund remaining after we have paid the value protection amount (see Q7). Your remaining fund may not be enough to provide a second annuitant s pension if value protection has used up all your fund. 18

19 Value protection is not available if: you have selected a guarantee period your annuity moves to a fixedincome basis you have reached age 75. Q19 When will you pay my income? You can choose to receive your income monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. You can also choose to receive your income in advance or in arrears. If you choose in advance, we ll pay you at the start of each period. If you choose in arrears, we will pay you the following month, quarter, half year or year, depending on the date your annuity started. For payments in arrears you will need to decide if you want your payments made with or without proportion: With proportion a final payment is made to cover the number of days between the last payment we made and when you die. Without proportion no final payment is made to cover the number of days between the last payment we made and when you die. Q20 How will you pay my income? We ll pay your income straight into a UK bank or building society account in your own name. We can t pay your income into a business account or an account in somebody else s name. We can t pay you until we have received all the documents we requested when you applied for the Flexible Income Annuity. Q21 Can my policy be based around my individual circumstances? Yes, if you provide us with some information about your health, lifestyle and demographic you may be entitled to receive an enhanced annuity income. You may need to complete a health questionnaire as part of your application. Questions & answers 19

20 If you qualify for an enhanced rate, this will increase the lifetime bonuses we pay. This means that the same required fund performance can sustain a higher income. We make a small increase in charge for paying an enhanced annuity income. Q22 How will my intermediary be paid? When you buy your annuity through an intermediary, they will give you financial advice or information only. If they give you financial advice, you ll need to agree a fee for it this is called an adviser charge. If you receive only information from your intermediary, you ll need to agree to pay either: a fee called an implementation fee, or commission we pay this to your intermediary for arranging the annuity. Q23 What are adviser charges? Adviser charges are charges for financial advice you have received (this is known as being advised ). You can pay for the advice relating to the annuity through an initial charge from the fund we receive from the transferring scheme(s) before setting up your annuity. This will reduce the amount available to buy your annuity. You may also agree a regular ongoing fee. There may be other one-off fees that you ll need to agree with your adviser. These fees will be paid for by deducting units from your annuity, which will affect the level of future income you receive. Q24 What is an implementation fee? Implementation fees are charges where you ve not received financial advice, but are paying your intermediary a fee for implementing the policy (this is known as being non-advised ). If the product does not pay your intermediary a commission, we can pay your intermediary an implementation fee. This fee will be separate from our charges and agreed between you and your intermediary. If we receive instructions from you to pay an implementation fee, we will do so from the fund we receive from the transferring scheme(s) before setting up your annuity. This will reduce the amount available to buy your annuity. 20