Productivity programme: Pension information Q&A

You can retire from the age of 55.

If you would like to take your pension immediately when you are made redundant please speak to your line manager and ask them to update Workday.

You can choose to transfer your pension out of the Unilever Fund to another scheme (for example, a new employer’s scheme or a personal pension plan).

You may not get the same benefits from another scheme as you do from the Unilever Fund. Before you make any decisions you might want to take financial advice.

Find out more about transferring your pension

Watch out for pension scams

There are lots of different pension scams, but many start the same way, with a phone call out of the blue or an advert offering a free pension review.

Scammers want to trick you into handing them your money. They might promise you upfront cash or invest your money in a one-off ‘deal’ with ‘guaranteed’ high returns.

If you fall for a scam you could end up paying high charges or owing lots of tax.

You could even lose all your money.

Read more about how to avoid pension scams

If you are actively building up benefits in the Unilever UK Pension Fund, you can pay some or all your redundancy lump sum into the Retirement Savings Plan.

You can do this:

• if you plan to immediately start to take your pension, or
• if you plan to leave your pension in the Fund and become a ‘deferred’ member.

If you want to do this, you must tell us before we pay you your redundancy lump sum.

This means that if, for instance, you expect to be paid your redundancy lump sum in your September pay, you need to return your form by 31 August.

If you need money now

If you need money now, paying your redundancy lump sum into your pension might not be the best option for you. If you decide not to pay it into your pension, you will pay tax on your redundancy lump sum in the same way that you pay tax on your pay.

If you do not need money now

If you do not need money now, you could pay your redundancy lump sum into the Retirement Savings Plan. There are 2 advantages to doing this:

1. This can be more tax efficient. You will not pay tax now on the money you pay into the Retirement Savings Plan.
2. Your money will be invested, which will give it a chance to grow between now and when you retire.

Here’s how to pay your redundancy lump sum into your pension

To pay your redundancy lump sum into your pension you need to make a One-off voluntary contribution from your pay. This will be taken from your pay in the same month that your redundancy lump sum is paid. You can only do this once.

You must tell us if you want to pay your redundancy lump sum into your pension before you get your redundancy lump sum payment. It will not be possible after that.

To do this you need to:

• Complete a One-off variable extra voluntary contribution form
• Return the form to the Expert Pensions Team by the end of the month before you are paid your redundancy lump sum or the date you are leaving Unilever, if it’s earlier. So, if you expect to be paid your redundancy lump sum in September, you need to return your form before the 31 August or before the date you leave Unilever if this is earlier.

You will not be able to pay your redundancy lump sum into your pension if we do not get the form in time.

Some important things to consider

If you want to retire straight away

Paying your redundancy lump sum into your pension might delay your first pension payment and any tax-free lump sum you get from the Fund.

Be careful of tax limits

There is a limit to how much pension savings you can build up in all your pensions over a tax year without paying a tax charge. This is known as the annual allowance and the limit is £60,000 for most people. For high earners, the limit can be as low as £10,000.

You are considered a high earner if:

• your pay
• your Benefits Envelope
• your redundancy lump sum
• any other earnings you pay tax on

are worth more than £200,000 in total in the tax year.

Unused annual allowance from some previous years can be carried forward into the current tax year.

Find out more about the annual allowance.

If you’d like to check how much of your annual allowance you’ve used, please log into PlanViewer.

You will be able to see how much money you and Unilever have paid into your pension pot this year. The total that you and Unilever have paid is the amount of annual allowance you have used up.

If you need more help please contact Fidelity.

You can make a One-off extra voluntary contribution to the Retirement Savings Plan at any time before you leave Unilever by completing the Extra voluntary contributions form. You can make these voluntary contributions more than once.

Return the form to the Expert Pensions Team by the end of the month before you are paid your redundancy lump sum or the date you are leaving Unilever, if it’s earlier. So, if you expect to be paid your redundancy lump sum in September, you need to return your form before the 31 August or before the date you leave Unilever if this is earlier.

You will not be able to pay any new extra voluntary contributions into your pension if we do not get the form in time.

The previous section covers paying your redundancy lump sum into your Unilever pension.

When you stop working for Unilever your core life cover and any extra life cover that you pay for will stop. This means that your loved ones will not be entitled to a cash lump sum payment of between 4 and 8 times your annual pensionable earnings on the date of your death.

If you are paying for voluntary serious ill-health DC benefit, this cover will stop when you leave Unilever. You can read more about this cover on PensionHub

We’ll be sending you a personalised pension and redundancy PDF that shows you what your pension options are.

You can book a one-to-one online appointment with the Money Matters team to help you understand your options. Your personalised pension and redundancy PDF will give you more information about this.

If you are thinking about retiring, you can also book an ‘at retirement’ one-to-one online appointment with the Money Matters team.

You can also pay for independent financial advice, at a discounted rate, with Origen Financial Services.

You will be able to get support and information on Unilever Pension Hub after you leave.

As a deferred member you will continue to have access to the Unilever Pension Hub. Contact details for our specialist teams can be found in the Contact Us section.