Features

Flexible Investment Plan

A reminder of our Flexible Investment Plan (FIP) features

Here's an at-a-glance reminder of how Flexible Investment Plan works, as well as its great features and benefits.

Flexibility - when making contributions

There are minimum amounts you need to pay into our Flexible Investment Plan but there's no maximum amount. You can pay regular contributions, single contributions or a mixture of both and can increase or decrease the amount you pay.

You can stop and restart your contributions any time you want.

How does this benefit me?

You have control over how much you invest and when. You can tailor your contributions to years where you've used up all your yearly pension allowance.

If you're an irregular earner, it's easy to adapt your contributions.

Flexibility - when taking benefits

You can take regular withdrawals once you've stopped making contributions. Regular withdrawals can be taken on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis and regular withdrawals can be made direct into your bank account if you like.

You can take single withdrawals in a way that suits you at any time, and we can pay them by cheque or telegraphic transfer.

How does this benefit me?

Unlike pension arrangements, you can take benefits from any age.

You can receive your payments how and when you want - as long as they're above the minimum withdrawal amounts and you leave a minimum of £10,000 invested.

You're not tied down to an annuity-style payment, which can be important when annuity rates appear low.

It's also easier to control tax liability when taking single withdrawals - your financial adviser will be able to give you more information on this.

Please remember that benefits aren't guaranteed and the value of investments can go down as well as up. You may not get back the amount you originally invested.

Offshore tax advantages

Tax is normally taken at source with an onshore life assurance plan (that is, the insurance company normally takes tax off any gain or income from the investment and pays this to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) automatically every year). However, with an offshore life assurance plan, it isn't.

• You can choose to take your benefits if you move to a lower tax bracket and if you move somewhere with more favourable tax treatment.
• You're able to switch between funds without triggering a capital gains tax liability. This is the tax levied on the profit from the sale of property or an investment.
• You can take up to 5% of your investment out every year with no immediate tax liability.
• You can carry forward any unused allowance indefinitely until you've withdrawn 100% of your initial investment.
• There's no need to tell HMRC about any withdrawals until a chargeable event occurs - for example if you withdraw more than 5% or fully cash in your plan.

How does this benefit me?

Your investment can grow virtually tax free.

No one likes paying tax - but you can control when you take withdrawals, which means you have some control over how much you pay. Plus, unlike collective investments such as unit trusts, if you switch the funds you're invested in it doesn't trigger a capital gains tax liability.

You don't lose your yearly 5% tax-deferred withdrawal allowance if you don't use it in one year - you carry it over to the next year.

FIP is self-assessment friendly - it's non-income producing so no self-assessment entry is required until a chargeable event occurs. This saves you time and money and avoids the burden of record keeping.

This is based on our understanding of current taxation law and practice in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, which may change.

Choice - investment funds

We have one of the most comprehensive fund ranges available and you can access some of the best-known and most experienced fund managers in the industry.

We offer a wide fund range split into different risk profiles.

You can change the funds you've chosen to invest in. Each year you can make 25 free deals. We reserve the right to charge for deals that are more frequent. This restriction doesn't apply to Portfolio funds, where unlimited free deals are available.

How does this benefit me?

It's easy to find a fund or funds that suit your own attitude to risk.

Plus, you can easily review your fund selection and change it when you need to - for free.

It's important you know that the risk rating we give to a fund is based purely on its risk relative to other funds within our full fund range and not against industry benchmarks.

Choice - for one or for all

You can set up a plan for the whole of one person's life, or for several people's lives.

How does this benefit me?

While taking advantage of all the other features associated with our Flexible Investment Plan, you can start putting plans in place to support the people you care about.

Portability - a plan that can move with you

If your career takes you to different countries around the world, we may still be able to collect your contributions from a UK bank account.

How does this benefit me?

This could save you time and money on looking for a new savings arrangement every time you move.

You could also take benefits in the last country you worked in, or on your return to the UK - whichever offers the best tax advantages. Your financial adviser will be able to give you more information on this.

Keeping you up to date

You'll receive a statement of your plan every year on its anniversary and can request up to another three of these statements each year.

How does this benefit me?

Every year it's easy for you to keep fully up to date with how much you've invested, any withdrawals you've made and the current value of your plan.

If you want more regular updates - up to another three a year - you can get them at no extra cost.

To find out more about our Flexible Investment Plan, and to see if it can work for you, please speak to your financial adviser.