What is a Defined Contribution (DC) pension?
In a DC pension you build up a pot of money that you can use at retirement. You determine the amount of contributions you wish to make, (or you are automatically enrolled at the default contribution level) and Vodafone also contributes to your pension pot.
Your contributions are made via Salary Sacrifice meaning there are no tax or National Insurance deductions on these contributions. What you build up in your pot is invested in order to grow the value up until your retirement. You can then use the value of your pension pot at retirement in a number of ways to suit your preferences.
LifeSight
LifeSight is a Master Trust operated by WTW, and the home for your Vodafone pension savings. Your contributions are paid into your LifeSight Account, along with Vodafone's employer contributions.
You can access your LifeSight Account online. Once you’ve registered you will be able to see how much you and Vodafone have paid into your Account and where your money is invested.
If you had savings in the previous Vodafone DC Plan, these were moved to LifeSight in early 2020.
Watch the LifeSight video to find out more.
Can I join LifeSight?
Yes, if you are a current Vodafone employee you can join LifeSight, please visit MyChoices and go to the Pensions & Life Cover section under the Benefits tab.
If you have previously opted out of LifeSight and wish to rejoin you should also join via MyChoices.
How much can I pay into LifeSight?
As a member, the minimum you can pay is 3%. Vodafone will pay in twice as much as you do, up to a maximum of 10% employer contributions. You can change how much you pay at any time by visiting MyChoices.
If you pay 3%
3%
6%
9%
If you pay 4%
4%
8%
12%
If you pay 5%
5%
10%
15%
How much do you need?
Do you know how much money you will need to fund the kind of retirement you want to have? It can be difficult to imagine what your life will be like when you retire. The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has developed a set of Retirement Living Standards to help you imagine the retirement you want and work out how much it will cost. Find out more in Your retirement lifestyle.
Saving more
If you want to save more towards your retirement you can pay additional voluntary contributions (AVCs). These could be one-off payments into your LifeSight Account or you can opt to increase your monthly contribution and pay regular AVCs. The maximum Vodafone will contribute to your Account is 10%. Increasing your own contributions will not attract any further contribution from Vodafone. If you choose to make regular AVC payments, you can change how much you pay at any time. You can start paying AVCs and change your AVC payments by visiting MyChoices.
Is it affordable?
Saving for later life can be a very tax-efficient way to save. Every £1 you pay into LifeSight actually only costs you 68p (if you are a basic rate taxpayer) because you make savings on tax and National Insurance. Take a look the example below to see how it works:
How it works
In this example you are a basic rate taxpayer with a gross annual Basic Salary of £24,000. You contribute £100 a month to your LifeSight Account, which is 5% of your Basic Salary.
Vodafone double-matches your contributions and pays £200 a month (10% of your Basic Salary) to your LifeSight Account in addition to your contributions.
If you pay contributions via salary sacrifice, this is taken from your salary before tax and National Insurance (NI) is deducted. That means you pay less tax and NI as it is calculated using your reduced salary. For example:
Life cover
If you die while you still work for Vodafone, your beneficiaries will receive a payment of at least three times your Basic Salary. Employees can choose to pay more to increase this to a maximum of eight times Basic Salary. If you wish to increase your life cover, you may do this during the benefits selection window in March, or if you have had a significant life event. To find out more information, or change your level of cover, go to MyChoices.
Increase your life coverLifeSight will also pay your beneficiaries your Account value as a death-in-service lump sum, subject to the Trustee’s discretion.
On leaving Vodafone, life cover will cease but LifeSight will pay a refund of your Account value at date of death, subject to the Trustee’s discretion.
Investments
Putting your money in the best place for you
How much you get in retirement depends on your total contributions and how the money in your Account is invested.
LifeSight offers a number of investment options for you to choose from. There are 25 self-select options and nine Lifecycle arrangements. Each option offers a different level of risk. The different Lifecycle arrangements provide you with a choice between different investment approaches tailored to reflect how you wish to access your money in the future.
