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The Flexible Pension Plan
For people who like doing their own thing
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Want a little more choice,
a bit more control and a
touch more flexibility than
a standard personal pension
can give you? Something a
bit more individual?
Please remember that benefits aren’t guaranteed and
the value of investments may go down as well as up.
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A personal pension
with an individual twist
Make sure your pension suits you.
You’re not the same as your colleague. Or your neighbour.
Or even your best friend. You don’t have the same needs,
the same financial circumstances or the same aspirations.
And you may have different needs today than you’ll have in
the future.
So it’s important to choose a personal pension that
reflects that. One that allows you to be in control and to
make your own choices. With the flexibility to change
things whenever you want.
Our Flexible Pension Plan gives you all that. It has all the
security and great benefits of a conventional personal
pension but with the added flexibility of allowing you to
take more control of your investments and choose where
you want to invest.
So, how does it all work?
Wide investment choice
One of the main benefits of this plan is the investment
choice. Basically, there are two parts to this plan — the
insured element and the self-invested element.
The insured element
This part’s just like a conventional personal pension plan.
We offer an excellent range of pension funds which are
chosen and closely monitored by our Investment Committee.
Some of these are managed specifically for our pension
investors by another part of our business, AEGON Asset
Management, and others offer you access to the expertise
of some of the top investment houses in the UK at very
competitive rates.
The self-invested element
The self-invested element of your plan is for investors who
want to take an active interest in, and have more control over,
their investments. It lets you invest direct in the stock market
as well as in our highly competitive Fund Supermarket.
Our Fund Supermarket gives you access to a vast array of
funds from a wide range of fund managers. Giving you a really
easy way to flex that individuality and make your own choices.
You don’t need to use this part of the plan unless, or until,
you want to. And, of course, we won’t charge you for it
unless you choose to use it.
Investment control
The plan gives you control over which funds you invest in
and you can vary this at any time to suit the level of risk
you want to take and your investment objectives.
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Something extra
Flexible contributions to suit you
You understand the value of advice. And you know it
can give you that bit extra. The Flexible Pension Plan is
designed for the more sophisticated investor, who wants,
and values, advice from a financial adviser. We have a
‘menu’ of charging options so that, together with your
financial adviser, you can choose the most appropriate
option for you.
It’s simple, really. You choose to suit yourself.
Contributions to the insured element can be paid:
I on a regular monthly or yearly basis
I as a series of single contributions
I by one or more transfer values from registered
pension schemes
I by your employer, as well as yourself
Depending on the option you choose, you’ll get either
a fund bonus or a fund value rebate.
Contribution type
Minimum
Regular monthly
or yearly
£100 a month or £1,200 a year
(However, depending on
the charging structure you
choose, you may also have to
make single contributions.)
Any additional increases in contributions, one-off
contributions or transfers will get a separate fund bonus.
Single
However, you need to be aware that bonuses aren’t
guaranteed. The fund bonus depends on the original
contribution level agreed at the start of your plan and
assumes that all contributions are paid up to the date
the bonus is payable.
£2,500 and then £499
for each additional single
contribution
Transfers
£2,500 and then £499
for each additional transfer
Fund bonus
If you stay with us for up to 10 years, you’ll get up to
a maximum of 4% of the value of your fund as a bonus,
as well as up to a further 0.5% for each year after that.
Fund value rebate
Each month we calculate the total value of your plan.
If you’ve chosen to contract out of the State Second
Pension this total will include any contracted-out value
that you have. If the plan value is at least £20,000, we’ll
add units to your plan. If the value is between £20,000
and £250,000, this will be equal to 0.5% a year of your
fund value. If the value is £250,000 or more, the bonus
will be equal to 0.6% of your fund value a year.
Contributions into the self-invested element of your
plan can only be made by single contribution.
You can change how much and when you contribute
and make one-off contributions as long as you meet
our minimum levels. You can even stop contributions
altogether.
We like to make things easy for you. So if you want,
you can set up your plan so that your contributions
increase automatically each year. You can choose to
either increase them:
I at a fixed percentage from 5% to 15%, or
I at a rate in line with the Government’s National
Average Earnings index
Adaptability
Depending on your circumstances, you can keep the
plan as you move from job to job and you can even
continue to pay if you stop working. Or if you move
from employed to self-employed, or vice versa.
