Some with-profits funds have an investment guarantee. That means they'll pay a guaranteed amount, provided you meet the terms of your pension policy. For example, if you buy an annuity on the retirement date you agreed with us when you took out your policy, you meet the terms and the guaranteed amount applies. If you transfer your policy, however, you may lose that guarantee. You'll find specific information about your investment guarantee in your policy documents.
Even without an investment guarantee, some with-profits funds can offer some protection when markets perform badly. A feature known as smoothing helps to even out the ups and downs, so that you may not benefit from full market highs, but neither will you suffer from the full effects of the lows.
Your policy may be invested in two with-profits funds, one with and one without a guarantee. The table below shows which funds the different policies could be invested in.
| Policy type |
Fund name |
Guaranteed minimum unit price growth rate(per year) |
Approved Retirement Funds
(policy numbers begin 7004 & 7005...)
|
Retirement With Profits Fund |
0% |
Buy out Bond*
(policy numbers begin 500...) |
Retirement With Profits 2 Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
|
4%
No guarantee
|
Corporate Pension Series*
(policy numbers begin 501 & 502...) |
Pension With Profits 2 Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
|
4%
No guarantee
|
Executive Pension Plus
(policy numbers begin 503...) |
Standard Life With Profits Fund |
No guarantee |
Personal Pension Plan*
(policy numbers begin 20000...) |
Pension With Profits Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
|
4%
No guarantee
|
Personal Pension Plus*
(policy numbers begin 20001/2/3...) |
Pension With Profits Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
|
4%
No guarantee
|
PRSA
(policy numbers begin 203/204/205...) |
Standard Life With Profit Fund |
No guarantee |
Tower Pension Series**
(policy numbers begin with L and end in A)
|
Pension With Profits Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
Pension With Profits Fund D
|
4%
No guarantee
|
Personal Pension Plan
Pre November 1996 policies only
(policy numbers beginning 1 or 9) |
Pension With Profits Fund
Pension With Profits Fund A
|
4%
No guarantee
|
*With-profits investments for policies taken out from September 2004, and top-ups from that date to existing policies, are allocated to the Pension With-Profits Fund A.
**Pension scheme members' with-profits investments started before September 2004 are invested in the Pension With-Profits Fund. Top-ups to these, and with-profits investments for members who joined between September 2004 and 9 July 2006, are invested in Pension With-Profits Fund A. With-profits investments for members who joined from 10 July 2006 are invested in Pension With-Profits Fund D.
Synergy policies that invest in with-profits funds don't have an investment guarantee. A process called smoothing offers some protection from poor market performance. See Smoothing – evens out the markets ups and downs for more information.
With-profits funds for these policies have an investment guarantee. They pay a guaranteed amount in line with the terms of the policy. For example, if you surrender your policy on the guaranteed surrender date, the guarantee applies. If you surrender on another date, you would lose your guarantee. There's more information about the terms of your policy in your policy documents.
For conventional policies we pay a guaranteed amount provided you meet the terms of your policy – for example, paying all your premiums when they're due. Other conditions apply, like losing your guarantee if you transfer or surrender your policy. Please read through your policy documents to find out more.
***Guarantees only apply in certain circumstances – please see your policy documents for more information.
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