Member update

Change Of Administration Provider From Mercer To Aptia

The Trustee of the MMC UK Pension Fund (the Fund) has recently appointed Aptia UK Limited (Aptia) as the provider for delivering pension administration services for the Fund. Previously, Mercer had been responsible for administering the Fund. Earlier this year, Mercer's administration business was acquired by Aptia, leading to the transfer of the Fund's pension administration services to Aptia.

Aptia is working closely with the Trustee to ensure a smooth transition. Please be assured that the administration team and technology used to manage your pension savings have not changed. Additionally, Mercer is continuing to support Aptia to ensure a seamless handover of services.

It is anticipated that any correspondence you have with the administrators will start to switch from Mercer to Aptia’s own branding over the coming months. This change will include updating the regular and ad hoc communications and the online portals used to contact Aptia. During this process you may see or receive communications in both Mercer and Aptia branding for a period. This is not something to be concerned about. This rebranding is part of the transition process and does not affect the administration of your pension benefits nor the service you receive.

Please read the FAQs below for more information.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. Who is Aptia?
Aptia is the new administrator for the MMC UK Pension Fund. It has taken over the pension administration services from Mercer. You can read more about the Aptia business on their website: https://www.aptia-group.com/en-gb/about-aptia

2. Will contact details for the MMC UK Pension Fund change?
The contact details for the MMC UK Pension Fund have changed to:

3. Do I need to take any action as a result of this change?
No, you do not need to take any action as a result of this change. Your pension benefits will continue to be administered without any action required from you.

4. Do I need to inform anyone of this, e.g. HMRC / my accountant / financial adviser (IFA)?
There is no need for you to inform anyone regarding this change. The necessary arrangements have been made to ensure a seamless transition, and your pension benefits will continue to be paid as usual.

5. Will there be any interruption to being able to access Aptia OneView?
No, there will be no interruption to your ability to access Aptia OneView. You can continue to use the same login details and access information about your benefits as before. Aptia will, through time, introduce their own self-service platform equivalent to Aptia OneView and further details will be shared by Aptia in due course.

6. Over what period will the branding changes take place?
The branding changes will take place gradually over the course of 2024. You will begin to see the Aptia logo appear:

7. What was behind the decision for Mercer to sell the administration business?
The decision to sell its administration business was a strategic business decision taken by Mercer. The Trustee and Aptia are working closely to ensure a smooth transition and continued high-quality service.

8. Is Mercer still involved in the running of the MMC UK Pension Fund?
Yes, the Trustee continues to work with Mercer for the provision of actuarial, investment and pension consulting services.

9. How have you ensured that my details have transferred correctly to the new administrator (Aptia)?
The Trustee and Aptia have taken all necessary measures to ensure a smooth transfer of your details. Your information has been securely transferred to Aptia, and it will continue to administer your pension benefits as before.

10. How is the continuation of service level being monitored?
The Trustee is closely monitoring the continuation of service levels during this transition. We are working closely with Aptia to ensure that the high-quality administration service you are accustomed to is maintained. The same experienced, knowledgeable administration team, undertaking the administration on behalf on the Trustee, is being maintained transitioned to Aptia.

11. I have a pension from a different pension scheme that is administered by Mercer, will this be moving to Aptia too?
This letter specifically applies to the arrangements for the MMC UK Pension Fund and we are unable to comment on any changes in respect of other pension arrangements. If you have other pensions administered by Mercer, please contact Mercer using your usual contact details for those pensions.

PENSIONER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS (12-14)

12. Will there be any changes to the timing or value of my pension payments?
No, there will be no change to the timing or value of your pension payments.

13. Will there be any changes to the pension details or banking information?
No, there will be no changes to your pension details or banking information associated with your pension. Your payments will be made to the same account as before.

14. Does this impact the security of my pension?
This change in administration does not impact the security of your pension in any way as you continue to be a member of the MMC UK Pension Fund. Your pension benefits will remain the same.

