Scottish Widows and Halifax Personal Investment Plan

• You can invest in a range of funds in your PIP
  Funds available to your Scottish Widows PIP
  Funds available to your Halifax PIP                                  
• You can invest in a PIP for as long as you want.  
• You might receive loyalty bonuses after being invested for a number of years. 
• No charge if you want to add money to your PIP. If the amount you’ve paid into your PIP reaches a set amount, or you’ve been invested for over 20 years, there may be a reduction to the Yearly Management Charges.
• Switch funds free of charge.
• Can be held jointly or put in trust.
• You can withdraw up to 5% of your total investment every plan year, for a maximum of 20 years, without incurring an immediate tax charge. If you choose to withdraw more than your 5% tax deferred allowance per year, this will create a chargeable event gain and a possible income tax liability.
• You can take withdrawals from your plan at any time – there may be tax implications. If you’re thinking about making a withdrawal, please review all of your options, and their tax implications, before making a decision. We would always recommend that you seek advice before doing anything that could cause a tax liability.

• It’s important to remember the value of your investment and any income isn’t guaranteed, your investment can go down as well as up. So, you might get back less than you invested.
• You won’t receive a loyalty bonus if you’re only invested in the Managed Income Fund.
• Switching funds means moving the money you have invested in one fund to another.
• Your PIP may be held in a trust fund, managed by trustees, for the benefit of the members of the trust.

If you’ve not reviewed the fund or funds in your PIP for a while, it’s a good idea to take some time to consider if they’re still right for you. 

Here are two things you can do: 

• Find out how much your investments are currently worth.
  Every year we’ll send you an annual statement, which will tell you how much your PIP is currently worth. You can get an up to date valuation using our online services or you can call us for a valuation on 0345 366 7725.  We’re available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
• Look at the funds you’re invested in to see if they’re still suitable.  Your annual statement shows which funds you’re currently investing in. 
  Funds available to your Scottish Widows PIP
  Funds available to your Halifax PIP     

Here you’ll find fund factsheets, which give information about each fund and its aim - what the fund is trying to achieve by how it’s invested.

• It’s important to think about how much risk you’re willing or able to take with your investments as this can change over time. 
• Our Factsheet explainer (PDF, 260KB) is an interactive guide to what you can expect to find in each of the sections within the Fund’s Factsheet.

Call us on 0345 366 7725.  We’re available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. We’ll be happy to help you, but we can’t offer you financial advice or give you recommendations about what to invest in.

Funds available to your Scottish Widows PIP
Funds available to your Halifax PIP

Even though you may have opened your PIP some time ago, you can still add money to it. You can invest as much as you can to your PIP but there’s a minimum of £250 each time you make a payment.

If you'd like to add money to your PIP, you can call us on 0345 366 7725, we’re available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.  Or complete and return the additional investments form (PDF, 527KB) to us at Scottish Widows Limited, PO Box 24171, 69 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 1HR if your original plan was taken out on or after 28th June 2010.  If your original plan was taken out before 28th June 2010 then return it to Halifax Financial Services PO Box 24175, 69 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 1HR.

You can take regular or single withdrawals from your PIP. Call us on 0345 366 7725.  We’re available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Or complete and return the correct form to us at Scottish Widows Limited, PO Box 24175, 69 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 1HR.

• Halifax PIP: Withdrawal form (PDF, 578KB) 
• Scottish Widows PIP: Partial Withdrawal form (PDF, 575KB) 
• Closing your Scottish Widows PIP? Full Withdrawal form (PDF, 79KB)  

We recommend that you take a few minutes to read through the relevant guide which will outline the four ways you can make a withdrawal from your PIP and things you need to consider:

• For Halifax PIP: PIP Guide to Making Withdrawals (PDF, 184KB)
• For Scottish Widows PIP: PIP Guide to Making Withdrawals (PDF, 415KB)

Tax can be complicated so before taking a withdrawal we recommend reading the relevant guide to making withdrawals and speaking to a financial adviser. If you don’t have an adviser you can find one here. An adviser will normally charge for any advice given.

Once we have all the information we need to proceed with your request, a payment will be made to the bank or building society account we have for you. Payments can take three to four working days to clear.

You may be eligible for a loyalty bonus in the future, which could be reduced or lost if you take a withdrawal from your plan. There are also other things to consider so before taking a withdrawal please read the important information given below.

Before withdrawing money from your PIP, it’s important to consider:

• Taking withdrawals will reduce the value of your PIP which will reduce the amount of investment growth you may receive.
• Any withdrawals you take could be greater than any growth the PIP has made. This could reduce the value of your PIP to below the amount you originally invested.
• You may have income tax to pay when making a withdrawal.
• The value of your PIP will be reduced if the charges are more than the amount of growth in the investment funds that your PIP invests in.
• Your plan may receive yearly management charge (YMC) reductions, which could be lost if you take money from your plan –
  Halifax PIP: you can find more information about YMC reductions in the charges section of the Key Features (PDF, 297KB).
  
  Scottish Widows PIP: you can find more information about YMC reductions in the charges section of the Key Features (PDF, 191KB).

When you make a withdrawal from your PIP a chargeable event gain can happen. Chargeable event gains normally happen when you make a profit on your investment; for example, if you invest £10,000 and this grows to £15,000 then you’ve made a gain of £5,000. Chargeable event gains are taxable under income tax rules, so you might have tax to pay when you make a withdrawal.

If you're unsure about the tax implications of making a withdrawal from your PIP, we suggest that you speak to a financial adviser.