Notes and assumptions

Your annual statement shows what savings you have in your International Retirement Savings Plan at the statement date, and how much has been paid in and taken out during the year.

It also shows you estimated values of your plan at different times in the future. We sometimes need to make assumptions in order to do so.

If we don’t have the correct date of birth or planned retirement age for you, it could mean that some of the information we give you is inaccurate. Don’t forget to keep your record up to date with all your details, including your residential address, work and personal email address. 

It’s easy to update your details – you may be able to make changes yourself at www.planviewer.co.uk, or you can ask your retirement savings representative to change them for you.

Your personal rate of return is money-weighted. This means it takes into account how much you’ve paid in and taken out before calculating what your portfolio is worth.

A personal rate of return is unique to you and considers several factors – the performance of the fund, or range of funds, in which you’re invested, the amounts invested in each, the size of your opening balance, and the size and timing of any contributions into, or withdrawals from, your account.

It means that two otherwise identical investors could see different personal rates of return if one or more of these factors differ between them. Your personal rate of return is shown as a percentage and calculated for the 12-month period shown in the statement.

Your plan may have ‘vesting’ rules. This means there are certain conditions that must be met (such as how long you work for the employer, for example) before you’re entitled to the value of your employer’s contributions. 

If your plan is subject to vesting rules, it could affect some of your withdrawals. If a withdrawal isn’t fully vested (in this example, if you haven’t worked for your employer long enough), you will be entitled to the value of your own personal contributions and, if any, to the value of your employer contributions that have been vested.

To find out about ‘vesting’ and whether it applies to you, look at the ‘Your plan explained’ booklet on PlanViewer.

The figures shown on your annual statement are estimates and the future value of your savings may be different. Several things could affect the amount you eventually receive from your plan, including:

• The date you start to take your benefits
• The amount of contributions made
• How your account is invested and how much the investments may change in value
• Any vesting rules and how they affect money you can withdraw.

What you see on your statement depends on your planned retirement age.

• If you haven’t yet reached the retirement age we have recorded for you, we’ll show you projected figures to that age. There may also be some estimated values in between depending on how long until you reach retirement age.
• If you’ve already passed the retirement age we have recorded for you, we’ll show you projected figures to five years beyond the end date of the statement.

We assume that future contributions, if applicable, and the account value at the date of the statement will be invested in line with your existing fund choices. 

Returns will depend on the type of funds you invest in – equities, bonds or cash. We’ve used the following average annual rates (before we reduce the figures by an inflation rate of 2.0%). The poor and favourable scenario are calculated by respectively deducting and adding 3% to the average scenario:

For example, if you’re invested in equities only:

• ‘Average scenario’ will assume a return of 5% until the date shown
• The value will then be discounted by the inflation to give you an indication of what your retirement savings might be worth in today’s terms.

If you’re invested in different types of funds, we may use a combination of these rates.

Cash funds are not the same as cash deposit accounts. They invest in money market instruments and short-term bonds and can fall in value. In a low interest rate environment, the charges applied to a cash fund may be greater than any returns, so you could get back less than you have paid in. 

The value of your investments may go down as well as up and you may not get back the amount invested.

To calculate what regular contributions might be in the future, we’ve used an average of the regular contributions made to your plan during the statement period.

You can check the contributions made to your plan on PlanViewer (these are shown as premiums).

Go to Quick links >> Online Statements. You’ll need to input start and end dates equivalent to the statement period shown on the annual statement, then go to Full statement >> Detailed transaction history.

The date shown isn’t when the contribution was made – it’s the date it was invested. Typically, contributions are invested no earlier than the next working day after they’ve been received.

At the date of the statement, if our records showed you were ‘active’, we assume that regular contributions will continue to be paid and increased each year by inflation.

If your status shows you’re a ‘leaver’, we assume that you’ve left the company or the retirement savings plan, and no further contributions will be made.

Using PlanViewer, you can check if your status is ‘active’ or ‘leaver’.

Go to Quick links >> Personal details >> Status. (Be aware that your status may have changed between the end date of the statement and the date on which the annual statement was produced).

The ‘Charges %’ column in your investment summary shows the Total Expense Ratio (TER) for each fund you were invested in at the date of the statement.

The TER is the annual management charge (AMC) plus any other charges the fund makes to cover running costs, such as fees for auditors, registrars and regulators. A fund with a TER of 0.70% means there’s a charge of £70.00 per £10,000 invested each year.

No charges are deducted from your account directly – instead they’re reflected in the fund’s daily unit price.

You can find a full explanation of all charges that apply in the fund factsheets on PlanViewer.

If they apply to your plan, these fees are deducted from units in your funds. They’re shown in the ‘Total paid out’ section in ‘The value of your savings in your account’ section of your annual statement.

With PlanViewer, you can view and manage your savings account whenever you like. You can also find lots of information about your investments, along with tips on how to save for retirement.

In PlanViewer, you should be able to:

• View the current value of your savings account
• Manage and change your existing investments
• Change how future contributions are invested
• Download information about investment options, including fund factsheets for all available funds
• Check transactions and change your personal details
• Download scheme documents and guides.

Some restrictions might apply for your plan, if you need any help, contact Fidelity or your retirement savings representative who can make any changes you need.