Dictionary
Annual allowance
This is the yearly amount of tax-approved retirement benefits you can build up – in pension plans inside or outside the Unilever UK Pension Fund – without paying a special pensions tax charge on them. ('Tax-approved' means that you build up the benefits in a plan registered with HM Revenue & Customs.)
Dependant
This can mean anyone who (in the Trustees' opinion) wholly or partly depends on you either for financial reasons, or because of a disability.
Extra contributions
These are additional payments you can make on top of your normal contributions to add to your benefits. You can make them regularly, or as occasional 'one-off' payments, subject to the terms of the Investing plan.
Higher level
Your contributions and benefits are based on your pensionable earnings between two levels. At April 2010, the higher level is £39,737. It will be reviewed each April.
Inflation
This is the general rise in prices, normally shown by the 'Retail Prices Index' – a figure taken from measuring how costs increase across a range of goods and services.
Lifetime allowance
This is the total amount of tax-approved benefits you can build up over your working life without paying a special pensions tax charge on them.
Lower level
Your contributions and benefits are based on your pensionable earnings between two levels. At April 2010, the lower level is £5,032. It will be reviewed each April.
Normal retirement age
This is age 65 for men and women.
Pensionable earnings
This is normally your basic pay, but may include other earnings from time to time. (Your employer will tell you if other earnings are included.) Your pension amount each 'plan year' is worked out using your pensionable earnings between two levels. The plan year runs from 1 April to 31 March, unless Unilever decides that another period is to be the plan year.
Pensionable service
When you are both working at Unilever and building up benefits in the Unilever UK Pension Fund, you are in 'pensionable service'. You can have a maximum of 40 years' pensionable service.
Unilever
Unilever is the Unilever Group company that employs you and has agreed to take part in the Unilever UK Pension Fund. But, in some places in this website it means Unilever PLC.
Unilever Contribution Arrangement
This is the normal way of making contributions to the plan. Instead of you paying contributions from your salary, Unilever pays an amount equal to what your contributions would have been straight into the plan. You agree that your pay is reduced by the same amount. In this way, you and Unilever make savings on the National Insurance that would be payable if you made the contributions yourself.