Your guide - Vodafone Pensions

1 your guideThe Defined Contribution Pension PlanSenior Leadership TeamClick to begin2 IntroductionWelcome to your guide to the Vodafone UK DefinedContribution Pension Plan (the Plan). The Company iscommitted to providing excellent pension benefitsand helping you to plan for your retirement. Membership of the Plan is a valuable benefit. Thisbooklet explains the benefits the Plan provides andinformation on the decisions you may need to make. Work your way through the booklet by clicking thearrows or selecting a topic from the menu on the 3 - 4- How the Plan works- JoiningBenefits 5 - 9- When you take your pension- Other benefits- If you leave- How can I increase my benefits?

2 Investments10 - 12- Things to consider whenchoosing where to invest- Types of investment - Where can I invest?Details13 - 17- How the Plan is run- Disputes- Useful contacts- GlossaryContentsHow the Plan works1. ContributionsYou will be entitled to a pension allowance of 24% of your have the option to receive this allowance as a Companycontribution to the Plan or as a cash allowance paid in lieu of anypension contribution. You can also choose a combination ofthese two options. Due to a change in pension tax legislation,any company pension contribution will be limited to the higherof your total allowance or 50,000 a year.

3 The maximum pensioncontribution will apply unless you advise RetirementThe Plan has a Normal Retirement Age of 60. You canretire before or after this date (from age 55) but you willneed permission from the Company. When you take yourpension, the money in your Account will be used to buybenefits. You can take 25% as a tax-free lump sum anduse the rest to buy a pension (or annuity) that willprovide you with an income for the rest of your toyour Account 2. InvestmentsYou choose where to invest your Account from a number ofoptions. Depending on the performance of your investments, your Account could increase or decrease in 1 Investment 2 Investment 3 25%tax-free lump sum75%used to buy a pensionInvestment performance3 How the Plan worksThroughout the booklet there are anumber of technical terms.

4 We haveexplained these in the Glossary onpage have benefits in other pension arrangements?You may be able to transfer them into the Plan..I take a career break?If you are on paid leave from the Company, contributions toyour Account will continue based on your pay at that time. Ifyour leave is unpaid, contributions to your Account will stop,but you can leave your Account leave?Contributions to your Account will stop and if you have been amember of the Plan for:..I become ill and can t work?You could receive an income of 66% of your Pensionable Salary(see page 8 for more information)..I die whilst working for the Company?

5 The Plan provides life cover, so your dependants would receivea lump sum of four times your salary. You can choose toincrease your life cover to a maximum of eight times yourPensionable Salary by paying a small have any questionsVodafone Pensions looks after the day-to-day running of thePlan and is available to help answer any queries you may haveabout your Account. Contact details are on page least three months:you will have the optionto transfer your benefitsto another registeredpension least two years:you can keep yourAccount invested untilyou take your Plan is a cost-effective way to build up benefitsfor retirement because: The Company contributesto your Account.

6 You get tax reliefand National Insurance (NI)savings on all the contributions made to your Account. You can make Additional VoluntaryContributions(AVCs) to boost the value of your Account. You receive other benefitsincluding ill-healthbenefits and life sooner you start to save, the more you couldreceive when you retire because contributionsare made for longer, invested for longer and sohave more chance to can jointhe Plan atany timeWhen can I join? You can join the Plan at any time. We will contact you shortly after you join theCompany to explain your pension options. You have three months from joining theCompany to decide if you would like tobecome a decisions can I make?

7 You need to decide: How much the Company contributes (up to 24%) If you want to make AVCs Where to invest your contributions How you want your pension allowance to be you do not make any choices, Vodafone willautomatically start to contribute to yourAccount and your Account will be invested inthe Lifestyle strategy. What if I m already a member of anotherpension arrangement?You can join even if you are alreadycontributing to another pension arrangement(subject to certain tax limits) and, as a memberof the Plan, you will also build up anentitlement to a State pension is one way of helpingyou lead a comfortable lifestyle inretirement.

8 Generally, the earlieryou join, the happens if I decide not to join?You will be eligible to receive an additional 24% salaryallowance. You will also still be eligible for life cover offour times your Pensionable Salary. Remember, youcan join the Plan at any time whilst you are employedby the a member of the Planprovides you and your dependants witha number of benefits. These aresummarised in not How the Plan works on page 3. In this section we give youmore detail about these your Normal Retirement Age (60), you use the value of your Account to buy a range of benefits,including a:When you take your pensionLump sumUnder current tax rules, you can take up to 25% of your Account as a lump sum.

9 This is currentlytax free. The remainder of your Account is used to buy a any lump sum, your Account is used to buy a pension. This pension will provide you with anincome for the rest of your life. You have choicesabout the type of pension you buy, including: A pension that increases with inflation Providing benefits for your choices you make will affect the amount ofpension you will receive each note: The benefits described on this pageare based the tax rules and legislation in place atJune earlyYou can retire before age 60 with the Company sconsent. You can do this whether or not you areremaining in employment with the Company.

10 Theminimum age that you can take your pension isage 55. Remember, if you choose to retire earlyyou will not be able to continue to build the valueof your after age 60If you want to work beyond your NormalRetirement Age (60) you have three options. You can: Continue working and contribute to your Account Continue working and take your pension Stop contributing to your Account and take yourbenefits PensionAs well as your benefits from the Plan, you will also be eligible for benefits from the State. The StatePension is made up of two parts and as a member of the Plan you will benefit from both: Basic State Pension this is a pension paid to everyone who has paid enough National Insurancecontributions during their working life.