Pension Plan Specification

Name of Employer	Safe Families for Children
Name of Pension Plan	The Elect Self Invested Pension Plan (the Plan)
Pension Provider	Aegon
Eligibility	All employees are eligible to join the pension scheme if: Earn over £6,240 per annum Are 16 or over, and Are under State Pension Age If you earn over £10,000 per annum and are 22 or over, you are classed as an “eligible jobholder”, and you will be automatically enrolled into the pension scheme. If you earn between £6,240 and £10,000 and are 16 or over, you are classed as an “entitled worker” and can choose to opt-in to join the pension scheme.
Auto-enrolment	If classed as an “eligible jobholder” you will be auto-enrolled into the pension scheme after 3 months’ service. If you do not want to join the scheme you must opt out.
Opt-in	You can opt in to the scheme prior to auto-enrolment, or if classed as “entitled worker”, by completing the “SFfC Internal Pensions Joining Form”.
Opt-out	You can opt out of the scheme at any point, by completing the “SFfC Internal Pensions Joining Form”.
Pensionable Salary	Annual basic salary as advised by the Company.
Your Contribution	You will be automatically enrolled into the pension scheme with employee contributions of 3% (the minimum). If you would like to contribute more than 3% you must specify by completing the “SFfC Internal Pensions Joining Form”. There is no maximum to the amount you can contribute to your pension.
Safe Families Contribution	Safe Families will match your contributions and add 2%. So, if you contribute 3%, Safe Families will contribute 5%. If you contribute 8%, Safe Families will contribute 10%. The maximum contribution Safe Families will make is 10%. You can contribute more than 8% into your pension but Safe Families will only ever contribute the maximum of 10%.
Salary Sacrifice	Contributions are taken via salary sacrifice, which means contributions are deducted from your salary before tax and national insurance are calculated. Safe Families also pay less national insurance contributions because of salary sacrifice. This benefit to Safe Families is paid into your pension fund too and usually works out at circa 1% but is variable dependent on your salary and contribution %.
Annual Allowance	The Annual Allowance is the maximum amount that can be saved in a registered pension scheme per tax year and still qualify for tax relief. The current annual allowance for 2024/25 is £60,000. Individual contributions in excess of this will not be tax deductible, and will be taxable as a benefit in kind if made by an employer for the benefit of an employee.
Default Investment Fund Choice	When the Scheme was originally set up, it was advised that funds should be automatically invested into a suitable fund on behalf of employees. Your Contributions are automatically invested into the Aegon 50/50 Equitable Global Equity Index Lifestyle fund, as advised by the Broker who initialised the Scheme. The profile of this fund means that Contributions will gradually be invested in lower risk funds in the six years approaching retirement. If you wish to select an alternative fund, you can do so using the “retireready” online platform. Often people do this if they would prefer to invest their fund into ethical plans, and there are a number of options of this type available.
Death Benefits from The Plan	"The value of your individual account would become available to provide a lump sum and/or a pension for your dependants in the event that you were to die before retirement.
How to Join	Please complete the “SFfC Internal Pensions Joining Form” and return to [e-mail]
The Joining Process	You will be enrolled online by your employer. Once they have done this Aegon will send you a verification/activation email to “retireready” which is the online platform Aegon use. This platform can be used to access the balance of your funds, administrate any transfer of funds, and to access paperwork such as annual statements. You therefore need to ensure your Employer has an up to date email address for you on file.
Transfer of pensions	You can transfer other pensions into the Aegon plan. This is done using the retireready platform and so you will need to wait until you have activated your account before doing this. We also strongly recommend you seek Independent Financial advice before transferring any pension into the Aegon fund. The valuation of funds can be volatile and Safe Families will not be liable for any loss in value of pensions transferred into the Aegon scheme.
Notice Periods	If you would like to cease contributions, please email [e-mail] giving 1 month’s notice as a minimum.