MyWorkplace GALLAGHER MEMBER PORTAL

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Defined Contribution

Where are you on your retirement journey?

No matter if you are starting out in your career, mid-way through your working life, approaching retirement or retired. It’s important to understand the benefits of long-term pension saving and managing your money.

Where are you on your retirement journey?

Options at retirement

When can I retire?

You can start taking your benefits from the Plan when you reach age 55 (this will increase to 57 in 2028).

What are my options at retirement?

What benefits you receive at retirement depends on how you choose to use your Pension Account. Under the Plan, you can:

  • Take the whole of your Pension Account as cash (25% tax-free cash and the remaining balance taxed at your marginal rate);
  • Take up to 25% of your Pension Account as tax-free cash and use your Pension Account to buy an Annuity; or
  • Transfer your Pension Account out of the Plan and take it as a series of Cash Lump Sums (25% of each tax free and the balance taxed at your marginal rate), or take regular withdrawals throughout your retirement (called Income Drawdown) after having first taken up to 25% as tax-free cash if you wish. This can either be with Aviva or a provider of your choice.

The value of your Pension Account can fall and rise in line with market movements. We recommend you take financial advice before making any decisions.

Options at retirement

Options at retirement graphic

Through the Plan
If you want to take your savings as cash, or buy an Annuity you can do this through the Plan.

Take your savings as a single Cash Lump Sum.

Buy an Annuity

Up to 25% tax-free cash

You can take all your retirement savings, including any Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) you might have, as a Cash Lump Sum at retirement. 25% will be as tax-free cash and you will be taxed at your marginal rate on the rest and remember, you will be taxed at your marginal rate on the rest if you choose to take a lump sum at retirement

You can buy an Annuity at retirement through the Plan’s provider, Aviva. If you decide a different Annuity might better suit your retirement plans, you can buy your preferred Annuity from another provider by using the Open Market.

You will receive more information on this when you are six months from retirement.

Transfer out of the Plan
If you want to use Income Drawdown or take your retirement cash savings as a series of lump sums you will need to transfer your retirement savings out of the Plan into a different pension policy (this can either be with Aviva or to a provider of your choice).

Take your savings as a series of Cash Lump Sums or choose Income Drawdown

Up to 25% tax-free cash

You can take all your retirement savings, including any Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) you might have, as a series of Cash Lump Sums at retirement. 25% of each lump sum will be tax free, and you will be taxed at your marginal rate on the rest. Remember, you may find that taking a Cash Lump Sum could push you into a higher tax bracket.

As well as having the option to take your retirement savings as cash, or buying an Annuity, you will have the option of using Income Drawdown. Under this you can access your savings flexibly, drawing down cash as and when you need it or at regular intervals, keeping the remaining savings invested.

Make sure that you consider any pensions you hold with other providers before making any retirement decisions. You may want to consider seeking financial advice on your options (such as consolidating them in one place).

Thinking about your investments

Thinking about your investments

As you approach retirement (in the 5-10 years before your targeted retirement date) you should start to consider how you plan to take your retirement savings (Cash Lump Sum, Annuity or Cash/Income Drawdown), as this will have a significant impact on your investment decisions in the run-up to retirement.

Annuity

Annuity

If you plan to buy an Annuity you will want to think about protecting the value of your retirement savings from sudden falls in value as you approach retirement. This will probably be more important than growing your savings.

If you choose to buy an Annuity, investments in bonds and cash are generally thought most suitable to protect, as far as it is possible, the value of the benefits your Pension Account will buy. Bond investments tend to go up when the cost of buying annuities is rising and go down when the cost of buying annuities is falling meaning that the pension you can buy remains relatively stable. Investments in cash are unlikely to fall in value and can match the tax-free cash sum that you are allowed to take when you retire from the Plan.

If you plan to buy an Annuity at retirement you may want to be invested in one of the two annuity Lifestyle options. You can find out more about these options here.