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Tax efficiency
You get tax relief on the contributions that you pay
into the plan. This means that for every £78 you pay,
£100 is paid into your plan. The balance is paid by the
Government. If you’re a higher rate taxpayer, you can
claim the additional tax relief on your yearly tax return.
This information is based on our understanding of
current taxation law and practice, which may change.
The value of tax relief depends on your financial
circumstances.
Retire when you want
You can take your benefits at any time from the age
of 50 (rising to 55 from 6 April 2010) until your 75th
birthday. You don’t need to stop working to take your
benefits — you can retire at a time that suits you but
take your benefits before that if you want.
A tax-free lump sum
You can normally take a tax-free lump sum from your
fund when you take your benefits. You can generally take
up to 25% of your fund but there may be circumstances
where the most you can take is more or less than this.
Just ask your financial adviser if you want to know more.
Protection if you die
If you die before you take your benefits, your fund will
be paid out to your spouse, civil partner, dependants or
your estate as a cash lump sum or a pension. Any lump
sum (including any additional life cover) will be tested
against your lifetime allowance*, and a tax charge of
55% will be payable on any lump sum over your lifetime
allowance. If a pension is paid rather than a lump sum
then this won’t be tested against the lifetime allowance.
*The lifetime allowance is set by the Revenue.
The standard lifetime allowance is the total value of all
your pension savings that can benefit from tax-relief
(£1,600,000 for 2007/08). If you want more information
about this, just ask your financial adviser.
Why our Flexible Pension Plan may not
suit you
Our Flexible Pension Plan is designed as a long-term
investment and won’t be for everyone. Your financial
adviser should explain fully why this plan is in your best
interests, but there are some situations where it might
not suit you:
I The Flexible Pension Plan is suitable for individuals
who understand the need for initial and ongoing
advice in return for exceptional investment choice
and potentially better performance. However, you
may not need this level of advice and choice. If not,
a stakeholder pension plan may be more appropriate.
I If your income changes regularly due to the nature of
your employment, paying regular contributions may not
be to your advantage with certain charging options.
I If there’s a short time between when you take out the
plan and when you plan to take your benefits, certain
charging options may not be right for you.
I If you’re only considering investing for a short time
before moving your money, certain charging options
may not be the best thing for you.
I If you’re making regular contributions, with certain
charging options you have to make at least one single
contribution or a transfer value.
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Who we are
You probably want to know a bit more about
who we are, and why you should trust us with
your financial future.
AEGON Scottish Equitable is part of the AEGON Group,
one of the world’s largest pensions and life insurance
companies. We’ve been around for over 175 years in the
UK and our experience spans the pensions, annuities,
protection and investment markets. So we’re big, and
financially strong, which means we’re solid and secure.
Being part of AEGON gives us a distinct edge in the
marketplace. Independent industry analysts Standard
& Poor’s awarded AEGON Scottish Equitable an AA (very
strong) rating in January 2006. This is one of the highest
ratings of financial strength a company can achieve.
But large doesn’t mean that we lack flexibility or a personal
touch. We work extremely hard to make sure we give
our customers the level of care and service they deserve.
You’re an individual — and we do our best to treat you
like one.
So you can relax — this all adds up to a company you
can trust.
Recent awards
We’ve taken huge steps this year in giving you the products
and services you really want, and we’re delighted with the
awards we’ve won.
I
Financial Adviser Life and Pensions Awards 2006:
— Pensions Provider of the Year
— Second place in Best Individual Pensions Provider
of the Year
I
Moneywise Pension Awards 2006:
— Best personal pension provider (non-stakeholder)
I
Financial Adviser Practiv Service Awards 2006:
— Four star rating — Life and Pensions Providers
I
e-Excellence ratings in 2006, in association with
Money Marketing:
— Triple e-Excellence for Individual Pensions for our:
I self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs)
I portfolio planning tools
I pension tools
I unsecured income (drawdown)
— Double e-Excellence rating for Secured Income
(Annuities)
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You’re an individual. Make sure your pension
is too with our Flexible Pension Plan.
We hope this brochure has given you a brief guide to
our Flexible Pension Plan and how it all works. But if you
want any more information please take a look at your key
features document or speak to your financial adviser.
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Scottish Equitable plc, Registered Office: Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh EH12 9SE. Registered in Scotland (No. 144517).
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Member of the AEGON Group. www.aegonse.co.uk
C 250378
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