Savings & Investment Plan

It’s easy.  You can set up a Direct Debit to be paid monthly straight from your bank account.  When you apply, you will provide your bank details and we will set the Direct Debit up for you, you don’t need to do a thing.

Your contributions will be collected each month.  It is not possible to make a lump sum payment into the POIS Savings and Investment Plan, if you wish to invest a lump sum you can consider other plans we offer such as the Junior ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA or Lifetime ISA which accept lump sum payments by card, bank transfer or online secure payments.

Life cover is automatically included at no additional cost to you. When applying for the savings and investment plan you will be asked about your state of health to check your eligibility for the plan.  If you are unable to confirm the two points requested, then unfortunately you will not be able to take out a plan.

The amount of life cover is based on the size of contribution you pay and is calculated as 75% of the contributions you are due to make over the plan’s initial 10 year term.

If you are aged 56 or over when you apply, the amount of life cover is reduced by 2% for each year. For example, if you are 56, you will receive life cover based on 73% of the contributions you are due to make over the initial 10 year term. If you are 57 you will receive 71%.

In all cases, the life cover is available as long as monthly contributions continue to be paid.  If the value of the plan is higher than the life cover, the plan value will be paid to your estate.

Your money is invested in the POIS Savings Fund which aims to provide good potential for growth, over the longer term, by investing mainly in stocks and shares. It is an actively managed fund which means our expert fund managers make decisions about how to invest the fund’s money as opposed to the fund just following a market index.   Investing in different industry sectors helps reduce risk and increase potential returns through diversification. It’s all about not having ‘all your eggs in one basket’.

The contributions you make will be used to purchase units in the fund. The value of holdings within the fund can fall as well as rise, and you could get back less than you have paid into the plan. As the fund holds overseas assets, the Sterling value of these assets may rise and fall as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. For more information on the fund please see the fund information section on the POIS website.

As a responsible investor, we want to manage ESG risks and opportunities when investing on behalf of our members.

We have identified certain sectors, products and services, in which we will not invest, above a certain threshold due to ESG-related risk factors.

Consequently, exclusions on controversial weapons, palm oil, soft commodities and climate risks are applied across all assets.

We also exclude the following sectors and areas within our Savings Fund:

• Tobacco – To avoid financing the tobacco industry and thus contribute to protecting public health.
• Defence : White Phosphorus – To avoid financing companies producing or distributing incendiary weapons with white phosphorus.
• Low ESG Quality – Tight monitoring of companies with the worst ESG practices.
• Severe Controversies – To avoid financing companies in violation of the United Nations Global Compact.

As the investment plan is managed on your behalf there are costs which include an annual management charge and a monthly administration charge. These are deducted from the value of your plan.

For more information about charges, see the Savings & Investment Plan Key Information document.

We understand that the challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis may impact your ability to save and invest. Although we’d recommend you keep up with your monthly contributions for the plan’s full duration where possible, we understand that this may not be as easy as it once was.

This is where we provide some flexibility with your existing plan contributions.

If you miss some monthly contributions into the plan, you have 13 months to pay the missing contributions, altogether in one lump sum, and continue paying into the plan without the need to close the plan entirely.

If, at the end of the 13 months, you have not made up the missing contributions there will be various scenarios that could apply. Please bear in mind that if you need to stop paying into the plan, your life cover will end, so, if you pass away, the payment returned to your estate will be the value of the plan. Please see the Important Information for further details.

If the plan is cashed in before its 10th anniversary, a charge will be deducted before the cash sum is paid to you.  The amount of the charge will depend on how long you have held the plan, as shown in the Important Information.

In the early years, it is possible the plan value may be less than the surrender charge due.  In that instance, no plan value will be paid out and no further charge will be payable.  If a payout is returned to you, you may be liable for tax on any growth.

If you were to pass away the value of the plan, or the life cover if higher, will be paid out. This will normally form part of your estate and may be subject to Inheritance Tax, depending on your individual circumstances.

If you wish, you can nominate a beneficiary to receive the value of your plan if you pass away, providing you have kept your contributions up to date.  They can receive up to £5,000 immediately following your death.  This can help to make a difficult time more bearable for your dependents.  This can be done without having to wait for your estate to be administered, which can often be a lengthy process at a difficult time. Any excess over the £5,000 would become part of your remaining estate and have to wait for probate.

If you’re unsure as to the suitability of this savings and investment plan, you should seek advice from a Financial Adviser. Of course, you may have to pay for this advice.