If you have any additional questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact the administration team using the contact details above.

May 2024

Smartpath Changes For Members

MMC UK Pension Fund (“the Fund”)

The SmartPath Target Drawdown strategy is the default investment strategy for Fund members and is designed for those wishing to take income drawdown at retirement. The SmartPath Target Cash strategy is an additional strategy available for selection by Fund members and is designed for those wishing to take a cash lump sum at retirement. The Trustee has delegated the design of these strategies to Mercer Workplace Savings (“MWS”).

SmartPath Target Drawdown changes

Following a recent Mercer SmartPath Investment Strategy Review undertaken by MWS, changes are being made to the SmartPath Target Drawdown strategy for members retiring after 31 December 2025. If your target retirement date is on, or before, 31 December 2025, you will continue to be invested in line with the previous strategy. The Trustee periodically reviews the range of investment options made available to you as a member to ensure they continue to be in line with best practice design and are comfortable with these changes.

The change being made by MWS is to reduce the Cash allocation within the SmartPath Target Drawdown strategy in the years leading up to retirement and replacing this with an increased allocation to the Mercer Diversified Retirement Fund. MWS have taken this decision as the new allocation will be better positioned to provide moderate long-term capital growth, for those who intend to access flexible income drawdown at retirement. This change will take place inside the target retirement funds and will only impact members whose target retirement date is after 31 December 2025. You should ensure that your target retirement date correctly reflects the date you intend to retire. You can check your current target retirement date and make changes by logging into Mercer OneView.

Further details about how your investments will change over time while invested in the default strategy (before and after these changes) are available in the Fund’s Investment Guide. You can check if you are invested in the default strategy by logging into Mercer OneView.

SmartPath Target Cash changes

Following a recent Mercer SmartPath Investment Strategy Review undertaken by MWS, changes are being made to the SmartPath Target Cash strategy for all members. The change being made by MWS is to replace the Mercer Passive UK Corporate Bond Fund allocation within the SmartPath Target Cash strategy in the years leading up to retirement with an allocation to the Mercer Diversified Retirement Fund. This change was made on 18 March 2024.

Further details about how your investments will change over time while invested in the SmartPath Target Cash strategy (following the above change) are available in the Fund’s Investment Guide. You can check if you are invested in the SmartPath Target Cash strategy by logging into Mercer OneView.

If you have any questions about Mercer OneView, please contact the Mercer OneView Contact Centre on 0345 600 0229 (9.00am to 5.00pm. Monday to Friday, except public holidays).

For current colleagues you can access Mercer OneView via the single sign on link in the My Quick Links section in Colleague Connect. For deferred members you can access OneView here, if you need to request a new log in passcode, please email: contact.mercer.com

We encourage you to regularly review your investment choices, particularly as you get closer to your target retirement age, to ensure they remain aligned with how and when you intend to access your pension savings. For details of the various options available to you at retirement, you should read the Fund’s Retirement Flexibilities Guide.

Additionally, in the lead up to retirement you will have access to the Pensions Decision Service (“PDS”), which will provide you with a dedicated Retirement Relationship Manager on hand to help with any questions you may have in the approach to retirement.

Important Notes

Managing your retirement savings properly is important and there is a lot of information for you to consider. Before you make any decisions about accessing your DC savings in the Fund, it is strongly recommended that you seek professional financial advice from a FCA-regulated financial adviser. You can find a regulated financial adviser in your area by visiting https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/getting-help-and-advice/financial-advisers/choosing-a-financial-adviser. You should always check the charges and specialist areas of an adviser before appointing them. You can also contact the Mercer Private Wealth team here.

March 2024

Responsible Investment

The Trustee is committed to focusing on sustainability in the management and monitoring of your savings.