Lump Sum

A series of Cash Lump Sums or Income Drawdown

If you are looking to take your savings as multiple instalments of cash or Income Drawdown, you will need to transfer your savings out into a different pension policy either with Aviva or an alternative provider (unless you want to take the whole of your pension savings as a single Cash Lump Sum) at the point you wish to access your pension. But here are a few points that you might want to consider.

If you choose to access your savings periodically, using Income Drawdown, it may be many years before some of this income is used. If left in low-risk, low-return investments in the run up to retirement you could miss out on valuable returns, meaning if your money doesn’t grow in line with inflation then it could be worth less in the future in real terms. So, you might want to consider keeping some of your savings invested in higher-return funds for longer to counter this effect.

If you are invested in one of the Plan’s four lifestyle programmes, then switching happens automatically. If you have chosen individual funds and want to aim to protect the value of your Pension Account, you can switch growth-type funds into bond and cash funds over a period of years in the run-up to retirement. Your attitude to risk will influence when you start to switch to bond and cash funds.

You should be aware that the value of the investment options can fall as well as rise, and that past performance is not a guide to future performance.

If you plan to take your savings as Income Drawdown at retirement you may want to be invested in one of the two Drawdown Lifestyle options. You can find out more about these options here.

Remember, you can review and change your investment options by visiting MyWorkplace, the Aviva member portal. Learn about the myths around investments.

Watch out for pension scams

You may think you won’t fall victim for a scam, but fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated in their approaches, by producing professional looking brochures and websites promoting attractive but hoax offers.

In some cases, these fraudsters will target pension members offering the chance to convert pensions savings to an immediate cash sum before the minimum pension age (currently age 55 but rising to 57 from 6 April 2028). Using a transfer of your benefits to try and take them below age normal minimum pension age is usually against the law so that sort of an offer should ring alarm bells with you.

Please read the following information carefully to ensure you don’t let a scammer steal your pension.

Some of the key facts that apply to all of our pension savings include:

  • The minimum age you can access your pension savings is currently age 55 (this will be 57 from 6 April 2028);
  • All legitimate UK pension schemes must be registered with HMRC and there are checks in place for overseas pension schemes; and
  • It is the law to seek financial advice if your transfer value is £30,000 or over.

Tips on how to protect yourself from pension scams

Reject unexpected offers and advice

If you’re contacted out of the blue about a pension opportunity, chances are its high risk or a scam.

If you get a cold call about your pension, the safest thing to do is to hang up - it’s illegal and probably a scam. Report pension cold calls to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Be wary if you’re contacted about any financial product or opportunity and they mention using your pension. This is dangerous for you and your money.

Be cautious of offers of free pension reviews. Professional advice on pensions is not free. A free offer out of the blue (from a company you have not dealt with before) is probably a scam. Also be wary of phrases such as ‘pension liberation’, ‘loan’ ‘savings advance’ one-off investment and ‘cashback’. Most of these are key phrases used by scammers.

Other common phrases or actions used by scammers include:

  • Guarantees they can get better returns on pension savings;
  • Help to release cash from a pension before the age of 55, with no mention of the HMRC tax bill that can arise;
  • High pressure sales tactics – time limited offers to get the best deal; using couriers to send documents, who wait until they’re signed;
  • Unusual high-risk investments, which tend to be overseas, unregulated, with no consumer protections;
  • Complicated investment structures; and
  • Long-term pension investments – which often mean people who transfer in do not realise something is wrong for several years.

Don't be talked into something by someone you know, even a friend or family member. They could be getting scammed. Check everything yourself.

Get regulated advice and protect your money

If you are looking for financial advice, check that the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), via the Financial Services Register, to protect you and your pension savings, as this will ensure that you have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.

How FSCS protects your money:

Don’t be rushed

The last thing you need is to feel rushed or pressured into making a decision, this is how most scammers behave. Take your time to make all the checks you need, even if this means turning down an ‘amazing deal’.

Remember to do your research, and always check that the IFA, or product, are authorised by the FCA and it is protected by the FSCS. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the poor advice they gave you, the FSCS may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

Watch out for pension scams