Pensions and annuities bonus declaration.

What’s the investment return for the assets that my product invests in?

The table below shows the investment returns for specific with profits pensions and annuities products over the last seven years.

*The investment return depends on the product type held and the date the investment was made. The figures shown are averages for all product types and dates.
All returns are before we have taken off investment expenses, tax and any policy charges.
Please note that all investment returns are rounded to the nearest percent.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Where do you invest my money?

When you invest in a with profits pension or annuity, we combine your money with money from other with profits investors in the With Profits Fund. The With Profits Fund invests in a mix of assets, such as UK and overseas shares, fixed interest securities and commercial property.  For more information on these asset classes, go to the Bonus declaration overview page.

While everyone is invested together in the With Profits Fund, the investment approach may vary for each investor depending on the type of plan they have. This may be for a number of reasons, one of which is to reflect the features and benefits of different with profits products.

The table below shows the asset mix for our with profits pensions and annuities products as at 31 December 2011.

The asset mixes for individual products depend on the product type and the date the investment was made.
The asset mixes shown above are for plans set up before 1 January 2012. Plans taken out on or after 1 January 2012 may have a different asset mix.

How do the investment return and asset mix relate to my bonus?

An annual bonus may be added to a with profits plan at the end of each year. The amount of bonus we add will depend on the investment performance of the assets your plan is invested in.

Whilst investment returns are the most important factor in deciding how much bonus we add, bonus rates also depend on things such as when you started your with profits investment, when you paid in your contributions, the historic performance of the assets your plan is invested in, past bonus rates and our view of future market conditions.

Your plan is designed to smooth returns. Smoothing means that in years of good investment growth we may hold back some of the investment returns, so that we can top up bonuses in years of poor performance. This means that the returns, or bonuses, added to your plan over the years will not be the same as the returns shown in the table at the top of the page. You can find more information on smoothing in our Understanding smoothing factsheet.

How can I find out what my bonus is for 2011?

We’ll send you a bonus statement showing how your plan has performed in 2011. If you have a with profits annuity, you’ll receive your statement in March or April 2012. If you have a with profits pension, you’ll receive your statement in June or July 2012.

Back to Bonus declaration overview page