In summary: Final Salary benefits
In 2016 and 2019, we secured bulk insurance policies (annuities) with Phoenix Life Limited (Phoenix Life) covering all Final Salary (Defined Benefit or DB) benefits in the Scheme.
We expect Phoenix Life will take over Scheme administration towards the end of 2023.
Final Salary members will change from being a Scheme member to a Phoenix Life customer.
We expect the Scheme will be wound up during 2024.
This will not impact the level of benefits due to members.
Contact Point
Aon continues to be your point of contact for benefit queries until Phoenix Life takes over administration and you receive details of your individual pension policy. (See Useful contacts.)
Once this happens, Phoenix Life will be your point of contact and pay your pension at retirement.
In summary: Defined Contribution benefits
Most Defined Contribution (DC) benefits moved to Standard Life’s Master Trust during April 2021.
If you are affected, you will have received a welcome pack from Standard Life.
Contact point
Remaining DC benefits
Some DC benefits remain in the Scheme:
- those for ex-Phoenix Life Group Pension Scheme members who also have Final Salary benefits in the Scheme, and
- those relating to Additional Voluntary Contributions paid by members of the Final Salary Section.
We are planning to secure these benefits under new arrangements and will communicate separately with affected members.
We expect to put the new arrangement in place for these DC benefits at the same time as the transfer of Final Salary benefits to Phoenix Life.
At-retirement support
If you are a Final Salary member, support is available to help you consider your retirement options.
This will no longer be available following the transfer to Phoenix Life, so if you are considering taking your benefits or transferring out, consider making use of the support now.
- Request a retirement pack from Aon.
- Use the login details in your retirement pack to explore your options and potential retirement income using the Aon Retirement Options Modeller.
- If you are 55 or over, or you will be 55 later this year, you will have the opportunity to receive independent financial advice on your retirement options, paid for by Company.
New enquiries should be started by 1 May 2023.
For full details, go to our retirement options website:
www.mypglretirementoptions.com.
The site contains useful retirement information that is relevant to all members.
DC transfer to Standard Life
In April 2021, we moved most members' Defined Contribution savings to Standard Life's Master Trust.
If you were affected by this bulk transfer, you will have received a statement in the last week of April showing the transfer value of your DC savings at 14 April 2021.
Subsequently, you will have received separate confirmation of the completed transfer from Standard Life.
The Standard Life funds were invested in 2 separate tranches:
- On 14th April which was the date your funds were disinvested from the Scheme, Standard Life performed a pre-funding trade which represented 95% of the estimated fund value. This was done so that members funds would not be out of the market whilst the Scheme Trustee was waiting for confirmation of the final transfer value.
- On 16th April Standard Life invested the difference between the final value disinvested from the Scheme on 14th April and the 95% pre-funding amount.
Please be assured that the full value of your DC Section personal account was transferred successfully to Standard’s Life Master Trust.
If you have a query about your DC savings or the Master Trust, refer to your welcome pack or contact Standard Life:
If you still have DC savings in the Scheme
Some members’ DC savings remain in the Scheme. We are continuing to work with Phoenix Life Limited and our advisers to secure these remaining DC benefits and still expect to complete this work at the same time as the transfer of Final Salary benefits to Phoenix Life. If this affects you, look out for separate communications later in the year.
Final Salary benefits before and after wind-up
As Trustee of the Scheme, we are responsible for managing the Scheme and its assets. It’s our duty to look after all members’ benefits to the highest of standards.
You can be assured that every step of the process we are going through to secure your Final Salary benefits has been meticulously planned and prepared for.
As part of the process for insuring your Final Salary benefits, we have passed full information to Phoenix Life on your entitlements and the pension we secure for you with Phoenix Life will be the same as your current Final Salary benefits.
Some members have queried whether emerging retirement benefits or transfer values will be calculated in the same way when Phoenix Life take over the provision of your benefits. The answer is yes – we are not planning or aware of any plans to change the terms for calculating benefits being brought into payment or transfer values. For members currently drawing benefits, the benefit calculations are already processed in conjunction with Phoenix Life.