The Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan is the name of the defined contribution pension arrangement currently offered by IMI to support employees to save for their retirement. The majority of employees are in this scheme.

The Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan is administered by Scottish Widows.

A defined benefit (final salary) pension provides you with a fixed income in retirement. The level of the income is based on how many years you were a member of the scheme and the salary you earned at the time the scheme closed. Your income will increase with inflation each year.

A defined contribution pension builds up a pot of money that you can use to provide an income in retirement. The income you might get from a defined contribution pension depends on factors such as the amount you pay in, the fund’s investment performance and the choices you make at retirement. As it is a pot of investments, its value can go down as well as up.

All IMI UK employees can join the Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan, no matter how old you are, how long you’ve worked for IMI or how much you earn. There are two ways to join:

By automatic enrolment
If you’re aged over 22 but under State Pension age, you’ll automatically join the Plan within three months of starting your employment with IMI if you do not choose to join straight away. We’ll write to you to let you know when this will happen.

By application
If you're not eligible to join automatically or you’d like to become a member straight away, you can apply to join at any time by completing the Joining Form.

If you don't want to stay in the Plan once you've been automatically enrolled, you have one month to opt out and get back any payments you've made.

Scottish Widows will send you a letter with details on when and how to do this, once you've been automatically enrolled. If you wait longer than a month to leave the Plan, you won't be able to receive your money back until you retire.

The law requires us to enrol you back into the Plan every so often, given certain conditions. We'll write to you if and when this applies to you.

If you are an active member of the Plan, you can stop making contributions online via your Optimize account. Please note, changes made through Optimize are effective in the following month’s payroll. Alternatively, you can complete an opt-out form and return it to your local HR contact.

If you change your mind, you can ask to re-join the Plan at any time online via your Optimize account. Please note, changes made through Optimize are effective in the following month’s payroll.

If you are already a member of the Plan and you want to change or stop your contributions, you can do so by logging in to your Optimize account. Please note, changes made through Optimize are effective in the following month’s payroll.

Contributions already invested in your pension pot will remain in the Plan until you retire or you transfer the value of your savings to another pension arrangement.

If you join the Plan, you will automatically participate in Smart Pay at the contribution rate that you specify, unless the rules of Smart Pay prevent you from doing so. You can opt-out of Smart Pay by completing the Smart Pay Opt-Out Form and returning it to your local HR contact.

If you change your mind and wish to opt back in, please liaise directly with your local HR contact. Please note that by opting out your opportunity to participate in Smart Pay going forward may not be guaranteed.

The majority of IMI employee’s Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan pension pots are invested in the default ‘Mercer Smartpath’ fund called ‘SW Mercer Target Drawdown Retirement’ fund. This is where the fund is actively managed on your behalf and assumes you will take your money via drawdown when you retire. If you want to stay in this fund, you do not have to do anything.

Employees who elect to self-select their own funds to invest in should be actively managing their own investments within the Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan to ensure it meets their retirement goals.

You can find out details about the fund(s) your pension pot is invested in or change the funds your pot is invested in by accessing your Mercer Money account.

You can change your investment options at any time by accessing your Mercer Money account.

When you join the Plan, your target retirement age is set at age 65.

It’s important that this is right for you, as your investments in the default investment option ‘SW Mercer Target Drawdown Retirement’ will be set to target that retirement age. Also, the information we send to you about how much you might have at retirement might be less accurate if this is not your chosen retirement age.

You can change your target retirement age at any time by accessing the your Mercer Money account.

If you die while still employed by IMI, a lump sum will normally be paid to your nominated beneficiaries.
The amount payable will normally be:

• A cash lump sum of five times your basic salary (your Death in Service benefit); and
• The value of your IMI Retirement Savings Plan account at the date of your death.

If you die having left IMI, the value of your IMI Retirement Savings Plan account at the date of your death will normally be payable as a lump sum.

The Trustees of the Death in Service benefit and Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan will consider your wishes when making their decision about the payment of benefits. You can let them know your wishes by completing a beneficiary form and you should keep this up to date. You will need to complete a separate beneficiary form the Death in Service benefit and for your pension pot. You can make your beneficiary nominations by completing an Expression of Wish Form for the Death in Service benefit and via your Mercer Money account for your pension pot.

You will need to complete separate forms for the Death in Service benefit and for your pension pot. This is to nominate beneficiaries to receive the benefits in the event of your death while in employment with IMI. These can be completed as follows:

Death in Service benefit
You can access the expression of wish form here. Once completed this should be returned to your local HR contact.

