Factsheet 12 Jan 2017 Introduction

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Factsheet 12 Jan 2017

Introduction

The Company operates the annual bonus sacrifice scheme, which gives employees the option to sacrifice some, or all, 

of their annual bonus in order to provide additional pension benefits.  

Before 1 April 2017, you have the opportunity to sacrifice some, or all, of your performance year 2016 annual bonus, 

payable in April 2017.  

If you are interested in the annual bonus sacrifice scheme, you should read this factsheet carefully as it contains 

important information.

The Company reserves the right to amend or discontinue the annual bonus sacrifice scheme at any time. 

BASF UK Group Pension Scheme 

Group and BPP DC Sections (“the Scheme”) 

 Bonus Sacrifice

How bonus sacrifice works

The annual bonus sacrifice scheme is a Company arrangement which is designed to make contributions to the DC Section 

of the Scheme more efficient:

Under the annual bonus sacrifice scheme, 

before 1 April 2017, you have the option to sacrifice some, or all, of 

your performance year 2016 annual bonus payable in April 2017.  As your annual bonus is reduced, you pay  

less tax and less National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

If you do sacrifice some, or all, of your annual bonus, your employer will arrange for the amount of annual bonus  

you have sacrificed to be credited to your DC Account as an additional employer contribution.  In respect of  

annual bonus sacrificed for the performance year 2016 only, the Company has agreed to also contribute 10% of  

the amount you sacrifice and will pay this 10% in to your DC Account.  So for example, if you sacrifice  

£1,000  the Company will reduce your bonus by this amount and pay £1,100 into your DC Account. 

Under HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules, you must give up any contractual rights to your annual bonus in 

advance of entitlement.

Under HMRC rules, you also cannot change your mind for the relevant pay period.  This means that:

•

Once you elect to sacrifice some or all of your performance year 2016 annual bonus, you cannot change

 

your mind; and

•

You must elect to sacrifice your 2016 performance year annual bonus before 1 April 2017.

The additional employer pension contribution in respect of your bonus sacrifice will be paid to your DC Account.  

All contributions paid to your DC Account, will be used to provide benefits on retirement, death or leaving service 

in accordance with the Scheme’s Trust Deed and Rules.  Further information on the DC Section is set out in the 

‘Your member guide’ booklets 1 and 2 (dated October 2015).

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Factsheet 12 Jan 2017

Investment of the Bonus Sacrifice pension contribution 

The Trustee of the Scheme will invest the Bonus Sacrifice pension contribution in respect of your bonus sacrifice in your 

DC Account.   You  can  choose  where  to  invest  it  from  the  funds  available.    It  can  be  invested  differently  to  other  

contributions but all bonus sacrifice contributions from past and future years must be invested together.  Your current 

year Bonus Sacrifice contributions will be invested as follows;

If you have previously paid Bonus Sacrifice contributions, it wil be invested in the same way as they are 

invested.  If you want to change the way you invest your Bonus Sacrifice contributions (past and future) you  

should log on to ePA at 

https://epa.towerswatson.com/doc/BASF/login.htm

If you have never made any Bonus Sacrifice before, it will be invested in line with your regular  

contributions, unless you complete and return the attached, “Investment Instruction Form for commencement 

of bonus sacrifice” to make a different investment choice, by 31 March.

Further information in respect of investing your DC Account is provided in the Investment guide, available on the 

pension website at

 http://ukpensions.basf.co.uk 

What do I need to do next?

Log into 

Ingenuity on the Web

 (HR self service) and complete the “Bonus Sacrifice” page, found under the “Employment” 

tab.  If you have problems accessing Ingenuity on the Web or any other Bonus Sacrifice queries, please contact your 

local HR Team or the HR Service Centre at Cheadle on 0161 488 5333 or [e-mail].  

Remember to 

press confirm and you must tick the declaration at the bottom.  

