Frequently asked questions.

Workplace Savings gives you the option to build on your current range of employee benefits. It can provide an additional savings vehicle to your staff to which they can contribute in a variety of ways. By offering such flexible savings options to your employees you could, in turn, encourage loyalty and retention, making for a more secure workforce.

With flexible investment options for employees and a selected range of Legal & General unit trusts to choose from, our WorkSave ISA offers you an integrated savings solution for the workplace.

The WorkSave ISA is a tax-efficient savings solution for employees, for investing regular salary contributions, maturing Save As You Earn (SAYE) shares or cash lump sums. If offered with our WorkSave Pension Plan, there’s potential for further tax savings. There’s no Capital Gains Tax payable when transferring savings from the WorkSave ISA to the WorkSave Pension Plan.

The WorkSave ISA offers the flexible savings options that more and more employers are seeking for their workforce. By choosing to offer our WorkSave ISA, you can benefit from the following:

• All scheme terms are set on a scheme by scheme basis
• Tailored to your specific requirements
• A flexible approach to savings and retirement planning
• May encourage staff loyalty and retention

ISAs are a great way to invest for the future because of the tax efficient benefits. When your employee makes an investment in an ISA, they won’t have to pay income tax or capital gains tax on the returns they receive, no matter how much the investment grows in the future or how much they take out.

By choosing to join our WorkSave ISA, your employees can benefit from the following:

• Straightforward joining methods
• Ability to monitor their investments online
• Increased savings choice
• Wide range of investment options
• No fixed investment periods
• Potential tax advantages

Please note that the value of investments may fall as well as rise.

To maximise membership, it’s important to raise employee awareness of the advantages of being in a savings scheme. One of our marketing managers will work with you on a communication programme tailored to your company. We’ll regularly review your programme with you to make sure it remains relevant and appropriate as the scheme develops.

For new members to the scheme we can provide a selection of documents to communicate the product’s features and how it works. These include:

• Introduction letter with Direct Offer pack
• Employee Fact Sheet
• Employee Guide
• Risk Meter leaflet

These documents can be tailored to suit your own scheme.

If you have five or more employees and you don't currently provide an occupational pension scheme or give access to a personal pension scheme that meets certain conditions, you're legally required to offer your employees access to a stakeholder pension scheme.

There are some exceptions - for example, if you already provide access to an occupational pension scheme or suitable group personal pension. For more information, contact your financial adviser.

You can offer your staff:

• a group personal/stakeholder pension scheme or
• an occupational scheme

The different types of scheme have different employer requirements. Find out more information on our products and discuss your options with a financial adviser. If you don't offer an occupational scheme you must offer employees access to a stakeholder pension if you have five or more employees.

There are some exemptions - for example, if you already provide access to an occupational pension scheme or suitable group personal pension. For more information, contact your financial adviser.

Our WorkSave range of pension products provides access to a wide variety of investment options. Our investment range includes funds managed by Legal & General as well as numerous other fund managers. We also offer an extensive range of lifestyle profiles.

Our funds

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), is responsible for investing £365 billion worldwide on behalf of investors, policyholders and shareholders with holdings accounting for over 4% of all London-listed equities on behalf of their customers. LGIM is also he largest pension fund manager in the UK with over £228 billion of assets under management.*

Funds from other providers

For greater choice and flexibility, we offer a range of pension funds from a number of different providers. These funds have been carefully selected to complement our own. The type of scheme will determine the number of funds and providers available to your members. Full details of funds are available in the relevant fund guides.
Lifestyle profiles

We offer a selection of lifestyle profiles to provide members with an automated de-risking strategy as they approach their selected retirement dates. Our lifestyle profiles give members the opportunity to invest in funds with the potential to deliver longer-term growth. However, in the years immediately prior to taking their benefits, their investments are gradually moved and redirected into less volatile investment funds.

* Source: LGIM May 2011

Yes. In particular, if the pension scheme is a Group Stakeholder, Group Personal Pension or a WorkSave Pension Plan, your ability to be able to promote it is covered by legislation. You (or your representatives) can promote your own scheme without the need to be formally authorised by the Financial Services Authority.

To promote your scheme, you must:

• make a contribution to the pension scheme and state it in the scheme information you provide to  your employees;
• not receive any financial benefit from employee contributions;
• inform each employee in writing prior to becoming a member of the scheme of the amount you will contribute for them; and
• inform the employee of their right to seek financial advice from a person authorised by the FSA.

In practice, the rules give more freedom in the way you promote your group pension scheme(s). While some key materials need formal approval, in many cases where you are communicating directly with your employees, there is no need to seek outside help. This should significantly cut the time and effort needed to promote your scheme whether this is the announcement of a new scheme or looking to increase the membership of an existing scheme.

To maximise membership, it’s important to raise employee awareness of the advantages of being in a pension scheme. One of our marketing managers will work with you on a communication programme tailored to your company. We’ll regularly review your programme with you to make sure it remains relevant and appropriate as the scheme develops.

• announcement letter and email
• contribution review letters
• payslip insert
• sales leaflet
• newsletter editorial
• letter to new employees, newly eligible employees and new joiners
• generic pensions DVD

They only take minutes to prepare. Simply tailor the necessary sections to your own scheme, print and distribute

An employee takes a reduction in pay and their employer pays a corresponding amount to a pension arrangement, as an employer’s contribution, for the employee’s benefit.