Frequently asked questions

Our plans with Healthy Fee Saver help your clients access more value from year one, through our Healthy Living Discount, and give them real financial benefits when they make positive lifestyle choices, through the Vitality Programme.

Our plans with Healthy Fee Saver and Boosters have a different charge structure. They also give your clients access to the Vitality Programme and the Healthy Living Discount but in addition to this, when your clients invest in Vitality funds, they get access to Boosters to help their investments grow.

The Retirement Booster, available only on Retirement plans with Healthy Fee Saver and Boosters, could be paid each year starting from the year following the first annual anniversary of the date the client has allocated some or all of their plan to flexi-access drawdown. We calculate the booster each year based on the amount of income taken over the previous year, in this way they could receive a new booster each year. 

The boost amount will be paid into the plan over the course of the year, at the same frequency as the income being taken. Payments for each booster start one month after each anniversary of the drawdown plan. If no income is being taken, the total amount of the boost will be paid into the plan at the end of the first month. 

For details on the Retirement Booster rates and eligible funds, please see the Retirement Booster Schedule.

The Retirement Booster rates will stay the same for 10 years following the start of the first drawdown policy year, or on becoming eligible for the Retirement Booster, if later. After 10 years new rates will apply that may be higher or lower.

For details on the Retirement Booster rates and eligible funds,  please see the Retirement Booster Schedule.

The Investment Booster, available only on plans with Healthy Fee Saver and Boosters, is added to your client's plan every five years provided they have continuously invested in eligible funds during the period. If they invest more in Vitality funds in subsequent years, we’ll boost these investments too, once they’ve been invested for five years. So, after five years, with regular investments, your client could receive a boost each year.  

For full details on the Investment Booster rates and eligible funds, please see the Investment Booster Schedule. 

The Investment Booster rates will stay the same for money paid in that remains invested in eligible funds. The Investment Booster rates and continuous minimum investment periods for future investments may be different. For further details, please see the Investment Booster Schedule. 

If these rates change, then we will provide both you and your clients with at least 30 days written notice.

See below for the initial minimum payment amounts. You can also find the full payment details in the 'At-a-glance' tab on the Retirement Plan, ISA and Junior ISA webpages.

Feature		Retirement Plan (Accumulation)	Retirement Plan (Flexi-access drawdown)	ISA	Junior ISA
Payments into plan	Minimum initial single contribution	£3,600*	No minimum on crystallisation of existing plan	£1,500	£1,500
	Minimum initial transfer value	£5,000	£25,000	£1,500	£1,500
	Minimum regular contribution (per month)	£200*	n/a	£50	£50

*Includes tax relief

Yes, you can choose to link the contributions to increase in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Our Retirement Plan, ISA and Junior ISA have a simple charging structure consisting of just a product charge and fund charges.

• The product charge covers our costs for setting up and maintaining the plan. This amount is tiered so that the higher the value of the plan, the lower the rate of the charge.
• The fund charges cover the fund manager’s costs for managing and maintaining the fund. The charges are different for each fund and depend on what sort of fund it is, how it is managed and what it invests in.

The product and fund charges that apply differ between plans with Healthy Fee Saver and plans with Healthy Fee Saver and Boosters. For details of all charges and how they work, please refer to the Charges Schedule for plans with Healthy Fee Saver and the Charges Schedule for plans with Healthy Fee Saver and Boosters.

You can arrange for your client to pay your adviser charges through our products. We are able to facilitate initial, ongoing and ad-hoc adviser charges.

Your client can take money out of their plan in the following ways:

• Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS): This is a cash lump sum. The amount can be all or part of the value of the plan. 25% of the lump sum will be tax free and the remainder taxable at their marginal rate.
• Flexi-access drawdown: Your client can crystallise all or part of their plan, taking up to 25% of the crystallised amount as a tax free cash lump sum at the time they crystallise. They can then take regular and/or ad hoc withdrawals from the crystallised amount. If your client only crystallises part of their plan, they can then crystallise further parts of their plan in the future on request at that time.
• Annuity purchase: Your client can use all or part of their plan to purchase an annuity with an annuity provider (VitalityInvest do not provide annuities). They can take up to 25% of the amount as a tax free cash lump sum, which we will pay to them, and use the rest to purchase the annuity. If your client only uses part of their plan to purchase an annuity, they can purchase further annuities in the future on request at that time.

Your client may also choose to transfer their plan to another provider. We don't charge your client for transferring out.

In the event of the death of the planholder, 100% of the value of the policy will become payable. If their death meets the requirements for accidental death, then 105% of the value of the policy will become payable.

For Retirement Plans, the death benefit can be paid to one or more beneficiaries in the following ways:

• A lump sum,
• Beneficiaries drawdown (including nominee or successor drawdown) where we set up a new Retirement Plan in the name of the beneficiary, or
• Through purchasing an annuity with an annuity provider (VitalityInvest do not provide annuities).

We allow family and friends to make payments to your child's junior ISA.