What information is provided in the benefit statement?

Employees who only hold a Defined Contribution (DC) benefit

Annual Benefit Statements are provided to all DC scheme members. This includes active members who are currently employed and making contributions to the Scheme, and past members who are no longer contributing but have a deferred benefit in the Scheme. The statement will be uploaded to the member’s own personal Retirement Savings Account for them to collect when it’s convenient. Dependent on the Scheme, Benefit Statements are issued to members between January and August each year. The DC Benefit Statement contains the following information:

• The member’s personal details and membership dates
• The contributions credited to the member’s savings pot by both the member and the employer during the last Scheme year. The contributions will be those that have been received and invested prior to the statement date. For example, if the statement date is 1 October, the statement would not normally include the October contributions as these would usually be received during November. Any contributions received or invested after the year-end will be included in the next year’s statement
• The value of the member's savings pot at the statement date (split between the investment funds)
• A Statutory Money Purchase Illustration (SMPI) of projected benefits. This is an illustration of the benefits that could be provided at the member's Selected Retirement Date assuming contributions continue at the current rate and uses specific assumptions for salary growth and investment return. Members should be aware that the value of investments may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed.

Employees who have a Defined Benefit (DB) and a Defined Contribution (DC) benefit 

If any of your employees hold an active record which has both a Defined Benefit (DB) and a Defined Contribution (DC) element, they will also receive a separate annual DB Benefit Statement. This will detail the DB benefits the member is entitled to. The most recent benefit statement will be available on our DB Online system for the member to view. If the member has chosen to opt out of using the facility, the statement will be issued by post if requested by the member. The ‘Date Pensionable Service Commenced’ shown on the Defined Contribution (DC) statement will be the date the member joined the DC scheme and not the point at which they joined the scheme under the DB structure.

Employees who only hold a Defined Benefit (DB) in the scheme

The Annual Benefit Statement will be automatically uploaded to the DB Online system for active and paid up members to view when they want. Deferred members (either because they have left the scheme or your employment) are no longer automatically issued with a benefit statement. However, they can request one via DB Online, or contact us by telephone or email.

The dates statements are uploaded vary dependent upon the scheme that the member is in. Members will be notified that a new statement is online when they log into the system. Where members have chosen not to use the facility, they can request a copy of the statement to be sent to them.

The DB benefit statement contains the following information:

• The member’s personal details and membership dates
• Yearly pension at the statement date
• Death benefits