Important things to consider

1. Please note by law, the Company, its employees and the Trustee of the Scheme cannot give you financial

advice.  If you would like financial advice, you should seek advice from an independent financial adviser.  The

adviser  may charge you a fee.  You can obtain details of a local adviser by visiting:  

www.unbiased.co.uk

2. If your total contributions made by you and your employer to the Scheme, plus additional contributions you

may make to any other pension arrangement, are more than the Annual Allowance (£40,000* for the

2016/2017 tax year), you may be subject to an additional tax charge.  If you are a former member of the

Group defined benefit (DB) Section or BPP Hybrid Section of the Scheme, increases in your accrued DB

pension may also be included in the Annual Allowance.  Read more at:  

http://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your- 

 

private-pension/annual-allowance

(*may be lower if your income is more than £110,000 p.a. or you have accessed a pension pot)

3. If you choose to sacrifice some, or all, of your annual bonus, this will reduce your  earnings for some external

purposes such as mortgate applications.

You can amend your Bonus Sacrifice amount as many times as you like during March.  Your final choice will be taken at 

midnight on 31 March and confirmed by email shorlty after.

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BASF UK Group Pension Scheme 

Group and BPP DC Sections

 (“the Scheme”)

 

 

Investment Instruction for  

commencement of bonus  

sacrifice

You should complete this form if you are about to pay Bonus Sacrifice for the first time and want to invest it 

differently to your regular contributions.

If you have previously paid Bonus Sacrifice see ‘Important notes’ overleaf (you should not use this form).

 

 

Your details, please complete in BLOCK CAPITALS

Surname:

Title:

Forename(s):

Date of Birth:

National Insurance No:

Employee No:

Site Location:

Email Address:

Investment instruction

You can choose 

one of the two investment paths available, LifePlan or FreePlan, by completing either the LifePlan or 

FreePlan section below:

OR

LifePlan

 

   I want to invest my Bonus Sacrifice in LifePlan.  

Please tick 

one of the Growth Fund options:

     Adventurous Fund

     Moderate Fund

     Cautious Fund

   

    Please tick 

one of the retirement benefit goals to  

    target:  

 

     Guaranteed income (annuity)

     Flexible income (flexi-access drawdown)

     Cash lump sum

     

I want a Target Pension Date of:

    

  (Insert date between age 55 – 75) 

    Please note your chosen Target Pension Date will    

    apply to 

all of your LifePlan investments in your  

  DC 

Account, not just your Bonus Sacrifice.

FreePlan

       I want to invest my Bonus Sacrifice in FreePlan as 

shown below.

       Please insert a percentage next to your chosen funds 

(minimum 10%).  

Fund

%

Adventurous Fund

Moderate Fund

Cautious Fund

Ethical Fund

Amanah Fund

Pre-Retirement Fund

Sterling Liquidity Fund

Total

100%

 

           PTO

I wish to pay Bonus Sacrifice as indicated on Ingenuity on the Web at 31 March and this being the first time I have 

paid Bonus Sacrifice, wish the money to be invested as follows:

Note:    if  you  choose  to  invest  in  LifePlan,  elsewhere  you  will  see  it  labelled  according  to  the  Growth  Fund  and  target  benefit  

goal you have chosen.  For example, if you chose the Adventurous Fund and a Flexible Income, this is the “Adventurous Flexible 

income LifePlan”.  

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Signature of Member:

Date:

Please return your completed form to the Scheme Administrator, Willis Towers Watson at:

email:  [e-mail]

post:   Willis Towers Watson, PO Box 545, Redhill RH1 1YX

You should also keep a copy for your records.

Important notes

●   Please see the Investment Guide (January 2016) for the details of the investment options available in the  

 

  Scheme.

 

●   The investments you have chosen will apply to all Bonus Sacrifice paid to your DC Account. 

 

●   If you have previously paid Bonus sacrifice and wish to change your investment choices, you can do so by    

  logging onto ePA at 

https://epa.towerswatson.com/doc/BASF/login.htm.  If you need help logging on, contact  

  Willis Towers Watson on 0113 390 7119.  

●   If you are in any doubt about paying Bonus Sacrifice you are recommended to seek independent financial advice.

 

Using the information you provide on this form

Providing your mobile phone number and email address is optional. If you do choose to provide these details, they will be held by the BASF Group, the 

Trustees and their advisers and only used to provide you with information relating to the BASF UK Group Pension Scheme. Your details will not be passed 

to any third parties to be used for any other purpose. If, at any time, you wish to stop being sent BASF UK Group Pension Scheme updates via your mobile 

phone or email, you can request to opt out and we will remove these details from our system. Any information you provide will be held and processed in 

accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.