Archived news
The following news items have been archived but are still available for you to view.
The latest version of the scheme annual report and accounts (at 31 March 2010) is now available to download below.
In the Budget on 22 June 2010, the Government announced changes to the way in which most social security benefits and the basic State Pension would be increased from April 2011. The change means that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) would replace the Retail Prices Index (RPI) as the basis (or for the basic State pension, one of the bases) for increases to these benefits.
On 8 July, the Government made a further announcement that it believes it is right to use the same measure of inflation (CPI) for determining pension increases in occupational pension schemes like Unilever's UK pension arrangements. It therefore intends to change the law to allow the CPI (up to a maximum) to apply as the minimum increase to certain parts of private sector occupational pensions.
Most pension increases in the Unilever UK Pension Fund ("the Fund&") are linked to RPI, and the RPI as the basis for pension increases is written into the Fund rules for those increases. Therefore unless the rules are changed (which would need the agreement of the pension fund trustees), RPI, up to the appropriate maximum, would continue to form the basis for most pension fund increases.
It is possible, however, that the Government could pass additional changes to the law that would allow pension schemes to change their pension increases without necessarily needing to change their scheme rules. At this stage, however, there is no further information available other than the 8 July announcement. It is therefore not yet clear how these changes will impact Unilever's UK pension funds and accordingly no decisions have been made. As more information becomes available, Unilever and Unilever's pension fund trustees will review the situation.
The Unilever UK Pension Fund ("the Fund") may share information provided to it with various bodies in order to prevent and detect fraud.
The Audit Commission is responsible for carrying out data matching exercises. Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same body or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it indicates that there is an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.
We intend to participate in data matching exercises to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Audit Commission for matching for each exercise, and these are set out in the Audit Commission's guidance, which can be found at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi.
The use of data by the Audit Commission in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under its powers in Part 2A of the Audit Commission Act 1998. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Data matching by the Audit Commission is subject to a Code of Practice. This may be found at: www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi/pages/codeofdatamatchingpractice.aspx.
For further information on the Audit Commission's legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information, see: www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi/fairprocessing/pages/level3fulltext_copy.aspx.
For further information on data matching at this Fund write to the Fund Secretary at:
Unilever UK Pensions
Unilever House
Springfield Drive
Leatherhead
KT22 7GR.
There have been two small changes recently that affect the Investing plan funds.
Firstly, the Trustee board has decided to change the name of the Investing plan's High growth fund to the 'Aggressive growth fund'. This follows advice we received from Fidelity earlier in the year, that the fund name would have to change. Fidelity is regulated by the Financial Services Authority ('FSA'). The FSA's new 'Treating Customers Fairly' initiative would lead it to reject a fund name that implied guaranteed achievement of high growth, given the recent economic climate.
Secondly, the Trustees decide the underlying make-up of the five Investing plan funds and a number of the underlying funds are managed by BGI. Following BlackRock's purchase of BGI in December 2009, the names of all the BGI funds in the Fidelity range have changed to show BlackRock. For example, the 'BGI Historic Priced UK Equity Index Fund' (which forms part of the Cautious, Moderate and Aggressive (High) growth funds) is now the 'Blackrock Historic Priced UK Equity Fund'. This is a change in fund names only and there are no other changes to the funds. The investment objectives, benchmarks and risk profiles of the Investing plan funds remain unchanged.
Please note: in all cases - the Aggressive growth fund and the BlackRock funds - the funds themselves are the same as before - the fund objectives, benchmarks, make up and risk profile remain unchanged. These are changes to name only. Refer to the individual fund fact sheets for more details on the funds themselves.
In the Emergency Budget on 22 June 2010, the Chancellor announced a review of the changes to pensions tax set out by the previous Government in the Finance Act 2010, to take effect from April 2011.
The new Government has stated that it will continue with plans to restrict pensions tax relief and still wishes to raise revenue from these restrictions. However it feels that the existing approach could have 'unwelcome consequences for pension saving' and is looking to replace it with an alternative – as yet undecided. We believe the Government intends this alternative to take effect from April 2011, but there is little detail currently available. However, the changes are likely to affect those with higher incomes. Unilever will review the changes and keep individuals who may be affected informed of any developments. As a reminder, the rules already introduced following the 2009 Budget to limit tax advantages for high earners before any 2011 changes take effect are still in place. These changes will affect you if your total income is £130,000 or more and you are considering starting or increasing your level of extra contributions, or changing the way you receive the Unilever 12.5% contribution so that higher contributions go into the Investing plan.
If you think you may be affected by these changes, or would like further information on the Emergency Budget announcement, please download our Pensions tax information for high earners leaflet. Please note that this is a new, updated leaflet – so you still need to read this version, even if you have the one we produced last year (called '2009 Budget changes'). If you are in any doubt about what to do, you should seek independent financial advice.
Following BlackRock's purchase of BGI in December 2009, the names of all the BGI funds in the Fidelity range have now changed to show BlackRock. For example, the 'BGI Historic Priced World (Ex-UK) Equity Index Fund' is now called the 'BlackRock Historic Priced World (Ex-UK) Equity Index Fund'. A number of these funds are included within the five Investing plan funds – please refer to the specific fund fact sheets for details. You can view or download the fund fact sheets in the Investing plan section:
Please note: This is a change of fund name only and there are no other changes to the funds. The investment objectives, benchmarks and risk profiles of the funds remain unchanged.
You do not need to take any action as a result of these changes. If you have any queries, please contact the Fidelity Pensions Service Centre on 08457 234 235. This service is open UK business days from 8am to 6 pm. Please remember to have your Fidelity telephone PIN number to hand for verification and security purposes.