Your pension pot
You must complete a separate expression of wish for your pension pot. This can be completed by logging into your Mercer Money account.

Once you have started saving into the Plan, you can check how much you’ve saved into your pension pot by logging into your Mercer Money account.

When you join the Plan, you’ll be sent log-on details by Mercer and Scottish Widows, which you will need to use to access your account.

You will also receive an annual benefit statement which shows how much you’ve built up in the Plan, how your investments have performed, and an estimate of how much you might get from the Plan at your target retirement age.

If you are considering retiring, you can log in to your Mercer Money account for an up-to-date value of your pension pot or contact Scottish Widows, the Plan administrator, to apply to take your retirement benefits.

Your membership of the Mercer Master Trust – IMI Retirement Savings Plan (MMT) will cease on the date your employment ends. Your pension pot will still be yours, but you will no longer be able to contribute to it.

Once you have left IMI and your final pension contribution has been made, you will be made a leaver, and you will become a deferred member of the Plan. Once you are made a leaver, both your employee and employer contributions to the Plan will cease. You will no longer be able to make contributions to the Plan outside of IMI.

Scottish Widows will send you a leaving pack, which will explain the options available to you in relation to your pension pot which include:

• Leaving your pot where it is with no further contributions; or
• Transferring your pot to another arrangement

If you choose to leave your pot with the Mercer Master Trust, your pension savings will remain in your personal account and will continue to be invested up until the date that you retire or die. Your pot will continue to be subject to investment returns, minus any charges. It will then be used to provide income and/or provide a lump sum at retirement. You will also retain access to all of the member tools within the Mercer Master Trust, such as Mercer Money and Destination Retirement.

If your employment ceases before your normal retirement age but after age 55, you can apply to take your retirement benefits if you wish to do so by contacting Scottish Widows. Please seek financial advice if you are not sure whether this is the right option for you.

If you require financial advice, we recommend that you contact a financial adviser, as we cannot give you financial advice. You can find details of a financial adviser in your area by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk. Please note that you may be charged for using the service of a financial adviser and IMI will not reimburse the cost.

The IMI 2014 Deferred Fund is a defined benefit (final salary) pension scheme, which closed to new entrants in 2005 and to future accruals in December 2010. If you joined the company before the scheme closed in 2005 to new employees, you are likely to be a member of the IMI 2014 Deferred Fund as well as the Mercer Master Trust - IMI Retirement Savings Plan.

A defined benefit (final salary) pension scheme provides you with a fixed income in retirement. The level of the income is based on how many years you were a member of the scheme and the salary you earned at the time the scheme closed. Your income will increase with inflation each year.

A defined contribution pension builds up a pot of money that you can use to provide an income in retirement. The income you might get from a defined contribution scheme depends on factors including the amount you pay in, the fund’s investment performance and the choices you make at retirement. As it is a pot of investments, its value can go down as well as up.

If you have a defined benefit (final salary) pension with the company, the amount you’re paid is based on how many years you were a member of the scheme and the salary you earned at the time the scheme closed. The scheme pays a secure income for life which increases each year in line with inflation.

To have been eligible for the company defined benefit scheme you would have been employed by IMI before the scheme closed to new entrants in 2005. The scheme closed to future accruals on 31 December 2010.

The IMI 2014 Deferred Fund (defined benefit scheme) is administered by Willis Towers Watson (WTW). They can provide you with a projection of your pension at retirement. WTW can be contacted here.

Six months prior to your normal retirement age WTW, will provide you with a pension quotation of how much you will receive each year, and explain your options.

If you are over 55, you can access your pension at any time, but please note this will reduce what you receive as your pension must support you for longer.

No, as the fund is closed to new contributions.

The Fund has invested in a range of investments but is ultimately supported by IMI plc.

Willis Towers Watson will provide you with an annual statement detailing what your pension will be in retirement. Six months before your normal retirement age, Willis Towers Watson will write to you to explain your options and the actions you need to take to put your pension into payment.

Contributions to the IMI 2014 Deferred Fund ceased in 2010. Willis Towers Watson, the scheme administrator, will be notified that you have left the company. Willis Towers Watson will communicate with you six months prior to retirement with your pension projection. If you have questions relating to the IMI 2014 Deferred Fund, you can contact Willis Towers Watson here.

If you require financial advice, we recommend that you contact a financial adviser as we cannot give you financial advice. You can find details of a financial adviser in your area by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk

Please note that you may be charged for using the service of a financial adviser and IMI will not reimburse the cost.