Common questions

There are a few important things you need to have in mind when reading this site:

• When we talk about a guarantee or guarantees, we mean the promise we make that the product or feature will deliver you a certain benefit.
• Any guarantee is based on the ability of the issuing insurance company - in this case AEGON Ireland plc - to pay it. If, for example, that company no longer existed, then the guarantee(s) it provides would be affected.
• It does cost a bit extra for guarantees. It's much like paying for the things you insure on a day-to-day basis just now. The cost of guarantees will depend on where you choose to invest.
• There may be some circumstances where you would get back less than you originally invested. We explain where this might happen throughout this site.

Your financial adviser will be able to tell you to what extent your investment may be protected in certain circumstances.

AEGON Ireland plc is part of the AEGON group - one of the world's largest providers of pensions, investments and protection. We run a sophisticated, prudent programme that aims to allow us to honour the guarantees we make you. Your financial adviser will be able to give you full details of how we do this.
 

Your policy schedule you would have received when you took the plan out will clearly show which, if any, of the guarantees you selected.

No, if you’d like to invest more money we’ll set up a new plan.

Yes, but you should be aware that withdrawing money will proportionately reduce the guarantees on your plan. Your financial adviser will be able to explain the impact this has.

Any withdrawals will be paid back to the scheme. It’s the trustees' responsibility to make sure any income they then pay out is within the limits set by HM Revenue & Customs.

When the guarantees are selected, this gives access to up to six different portfolios and our UK Cash fund.

If you didn’t select any guarantees, you have access to the full fund range.

Your charges schedule you would have received when you took the plan out clearly shows the charges.

Each year we’ll issue the trustees a yearly statement. A further three statements can be requested each plan year free of charge. Contact our Client Relations team on lo-call 08456 000 173 if you’d like to request a statement.

We’ll charge £40 for each statement request over and above the four free statements each plan year.

At the end of the capital guarantee term, not at any point before or after, selected when you take the plan out, the guaranteed capital value is the higher of the:

• original investment, and
• highest recorded fund value

The highest recorded fund value is the value we lock in after we've reviewed it at the end of each year on the plan anniversary.

Please remember that any withdrawals taken from the plan will proportionately reduce the guarantees on your plan.

Your capital is only guaranteed on the agreed term date and not at any point before or after. At other times, the fund value can fall as well as rise and isn’t guaranteed. If you cash in your plan before the end of the capital guarantee term, or don’t select the guaranteed death benefit option and the last life assured dies before the end of the capital guarantee term, what we pay out isn’t guaranteed and you may get back less than the amount you originally invested.

No.

At the end of your capital guarantee term selected when you took the plan out, not at any point before or after, your guaranteed capital value is the higher of the:

• original investment, and
• highest recorded fund value

What we mean by highest recorded fund value is explained in the following question.

If you take any withdrawals from your plan, this will reduce the guaranteed capital value.

Each year, on your plan anniversary, we’ll review your fund value. If it’s more than the amount you originally invested or any previous highest recorded fund value on the plan anniversary, we’ll set this as your new guaranteed capital value.

In the first year of the plan, the highest recorded fund value is equal to your original investment.

If you've selected the guaranteed death benefit option along with the capital guarantee option, if the last person covered by the plan dies before the end of the capital guarantee, we guarantee to pay the higher of:

• the highest recorded fund value, applied on the last plan anniversary reduced proportionately for all withdrawals taken, and
• 100.1% of the cash-in value

In the first year of your plan, the highest recorded fund value is equal to your original investment.

At the end of the capital guarantee term, or if you haven’t selected the guaranteed death benefit option, the death benefit payable on death of the last person covered will be 100.1% of the cash-in value.

Your policy schedule will clearly show if you’ve selected the guaranteed death benefit option.

How much we charge depends on the capital guarantee term you selected, the fund(s) you chose and whether you have the guaranteed death benefit option or not.

Visit our charges section for full details.

At the end of the capital guarantee term, not before or after, the plan value will be the higher of the:

• Guaranteed capital value and
• Fund value at this date

Where the fund value is less than the guaranteed capital value at the end of the capital guarantee term, a number of units equal to the difference will be applied to the Cash fund. this will happen the next working day after the plan anniversary.

At this point, we'll also stop collecting the guarantee option fee.

You'll remain in the same investment choice. We'll write to you and inform you of the options available.

