Reviewing your account statement

If your contributions are based on a percentage of your salary, we assume that your contributions and salary will increase in line with inflation. We have also taken into account any changes to your contributions that happen because of your plan rules - for example, if your contributions increase as you get older. If your contributions are a fixed amount, we assume they will not increase in the future. (The effects of inflation will mean the fixed amounts will be worth less over time.)

Where appropriate, the projection takes into account tax relief in respect of future contributions, which is expected to be reclaimed and credited. If you have left employment we will assume no further contributions will be made to your account. If appropriate, contributions have been restricted to the scheme specific earnings cap - please see your plan documents or contact us to find out if a scheme specific earnings cap applies to you.

We have assumed your future contributions will be in the same fund(s) you hold now. Remember the estimated return you may get depends on the type of fund you hold in your pension.

Until the 30 September 2023, we have used the following estimated rates to show how different funds might grow (before adjustments for inflation).

From 1 October 2023 the regulations changed to improve the calculation method across the industry.

• If your statement was issued to you before 1 October 2023, the growth rate assumptions will be based on your statement period end date from the table above.
• If your statement was issued to you on or after 1 October 2023, the new assumptions in the table below will apply.

The estimated growth rates used will depend on how much and how fast the value of a fund goes up and down over the past 5 years. This is known as volatility. Where fund data is not available for the past 5 years, we have substituted an equivalent fund. The following estimated rates show how different funds might grow (before adjustments for inflation):

Cash funds are not the same as cash deposit accounts but invest in money market instruments and short-term bonds and can fall in value. In a low interest rate environment, the charges applied to a cash fund may be greater than any returns, so you could get back less than you have paid in.

We have taken any charges that apply to your account into consideration. The value of your investments may go down as well as up and you may not get back the amount invested.

We have assumed that if you buy annuity it will be paid monthly, in advance, for the rest of your life. We also assume you will receive the same level of income for the rest of your life.

We assume the pension income will stop on your death and no income will be paid to your husband, wife or civil partner if you die. In accordance with legislation, a 4% deduction of the value of the annuity you will receive at retirement has been made to cover expenses. We have assumed that if you die less than five years after you retire, any pension you are owed, but has not been paid to you by the end of the five years, will be paid to your beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are the people you nominate to receive benefits from your pension when you die.

The benefits you choose are subject to certain allowances set by HMRC that apply to this and all your other registered pension plans. However, this estimate does not take into account any of these factors.

You are normally entitled to 25% of any funds as a tax free lump sum, as long as this amount is not higher than your remaining lump sum allowance. If your plan allows you may be able to take additional withdrawals but these will be liable for income tax at your marginal rate of tax.

You should make sure you understand how much tax you may be liable for before instructing any withdrawal. If you decide to take cash from your retirement savings, you should carefully consider how you’ll provide a retirement income for yourself and possibly for your dependants in the future. The estimated yearly pension shown on the statement assumes that you do not take a tax free lump sum.

Any pension-sharing order is included in your future pension estimate; pension-earmarking orders are excluded. Contact us for more information.

If you hold enhanced or fixed protection, and it was granted before 15 March 2023 you can continue to contribute to your pension. If your protection was granted on or after this date you may want to consider getting authorised financial advice before making any contributions as this protection may be lost.

A record-keeping deduction is an administration fee. If we make a record-keeping deduction, it will be shown on the ‘Annual statement’ section.

There is an annual management charge (AMC) applied to your investment funds. The AMC is expressed as a percentage and can be found on the fund factsheets available to you. This charge is deducted from the assets of a fund before the fund value and your pension account is calculated.

There are no exit charges. If new charges are introduced or annual management charges increase Fidelity will notify you. All funds incur running costs. These are called ‘other charges’ and their impact is also generally expressed as a percentage figure. These are also included in the assets of a fund before calculating the fund value. Details are found on fund factsheets. Fund factsheets are available on PlanViewer.

For further information on your plan and for a full breakdown of your transaction history please login to your PlanViewer account or contact us.

Our Illustrations don’t Include any money you might receive from your State Pension or other sources. Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension to get your state pension forecast to understand how much you might get from the state and when.

The personal rate of return is a money-weighted rate of return. It takes into account the performance of the fund, or range of funds, in which you have invested, the amounts invested in each, the size of your opening balance, and the size and timing of any contributions into, or withdrawals from, your account. This can mean that two otherwise identical investors will see different personal rates of return if any one or more of these factors differ between them. The personal rate of return shown is expressed as a percentage rate and is calculated for the preceding 12 month period. Please note, in certain scenarios (for example where we need to make a correction to your account) your rate of return could be impacted. We will only provide a return if the impact is immaterial to your overall return. In case of material impact, it will not be possible to calculate an accurate return and we will therefore not display a return to you. 

There is a limit to the personal and employer contributions that can go into your pension each year which is called the Annual Allowance. The annual allowance (AA) applies to all personal and employer contributions made to all registered pension arrangements during a tax year. High earning individuals may have a reduced (Tapered) Annual Allowance. For contributions in excess of the AA a tax charge will apply. Unused AA from the three previous tax years can be carried forward to potentially reduce the liability. In addition, tax relief on personal contributions is limited to your relevant earnings within the tax year.

If you have made taxable withdrawals from your pension account then the Annual Allowance will be replaced by the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA). Any contributions made in excess of the MPAA will be subject to a tax charge, and you should also be aware the carry forward facility does not apply to the MPAA.

The lump sum allowance (LSA) is the maximum amount of tax-free cash you can take from your pension savings in your lifetime. You can take 25% of your pot tax-free, as long as this amount is not higher than the LSA.

Some people might have a higher allowance if they also had a higher protected lifetime allowance.

Read more about the lump sum allowance

This allowance limits the value of the lump sum pension savings you can leave your beneficiaries tax free if you die before the age of 75. Some people might have a higher allowance if they also had a higher protected lifetime allowance, or tax-free cash protections.

If you take any tax-free cash from your pension while you’re alive (including a serious ill health lump sum) then your allowance will be reduced by the same amount. If the pension savings you leave are more than your LSDBA, whoever inherits them will have to pay tax on the extra amount, at their marginal rate of income tax.

If you die before the age of 75, your pension can generally be paid out as a tax-free lump sum to your beneficiaries subject to the lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA). If your beneficiaries take your pension as drawdown or as an annuity, then the LSDBA doesn't apply and payments will be tax-free if paid within 2 years of notification of death.

After 2 years of notification of death or if you die after age 75, your beneficiaries have the same options, but they’ll have to pay income tax on the benefits and the LSDBA won’t apply.