If you don’t wish to make a choice there is a default option. In LifeSight the default investment strategy is the LifeSight Medium Risk Drawdown Lifecycle investment strategy. In this strategy, a proportion of your assets will remain invested in higher risk assets so that they will potentially continue to achieve investment returns until you want to access your LifeSight savings. This is a change from the default in the previous DC Plan which was a Cash Lifestyle Fund. Read More about LifeSight for further details.
LifeSight Medium Risk Drawdown Lifecycle investment strategy
Until 25 years before your Target Retirement Age* your LifeSight Account will be solely invested in the LifeSight Equity Fund.
From 25 years before your Target Retirement Age*, your investments will gradually begin to move into the LifeSight Diversified Growth Fund. This means you will be invested in a broader range of assets which provides some protection from extreme changes in the investment market and reduces the risk of significant changes to the value of your LifeSight Account.
From five years before your Target Retirement Age*, your investments will gradually move into the LifeSight Cash Fund reducing your exposure to the investment market and further reducing the risk of significant changes to the value of your LifeSight Account.
At your Target Retirement Age, your LifeSight Account will consist of 70% in the LifeSight Diversified Growth Fund and 30% in the LifeSight Cash Fund. Detailed information on each of the funds is available from LifeSight.
Investment decisions are very personal choices which are dependent on how much risk you can afford to take and how much risk you are comfortable with, amongst other factors. It is important to review where your money is invested to make sure it is right for you. You can read more in the LifeSight Investment Guide.
* You can choose to retire at the Plan’s Normal Retirement Age, or set your own Target Retirement Age which can be any age from 55 (rising to 57 from 2028, subject to legislation). If you are in one of the Lifecycle options, your Target Retirement Age affects when your investments switch from higher risk to lower risk funds.
Risk and reward
When deciding how your money should be invested, risk is an important factor to consider. Typically, the higher the potential returns on your investment, the higher the risk. You should take time to consider your options before making any decisions. If you need help you can find an independent financial adviser in your local area at MoneyHelper.
Changing your investments
LifeSight offers a wide range of investment options to suit different needs. If you would like to know more about the options available to you visit More about LifeSight.
Your retirement savings and the State Pension
Your Vodafone pension may not be the only savings you have for your retirement. You may have saved into a pension scheme with another employer and you may also be entitled to a State Pension. The amount of State Pension you will receive depends upon your National Insurance record. For more information visit the Government’s Your Pension website.
If you need to trace a pension from a previous workplace you can use the Government’s Pension Tracing Service.
Tax allowances and your retirement savings
You do not pay tax on the money you save into a pension up to certain amounts. Everyone has an Annual Allowance (AA) for tax free pension saving. There are different allowances for people earning over £200,000 a year (Tapered Annual Allowance) and for those who have already started to take their retirement savings (Money Purchase Annual Allowance - MPAA).
Up until 6 April 2023 there was also the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) to consider. The value of your pension benefits was assessed against the Lifetime Allowance, or Personal Lifetime Allowance, at certain points (including retirement), and if the value of your benefits exceeded the allowance, there was a tax charge on the excess. The LTA tax charge has not been enforced since 6 April 2023, and it has been removed completely from April 2024.
-
Annual Allowance (AA)
The AA is the maximum amount you can save into your pension each year and still attract tax relief. Your AA applies to the total amount you save including any contributions made for you by Vodafone to LifeSight and any pension savings you make outside LifeSight. There is no limit on the amount you can save into a pension plan, but there is a limit on the amount that receives tax relief each year. The AA for the 2024/25 tax year is £60,000. If the amount saved is more than £60,000 you will pay a tax charge on the amount over the AA. If you are affected by the AA, you may be able to carry forward any unused tax allowances from the previous three years. You can find a helpful AA calculator on the gov.uk website.
-
The Lump Sum Allowance (LSA)
The LSA is the total tax-free lump sum limit you can receive from all your pensions, unless you have a valid protection certificate that allows you to take a higher tax-free amount. From April 2024, the LSA limit is £268,275 (that is 25% of £1,073,100 – the old LTA). Any amount in excess of this limit will be taxed at your marginal rate.
-
The Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA)
This is the total tax-free lump sum amount that can be paid to beneficiaries if someone dies before age 75. The LSDBA limit is £1,073,100. Any amount in excess of this limit as taxed at your marginal rate.
