FAQs
Got a question about the Fund or your pension and can’t find what you need on the site? Search our FAQs to find the answer.
Joining the Fund
When you first join Unilever you will be automatically enrolled into the Fund.
New employees are automatically enrolled into the Retirement Savings Plan which is administered by Fidelity.
If you have opted out of the Retirement Savings Plan, you can opt back in at any time. Complete the RSP opt in form.
Read more about your benefit choices
If you have built up a pension in another registered pension scheme, you may be able to transfer it in.
Read more about transferring your pension
To start the transfer in process, please contact Fidelity.
If you are saving into the Retirement Savings Plan, you get a statement once a year from Fidelity that tells you what your pension pot is worth and what it could be worth at retirement.
You can see the value of your Retirement Savings Plan pot and how your money is invested in PlanViewer.
If you want any specific details about your pension, please contact Fidelity.
Leaving the Fund
Yes, you can opt out at any time.
Once you’ve opted out of the Retirement Savings Plan, you can rejoin at any time.
Every 3 years, we'll re-enrol you automatically so that you start saving into the Plan again. If you want to opt out again, you'll need to tell us at that time.
Download a copy of the opt out form to complete
Yes you can generally transfer your pension pot out of the Fund to another UK pension scheme. You’ll need to check that the scheme you want to transfer to can receive the transfer, and consider if it’s the best option for you.
Read more about transferring your pension
If you stop working for Unilever or you choose to opt out, your Retirement Savings Plan pension pot will stay invested in line with your investment choices. You cannot save more money into your account. But you can still make changes to your investment choices if you want to in PlanViewer.
Read more about your investments
You can transfer your pension savings out of the Fund to another employer’s pension or a personal pension.
Find out more about transferring your pension
Saving into the Fund
The Benefits Envelope is an amount of money, worth 25% of your pensionable earnings (your basic pay and, for some people, other allowances).
It can be used to:
- Build up your pension in the Retirement Savings Plan
- Take taxable take-home pay
- A mixture of the two
You can decide how to use your Benefits Envelope each year during Annual Renewal.
Read more about your benefit choices
You can pay extra voluntary contributions (EVCs) into the Retirement Savings Plan to save more for your retirement. You can pay EVCs on a regular basis or as a one-off payment to your account.
To start making EVCs or make any changes, please complete the EVC form. Once we’ve received the form, we’ll set up your payments through payroll.
Read more about saving for your pension
Yes. You do not pay tax on the money that you save into your pension up to a certain limit.
Read more about tax
Death of a member
You will need to complete a nomination form to tell the Trustees who you would like to get any payments if you die.
Complete the nomination form to say who you’d like the money to go to.
Please remember to keep your nomination form up to date to help the Trustees follow your wishes.
Yes, when a member dies a P45 is sent to the tax office. This is only done when the final pension payment has been settled/paid.
No, the P60 details are not automatically sent out. Family members or their executor can request one from the administration team.
Life events
The earliest age you can currently retire is age 55, but this will increase to 57 in 2028.
We assume that you’ll retire at age 65, unless you tell us otherwise. You can select a different retirement date on PlanViewer.
The retirement date we have for you will determine when we contact you about a retirement. Depending on which, if any, lifestyle strategy you are invested in, it will also determine when your investments start to move funds.
Find out more about how investments work
Read more about your retirement options
If you become seriously ill and in Unilever’s opinion can no longer work, you may be able to take your pension.
Find out more about ill-health pensions
You will remain a member of the Fund while you are on maternity/paternity leave. Details of how your pension builds up while you are on leave are in the Support section.
Read more about maternity/paternity leave
You will remain a member of the Fund while you are on sick leave. Details of how your pension builds up while you are on leave are in the Support section.
Read more about sick leave
If you get divorced or end a civil partnership the courts may allocate some of your pension to your ex-spouse/civil partner as part of the settlement.
The most common arrangement is transferring an agreed percentage of your pension to a pension provider in your ex-spouse/civil partner’s name. This is known as a pension sharing order.
Find out more about pensions and divorce
The transfer value of your pension pot is what will be used as part of the settlement. You can find this on your annual statement or in PlanViewer. Please contact us if you need more details.
The administration fee for setting up a pension sharing order is £1,350 plus VAT. Who pays the administration fee is explained as part of the pension sharing order (for example, by the member, ex-spouse/civil partner or split equally between both parties).
The ex-spouse/civil partner can choose to have their proportion of fees deducted from their share of the pension.
Once the administration team have all the information needed (including any fees), there is a 4-month legal time limit to organise for the transfer of the share of the pension.
Find out more about pensions and divorce
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