Technical terms

Additional Voluntary Contributions
Extra contributions that you can choose to pay into the Plan to increase your future pension benefits.

AkzoNobel Benefit Builder (the Plan)
The pension plan for UK and certain overseas employees of AkzoNobel.

Annual Allowance
An annual limit on the contributions that receive tax relief. It applies to contributions to all your pension plans. Contributions paid in excess of the Annual Allowance – currently £40,000 – are taxed. Please note:  

  • If you have a taxable income (including pension contributions and benefits) of over £150,000, your Annual Allowance will decrease from £40,000 using a sliding scale.
  • If your taxable income (including pension contributions and benefits) is over £210,000 a year, the Annual Allowance will be limited to £10,000.
  • The Annual Allowance is measured over a 12 month period known as the Pension Input Period (PIP). The PIP for the Plan runs from 6 April to 5 April, in line with the tax year. Any savings above these limits in this period will face a tax charge.

Dependants
Those who are wholly or partly financially reliant on you and may include your spouse or registered civil partner, and your children until age 18 or until age 21 if the child is in full-time education or training approved by the Trustee.

 

 

Lifetime Allowance
The maximum level of pension savings from all your pension plans that normally benefit from favourable tax treatment. When you retire, if the total value of all of your retirement savings is greater than the Lifetime Allowance, you will have to pay tax on the excess. The Lifetime Allowance is currently £1.055 million as at April 2019. The Lifetime Allowance is set by the Government and may change in the future.

Normal Retirement Age
65.

Pensionable Pay
Your gross earnings from your employment, excluding certain allowances as specified from time to time by AkzoNobel. For some members Pensionable Pay is subject to a cap.

Qualifying Service
Your years and months as a contributing member of the Plan.

Retirement account
The account maintained in your name, to which your and AkzoNobel's contributions are allocated each month. You decide how your account is invested. The value of your account will depend on how much you and AkzoNobel contribute and how the investments perform.

Selected Retirement Age
If you invest in the LifePath fund, you can specify the age at which you expect to retire, known as your Selected Retirement Age (SRA). If you don’t choose an SRA, the Trustee will assume you wish to retire at your State Pension Age.

Self Select funds
The Plan offers a range of investment funds that you can choose to invest in. These funds have different investment strategies depending on the type of assets (equities, bonds, property and cash) that they invest in.