-
Tapered Annual Allowance (Tapered AA)
The reduced or ‘tapered’ AA is in place for those with taxable earnings over £200,000 a year – known as your threshold income. If your threshold income (including your salary, any bonuses, and income from other sources) is more than £200,000 a year, you need to calculate your tapered AA by working out your adjusted income. This is your total taxable earnings plus your total pension contributions in the tax year. From 6 April 2024, if your adjusted income is more than £260,000, your AA is reduced by £1 for every £2 above the £260,000, to a minimum of £10,000 a year. If you are affected by the tapered AA, you may be able to carry forward any unused tax allowances from the previous three years. If you are a Vodafone employee, you may also be able to take advantage of the capped contribution option, visit MyChoices for more details. You can also find more detailed information on tax and your pension on gov.uk
-
Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA)
If you are aged 55 or over and have previously drawn, or are currently drawing, an income from any Defined Contribution (DC) savings your AA will be reduced. The option to take some of your retirement savings whilst continuing to save into a DC scheme was introduced as part of the flexible benefit options in April 2015. You may be subject to a restricted AA of £10,000 a year (From 6 April 2024) if you have taken money from your DC retirement savings. If this impacts you, anything you save above the £10,000 limit will be subject to a tax charge. Find out more on gov.uk.
-
The Overseas Transfer Allowance
The Overseas Transfer Allowance is the total value of pensions that you can transfer to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). The limit is £1,073,100 and if you exceed this limit, the amount will be subject to a 25% tax charge. Find out more on gov.uk.
HMRC’s Annual Allowance and Tapered Annual Allowances
From April 6 2020 to April 6 2023
| Threshold Income/ Adjusted Income |
Annual Allowance |
Tapered Annual Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Below £200,000 | £40,000 | – |
| Over £240,000 (including pension contributions) and less than £312,000 | – | In a range reducing from £40,000 to £4,000* |
| Over £312,000 | – | £4,000* |
*The £4,000 limit also applies if you are already in receipt of your defined contribution pension. This is known as the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, see above for more details.
After April 6 2023
| Threshold Income/ Adjusted Income |
Annual Allowance |
Tapered Annual Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Below £200,000 | £60,000 | – |
| Over £260,000 (including pension contributions) and less than £360,000 | – | In a range reducing from £60,000 to £10,000** |
| Over £360,000 | – | £10,000** |
**The £10,000 limit also applies if you are already in receipt of your defined contribution pension. This is known as the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, see above for more details.
More detailed information on tax and your pension is available on gov.uk.
Transferring out
What is transferring out?
Transferring out means moving the money in your LifeSight Account to another pension scheme. It is an important decision and you may wish to seek financial advice before choosing to move. You can find a professional adviser at MoneyHelper.
How does it work?
If you have been a member of LifeSight for more than 30 days you can transfer all or part of the value of your LifeSight Account to another registered pension arrangement.
If you’ve been a member of LifeSight for less than 30 days, you will receive a full refund of everything you’ve paid in instead.
Need to know
Beware of scammers, if you do plan to move your money check the scheme you are moving it to thoroughly. Scammers are known to encourage people to transfer their savings so that they can access the money more readily.
To find out more visit the Financial Conduct Authority’s ScamSmart service and take the pensions scams quiz.
If you wish to transfer out you need to complete a transfer out form.
Transfer outLetting us know someone has died
If a member of LifeSight has recently died, you need to contact the LifeSight Team:
Email: lifesightsupport@wtwco.com
Phone: 01737 227 517
Write: The LifeSight Team, WTW, Sunderland, SR43 4JU
Life events
Keep your details up to date
If you move address, get married or divorced, have children, or change your name you will need to let LifeSight know.
You should keep your nomination of beneficiaries up to date. The information will help the LifeSight Trustee and the Life Assurance Trustee to determine who should receive any money payable in the event of your death. The LifeSight nomination of beneficiaries can be updated by visiting your LifeSight Account. The Life Assurance nomination of beneficiaries can be updated in your MyChoices profile.
Why it’s important
When you come to withdraw your savings, LifeSight will use the details it has on record to verify you. If your details are not up-to-date payment of your pension could be delayed.