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About the Scheme

How it works

As a member of the DC Section, you are saving into a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme. You and NFU Mutual pay regular contributions into your personal account. These are invested to help them grow.

The DC Section is very flexible. You can choose:

Your income in retirement will depend on how much you save into your account and how well your investments grow.

Benefits

When you decide to take your pension benefits from the Scheme, under current rules, you can take a tax-free cash lump sum of up to 25% of the total value of your personal account. You can then use the rest of your account to provide a taxable retirement income in the way that suits you. The options include:

You may need to transfer your benefits to another pension arrangement to access some of these options.

What happens if…

Saving for your retirement is a long-term process and, over the years, things may change. The Scheme is very flexible so that when things do change, such as if you decide to leave NFU Mutual, you have options on what to do with your personal account.

… you leave?

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If you leave NFU Mutual, no more contributions will be paid into your personal account, but it will remain invested until you tell us you want to take your benefits. It is important to keep your target retirement age updated, particularly if you’re invested in one of the lifestyle strategies.

It’s important to review your investments from time to time to make sure they’re still on track to meet your retirement plans.

Alternatively, you may wish to transfer your personal account into another registered pension scheme, such as your new employer’s scheme and continue to save. You should think carefully before deciding to transfer pension benefits, and we would always recommend that you speak to an independent financial adviser before proceeding.

… you become ill?

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If you are an active member and you have to stop working due to ill health, you may be able to take your personal account early and have the same options as if you’d retired at your normal retirement date (age 60). The benefits you receive may be increased if you meet the following conditions:

  • you’ve been a member of the Scheme for at least two years
  • a registered medical practitioner provides the evidence that you are (and will continue to be) unable to carry out your employment because of physical or mental impairment
  • you cease to carry out your occupation.

The Trustee and NFU Mutual will need to agree to any claim, and the amount you’ll receive will depend on the degree of your ill health.

… you die?

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If you die while you're an active member of the Scheme and you are eligible for death in service spouse's benefits your Spouse will be entitled to a lump sum which represents the amount of money required to pay a pension to your Spouse of 1% of your pensionable salary for each year of your pensionable service whilst you were in the Scheme (including any future service up to your 60th birthday). If the amount of your personal account is less than this lump sum, the difference will be made up by NFU Mutual.

Your Spouse can choose how to use this lump sum to provide benefits, such as taking the entire amount as a tax-free lump sum, using it to purchase an annuity (for themselves and any surviving Children (as defined in the Rules) that they might choose) or by transferring to another arrangement. The Trustee recommends that your Spouse speaks to a Financial Adviser about the different options available.

For example:

Date joined Scheme 1 January 2010
60th birthday 1 January 2030
Date of death 1 January 2020
Pensionable salary as at 1 January 2020 £25,000
1 January 2010 to 1 January 2030
20 years
£25,000 x 20% £5,000


In this example, the amount available to your Spouse would be based on the cost of buying an annuity of £5,000 p.a. For the purposes of the calculation, the amount is based on the cost of a single life, non-guaranteed annuity, which increases each year by the increase in the Retail Prices Index up to 2.5% p.a.

If you don’t have a spouse, the whole of your personal account may be used to provide a pension for any children or other dependants you have.

Death-in-service benefit

There’s a separate lump sum death-in-service benefit of four times your base salary for active employees provided by NFU Mutual. This has its own expression of wish form, which you can find on iPeople and which you’ll also need to complete. So please be aware, if you change your beneficiaries on your My Work Pension account, this doesn’t update your beneficiaries for the lump sum death-in-service benefit or vice versa.

Are your wishes up to date?

The Trustee Directors are responsible for paying any discretionary lump sum death benefits to your beneficiaries while you’re a member of the Scheme. They’ll take into account the people you’ve listed on your expression of wish form, so it’s important that you keep this up to date. You can update your beneficiaries through My Work Pension, the online member access site provided by the Trustee’s pension administrator, Trafalgar House. Just visit www.myworkpension.co.uk

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