The basics

• A Group Portfolio Plus Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is a group of Self Invested Personal Pension plans arranged by an employer for their employees. Each employee has their own plan, which they can take with them if they change jobs.
• The Group Portfolio Plus SIPP offers access to over 300 insured funds from over 40 fund managers (i.e. the full range of investment options available through the Legal & General Portfolio Plus SIPP), with the option to display a list of the financial adviser's preferred choice of funds from the whole range.
• There is also an option to invest Non Protected Rights in an additional arrangement that can be used for self investment.  This gives a choice of investments in addition to the funds shown in the Portfolio Plus Funds Guide and is known as the self invested arrangement.
• Self investment is a very simple concept – it gives greater control to the plan holder over where the pension fund is invested.  Under the insured arrangement, the fund managers decide which assets, such as shares, property, cash and bonds the fund is invested in.  Under a self invested arrangement the member makes the investment decisions.
• There are restrictions on where you can invest the first £25,000, please see the Key Features document or seek advice for further details.

The value of the units which make up a fund can go down as well as up, so the value of a member's fund is not guaranteed.  It is particularly important to remember this if a member is close to retirement. Please remember that the money is tied up until a member takes their retirement benefits. Please view the other risk factors associated with this product.

Your options

As an employee:

• You can make contributions up to 100 percent of your yearly earnings, or £3,600 gross if greater, each year and still get full tax relief including higher rate (if appropriate). You can pay this up to the age 75, even if you are not working. However if your contributions exceed the Annual Allowance, tax relief will be limited.
• You have the option to contract out of the State Second Pension Scheme.
• The minimum gross regular contribution for each member is £100 per month or £1,200 a year (the total employee and employer contribution), with the target average regular contribution for each member across the scheme of £200 a month gross/£2,400 a year (total of employee and employer contribution).
• The initial minimum single contribution or transfer value is £5,000 or if regular contributions are being paid then this is reduced to £1,000.
• Contributions may be stopped or started according to your personal circumstances.
• You can normally take your pension when you're aged between 50 and 75, although the minimum retirement age will rise to 55 for those taking their benefits after 5 April 2010.
• You don't need to stop working to take your benefits.
• You can choose a lifestyle profile that aims to reduce investment risk as you approach your chosen retirement age.  This option is not available when you are taking income withdrawal.

Risk factors

All investments carry an element of risk. Please bear these points in mind:

• The value of your investments can go down as well as up, so the value of a member's arrangement is not guaranteed. It is particularly important to remember this if you are a member and are close to taking your benefits.
• The amount of pension income provided by a retirement fund will depend on a number of things, including charges, investment returns and the rates available to buy a pension when a member decides to take their benefits.
• If you use the plan to contract out of the State Second Pension Scheme, the amount of pension income provided by the Protected Rights part of the fund may be less than the State Second Pension Scheme would have provided. Neither the Government nor
  Legal & General can guarantee what pension income you will receive.
• The basis for the calculation of the National Insurance contribution rebate is decided by the Government Actuary's Department and can be changed by them at any time. This means that if you use the plan to contract-out, the actual amount of rebate paid into the plan may vary.
• The investments you choose will have specific risks. For insured funds these risks are described in the booklet Portfolio Plus Funds Guide PDF W10979.
• If you invest in a fund that invests in property, it may be necessary to defer encashment of units during periods when property is not easily sold.  The maximum delay is six months.  The value of property is generally a matter of the valuer’s opinion rather than fact.
• If you decide to invest a significant proportion of your overall pension fund in one particular asset, or relatively few assets, rather than investing in a wider portfolio of assets, this is likely to increase your investment risk.
• The law and tax rates may change in the future and the value of tax relief will depend on individual circumstances.
• Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
• If there is a decision to cancel within the 30 day cancellation period the refund may reflect any reduction in investment value.
• Charges can be varied up or down but we will let you know before we make any change.