• An example of this commitment in action is the Trustee putting their own Sustainable Investment Policy in place to clearly set out their climate change beliefs and approach to ensuring Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) factors are considered as part of the Fund’s DB and DC investment arrangements.
• A further example of the Trustee’s commitment to sustainability is the inclusion of a sustainable global equity fund in the default strategy of the Fund’s DC section. This fund invests in companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices. Companies that fail to meet the set standards in low carbon transition and corporate governance standards may be excluded from the fund. This fund is also available to you directly as a self select option. More detail can be found in the Investment Guide.

The Fund’s default strategy has also set a target of net-zero absolute carbon emissions by 2050. The interim plan to achieve this target aligns with targeting a 1.5°C limit on global temperature increases and the Paris Agreement’s ambitions.

For more details on the Trustee’s beliefs and policies regarding sustainability, please read:

• The Statement of Investment Principles on this website's homepage
• The Sustainable Investment Policy found here.
• Our Responsible Investment Approach booklet in the Investment Section.

October 2023

Changes Effective From April 2023

The UK Government implemented several changes relating to the tax relief limits on pension savings and the tax charge applied on death benefits from April 2023.

Summary of changes from April 2023

The following took effect from 6 April 2023:

• The abolition of tax charge imposed on pension savings built up throughout your lifetime which exceed £1,073,100 (the Lifetime Allowance).
• The annual limit on pension savings which receive tax relief (the Annual Allowance) increased to £60,000 per tax year.
• The annual limit on pension savings which receive tax relief for higher earners (the Tapered Annual Allowance) continues to apply, for individuals with Threshold Income of more than £200,000 and Adjusted Income of more than £260,000. The minimum level of pension contributions which receive tax relief increasing from £4,000 to £10,000 for an Adjusted Income of £360,000 or more.
• The Money Purchase Annual Allowance (which applies to individuals who have already started ‘flexibly’ taking their defined contribution pension benefits) will increase to from £4,000 to £10,000 per tax year.
• The maximum pension commencement lump sum (also known as tax-free cash lump sum) an individual can claim has been limited to 25% of the existing Lifetime Allowance, meaning a maximum of £268,275, except for individuals where existing HMRC protections apply.

In addition, the following took effect from 6 April 2024:

• The Lifetime Allowance terminology has been replaced with Lump Sum Death Benefits Allowance and terminology and the charge applied to death benefits provided through a registered arrangement has been replaced with a tax charge at the beneficiary’s marginal rate on benefits above the Lifetime Allowance.

Company policies to help colleagues with the impact of the tax limits

Partial Membership option

Colleagues who have been impacted by the Tapered Annual Allowance can opt to be Partial Members of the DC Section of the MMC UK Pension Fund (the Fund). Under the Partial Membership option, colleagues have been able pay employee contributions at a monthly rate between £1 and £3,333 (i.e. instead of the standard % monthly rates) to help manage the amount being paid into the Fund. Instead of an employer contribution being paid into the Fund, the Company pays the colleague a non-pensionable salary supplement of 10.5% of basic salary (capped at £250,000 p.a.).

With the increase to the annual allowance the monthly maximum contribution limit for the partial membership option has been increased from £3,333 to £5,000 to allow colleagues to contribute up to the increased annual allowance of £60,000 per year. This was made available from the April 2023 Prosper window. If you consequently wish to increase your pension contribution under Partial Membership, please log into Prosper via the ‘My Quick Links’ section in Colleague Connect.

Lifetime Allowance Opt Out option

The Lifetime Allowance opt out option has been available for colleagues with pension savings in excess of £858,480 (80% of the Lifetime Allowance that applied for tax year 2022/2023). Under this option, the colleague also receives a non-pensionable salary supplement, in lieu of the company pension contribution. No changes have been made to this option, it therefore remains in place for existing colleagues as well as new joiners to the Company.

Should colleagues currently in this option wish to commence contributions either via the standard membership with employee and employer pension contributions or the aforementioned partial membership please log into Prosper to via the ‘My Quick Links’ section in Colleague Connect make the change.