We guarantee you’ll receive 5% of your original investment for 20 years. Even if markets go down and our fund value is zero, as long as you don’t take any additional withdrawals from your plan, we’ll still pay you 5% of your original investment.

If you don’t want to take your full 5%, you can take less, which will mean your guaranteed income will last longer.

We pay guaranteed income payments back to your scheme. It’s your responsibility as a trustee to make sure any income you then pay out is within the limits set by HM Revenue & Customs.

Your fund value can fall as well as rise and isn’t guaranteed. If you decide to cash in the plan before the end of the guaranteed income period, or don’t select the guaranteed death benefit option along with the income guarantee option and the last person covered by the plan dies before the end of the guaranteed income period, what we pay out isn’t guaranteed and you may get back less than the amount you originally invested.

Your guaranteed benefit means that, once we’ve paid you a guaranteed income equal to 100% of your original investment, your fund value will be at least equal to the difference between your original investment and the highest recorded fund value (explained in the following question). Your guarantees will be reduced proportionately for any additional withdrawals taken.

Each year on the plan anniversary, we’ll look at the fund value on each monthly anniversary over the previous 12 months – we call these points ‘monthiversaries’. If any of these values are higher than the current highest recorded fund value, or original investment in the first year, we’ll make this the new highest recorded fund value. We’ll always use the highest recorded fund value when calculating the guaranteed benefit.

In the first year of your plan, the highest recorded fund value is equal to your original investment.

If you've selected the guaranteed death benefit option along with the income guarantee option, if the last person covered by the plan dies within the guaranteed income period, we guarantee to pay the higher of:

• the highest recorded fund value, applied on the last plan anniversary less guaranteed income payments paid to date for the remaining policies in the plan, and
• 100.1% of the cash-in value

In the first year of your plan, the highest recorded fund value is equal to your original investment.

From the end of the guaranteed income period, or if you haven’t selected the guaranteed death benefit option, the death benefit payable on death of the last person covered will be 100.1% of the cash-in value.

Your policy schedule will clearly show if you’ve selected the guaranteed death benefit option.

How much we charge depends on the the fund(s) you chose and whether you have the guaranteed death benefit option or not.

Visit our charges section for full details.

We’ll stop paying you guaranteed income. We’ll also stop deducting the guarantee option fee and your plan will remain invested.

We’ll write to you and your financial adviser at this time.

We’ll pay the scheme a lifetime income based on the age of the younger life assured when you start taking guaranteed lifetime income.

Please see the following question for the rates of income we pay.

The table below set out our guaranteed lifetime income rates for plans taken out from 23 March 2012 to date. The figures in brackets show our income rates for plans taken out from 13 June 2011 to 22 March 2012.

How much we pay depends on whether your plan was set up to cover one or two lives and when you start taking guaranteed lifetime income payments. If your plan covers two lives, we pay the guaranteed lifetime income based on the age of the younger life assured.

This is the value we use to calculate the amount of guaranteed lifetime income. On day one, the income base is equal to your original investment.

Your income base can increase with our guaranteed pre-income increase feature or yearly income escalator. The following two questions explain how these work.

Every year on the plan's anniversary, we'll look at the fund on that date and on each monthly anniversary over the last 12 months - we call these points 'monthiversaries'. If any of these values are higher than the previous income base, we'll make this the new income base and increase guaranteed lifetime income.

In the first year of the plan, the highest recorded fund value is equal to your original investment.

If you’ve decided not to take guaranteed lifetime income straight away, we guarantee to increase your income base by at least 3.25% of your remaining original investment each year you’re invested but not taking guaranteed lifetime income payments.

Your remaining original investment is your original investment reduced proportionately for any additional withdrawals you may have taken.

If you've selected the guaranteed death benefit option along with the lifetime income guarantee option, we guarantee to pay on death of the last person covered the higher of:

• the highest recorded fund value, applied on the last plan anniversary less guaranteed lifetime income paid to date for the remaining policies in the plan, and
• 100.1% of the cash-in value

If the total guaranteed lifetime income you’ve received is more than your highest recorded fund value and the cash-in value is zero, there won’t be a death benefit.

If you haven’t selected the guaranteed death benefit option, the death benefit payable on death of the last person covered is 100.1% of the cash-in value.

How much we charge depends on the fund(s) you chose and whether you have the guaranteed death benefit option or not.

Visit our charges section for full details.