Life Assurance

For the purposes of HMRC’s tax charge calculation on death, any lump sum life assurance benefit is included as well as any other lump sum benefits that would be payable from a Registered arrangement, such as the return of a DC account from the Fund, as well as any other DC accounts a colleague may have from previous employment.

The Company’s default approach to managing the death in service benefits has been to provide any lump sum life assurance benefit above £500,000 through a ‘non-registered or Excepted’ arrangement, benefits from which do not count towards the Lump Sum Death Benefits Allowance.

As the tax charge applied on lump sum benefits received above the Lump Sum Death Benefits Allowance remains higher than the potential for a tax charge on benefits provided through an excepted group scheme (i.e. broadly, marginal tax rate in comparison to 6%) no changes will be made to the current structure through which life assurance benefits are provided

How to increase your contributions or opt in

Should you currently contribute via partial membership and wish to increase your contributions or have opted out for lifetime allowance reasons and now wish to opt in, these changes can be made via the benefits platform Prosper the link to which can be found in the ‘My Quick Links’ section in Colleague Connect. Please note changes can only be made during the monthly window which runs from 1st to 20th each month, your selected change will then be effective from the following month’s pay.

Further Help

If you wish to discuss the options available to you or how to select them in Prosper please contact the benefits team at UKIBenefits@mmc.com

If you require advice on if you should increase or start pension contributions, you should consult an independent financial advisor. Help choosing one can be found here. You can also contact the Mercer Private Wealth team here.

May 2024

Death In Service Benefits And The Lump Sum Death Benefits Allowance

For current colleagues, the life assurance, which forms part of your overall Marsh McLennan benefits package, provides additional financial security for your family and other dependants should you pass away whilst employed by the Company. The Lump Sum Death Benefits Allowance (LSDBA) could affect your death in service benefits. The LSDBA is a limit set by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on the amount of benefits that can be paid through a Registered arrangement without triggering a tax charge. The LSDBA is currently set at £1,073,100 and benefit above this would be taxed at the beneficiary’s marginal rate.

For more detail on how you may be impacted by this please find further resources below:

LUMP SUM DEATH BENEFITS ALLOWANCE – POTENTIAL TAX IMPACT

The LSDBA is a limit set by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on the amount of benefit that can be paid through a Registered arrangement without triggering a tax charge. The LSDBA is currently set at £1,073,100 and benefit above this would be taxed at the beneficiary’s marginal rate.

For the purposes of the LSDBA charge calculation, on death your lump sum life assurance benefit would be included as well as any other lump sum benefits that would be payable from a Registered arrangement, such as the return of your Defined Contribution (DC) account from the MMC UK Pension Fund, as well as any other DC accounts you may have such as from any previous employment.

EXAMPLE 1: SALARY – £60,000

EXAMPLE 2: SALARY – £180,000

For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of death, benefits through membership of MMC’s Defined Benefit (DB) arrangements are paid as pension income to beneficiaries rather than lump sums and do not count towards the LSDBA calculation.

If the default approach does not work for you then you can request to have all of your lump sum life assurance benefit provided via the Excepted/non-registered arrangement. Completion of a form is required to make the request; this can be found on our Forms page. If you are unsure of the approach you should take, you should take advice from an independent financial advisor. You can also contact the Mercer Private Wealth team here.

There are some circumstances where UK inheritance tax could be payable on benefits provided via a non-registered arrangement. Based on inheritance tax rates, law and HMRC confirmations applicable to deaths occurring prior to 1 April 2024 this tax charge would not be more than 6% of the lump sum death benefit paid. If any such UK inheritance tax were payable, it would be deducted from the lump sum benefit at or before the time of payment.

COLLEAGUES WITH HMRC PROTECTION / WHO HAVE OPTED OUT OF THE MMC UK PENSION FUND DUE TO PENSION SAVINGS TAX LIMITS

If you have been granted any form of HMRC protected tax-free cash (formerly Lifetime Allowance protection), such as Fixed Protection, and have already informed the MMC Benefits Team then no action is required. All lump sum life assurance benefits are automatically insured via MMC’s Excepted/non-registered arrangement if you have opted out of the MMC UK Pension Fund for pension savings tax reasons and currently receive a Non Pensionable salary Supplement (NPSS).

If you have not previously informed MMC that you have HMRC protection then you should do so immediately. Please send a copy of your HMRC protection certificate to UKIBenefits@mmc.com.

Should you wish to elect to have all your life assurance provided through the Excepted/non-registered arrangement, please complete and return the application form.

For any further questions, please click here to access FAQs or contact UKIBenefits@mmc.com.

May 2024

Pensions Tax Advantages And Limits

There are many tax advantages of contributing to the Fund, including tax relief on contributions and investments. Further details can be found here.

Some of our members may be affected by the HMRC limits in place on tax relief. There are limits on tax relief for contributions made in the tax year and contributions made throughout your lifetime.

We have also produced a document which will help you understand if you are affected and what options MMC has to help you manage your tax position.

July 2023

Will You Have Sufficient Income In Retirement?

The challenge for many is how do you know whether you are on track for the kind of lifestyle you would like when you come to retire and what can you do about it. In order to help with this the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association (the “PLSA”) has developed the Retirement Living Standards to explain what life in retirement looks like at three different levels and what a range of common goods and services would cost for each level. We have created this flyer to provide an introduction to the Retirement living Standards, to get you thinking about how much you will need in retirement and an explanation of the different sources of retirement income.

November 2022

Change To The Minimum Pension Age

From 6 April 2028, the government is changing the minimum age from which you can take retirements benefits from age 55 to age 57.

Although this change is not for nearly 6 years, you should take this opportunity to review your retirement plans, to ensure that you are aware of any impact on them.

You can find more information about this change on the gov.uk website here.

April 2022

Enhanced Support In Your Retirement Journey

The Trustee has introduced the Pension Decision Service (PDS) from Mercer to support members of the Fund in making informed choices in the lead up to their retirement.

When members are provided with a retirement quotation from the Fund setting out their options, they will now also be sent details of the PDS. This is a free service for members.

PDS provides members with a dedicated Retirement Relationship Manager to help with any questions they may have when planning their retirement. A call with a Retirement Relationship Manager is designed to:

• Provide members with factual information about all of the options available from the Fund
• Talk through the retirement quotation
• Validate member’s understanding of the available options
• Build confidence and knowledge to enable members to make an informed decision
• Help members understand their next steps with a view to making it easier to understand and navigate the options at retirement.

More information on PDS can be found here, and you can also view an introductory video overview of the PDS here.

October 2021

Pension Scams

If you are under age 55, you cannot draw pension benefits from the Fund (unless you are in serious ill health). If you are 55 or over, it may be possible to release funds from your pension and this makes you a more attractive target for scammers. Here are some common warning signs to watch out for:

• A cold call, text message, website pop-up or someone coming to your door offering you a ‘free pension review’, ‘one-off investment opportunity’ or ‘legal loophole’.
• Convincing marketing materials that promise you high returns on your investment (typically over 8% per annum).
• Paperwork delivered to your door by courier that requires immediate signature.
• A proposal to put your money in a single investment. In most circumstances, financial advisers will suggest diversification of assets.
• A claim that you can access your pension before age 55.
• Transfers of your money overseas.

You should never be rushed into making a decision and never take advice from anyone who is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The pension scams booklet - available on the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) website – includes examples of real life pension scams http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension-problems/making-a-complaint/common-concerns/pension-scams.

You can also view a video on YouTube (skip the Ads) giving you further useful information about pensions scams, as well as this handy leaflet summarising how pension scams work, how to avoid them, and what to do if you suspect a scam.

For more information on how to avoid scams and useful resources, you can also visit www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart.

October 2021