Common Personal Investment Plan Enquries

What is the Personal Investment Plan?

How much can I pay into my plan?

How flexible is it?

What might I get back?

Can I take money out of my Personal Investment Plan?

What about tax?

Common enquiries for Personal Investment Plans opened before the 24th June 2010

Common enquiries for Personal Investment Plans opened after the 24th June 2010

What is the Personal Investment Plan?

The Personal Investment Plan (PIP) is an investment plan that provides some life cover and aims to help the value of your money to grow over the medium to long-term, usually at least 5 to 10 years.

How much can I pay into my plan?

The minimum investment amount is £3,000, and you can make additional investments of £250 or more into your plan at any time. There is no maximum amount that you can pay into your plan.

How flexible is it?

The Personal Investment Plan (PIP) is a flexible way to invest. With no fixed term you can leave your money invested for as long as you wish, but you should be prepared to invest for at least five years. It can be held in one or two names, or in the name of someone other than yourself and you can switch your money between the range of available investment funds.
You can choose to take regular withdrawals, one-off withdrawals or both, but you should be aware that this will reduce what you might get back. An early withdrawal charge may apply if you take money out of your plan in the first 3 years.

What might I get back?

When you cash in your plan we will pay you the plan value less any charges that may apply. The value of your investment can go up and down as a result of stock market and currency movements and you may get back less than you invested.

When you cash in your plan the amount you get back will depend on:-

• the amount invested

• the length of time it is invested

• the investment performance of the fund(s)

• our charges, including any early withdrawal charges

• the amount of any withdrawals taken

• any loyalty bonus which may be added to your plan.

Can I take money out of my Personal Investment Plan?

You can take regular or one-off withdrawals at any time – but these will reduce the value of your Personal Investment Plan (PIP), an early withdrawal charge may apply if you take money out of your plan in the first 3 years and the value of any loyalty bonus may also be reduced. You can take regular withdrawals from your plan every month, every half-year or every year, paid by direct credit to your bank account. The minimum amounts you can choose for regular withdrawals are £50 a month, £250 a half year or £500 a year.
When you do need to take money from your plan, it’s important you have all the information you need to avoid unnecessarily losing any of the plan benefits or paying extra tax. Please call us on 0870 901 0137 * and we’ll send you an information pack along with a form to complete and return to us. If you are considering making a withdrawal there are a few key points you should consider.

What about tax?

• We have to pay tax on the income and capital gains from the assets the funds invest in, and this is reflected in the value of the funds.
• This means that if you’re a basic rate taxpayer there’s no further tax for you to pay on any gains you make when:
• you cash in part or all of your plan, or
• you take withdrawals of more than 5% a year of the total amount you’ve paid in to your plan, or
• we pay out when a life covered dies, unless any gain you’ve made takes you into the higher rate tax bands.
• If you’re a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer, or if any gains make you a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer, you’ll normally have to pay tax on any gain you’ve made at the difference between the basic rate and your highest rate of income tax.
• If you’re a non-taxpayer, you can’t reclaim the tax we’ve paid.
• The value of the plan may form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.
• If you want to claim age-related personal allowances, tax credits, pension credits or social security benefits, please be aware that this plan could affect your entitlement to them.
• This is only a summary and the tax you have to pay depends on your personal circumstances. You should speak to an appropriate professional such as an accountant if you need help working out your tax or if you need to know about tax rules if the plan is under trust. Tax rules may change in future.

Some elements of our Personal Investment Plan changed on the 24th June 2010.

View the common enquiries for Personal Investment Plans opened before the 24th June 2010

View the common enquiries for Personal Investment Plans opened after the 24th June 2010

Where is my money invested?

Your money is invested in one or more Halifax unit-linked investment funds. Each fund invests in different assets, for example stocks and shares, bonds and property.

What are the charges?

There is no initial charge. There is a yearly management charge of 1.4% of the value of your investment in each fund. If you invest £30,000 or more into your plan we may reduce the yearly management charge. Please refer to the Key Features document (PDF New Window) for more information.

Can I top up my PIP?

If you already hold a Personal Investment Plan, for the purpose of growth, you can top up your plan calling our helpline on 0870 901 0137*.
How can I check the value of my Personal Investment Plan?

We’ll send you a statement each year showing the number of units you bought with your investment and the total value of your plan. You can get details of the unit price from our helpline on 0870 901 0137* or on our website.

You can ask for a plan value at any time by telephoning or by writing to us at:-

Halifax Financial Services
PO Box 10
Walton Street
Aylesbury
Bucks HP21 7GD.
Telephone: 0870 901 0137*

*Lines are open from 8am to 6pm Mon - Fri and from 9am to 1pm on Sat. Daytime calls Monday to Friday from BT landlines to 0870 numbers will cost no more than 6p a minute plus an 8p connection fee. The price of calls through other phone companies and from mobile phones will be different.

Are there any risks with investing in the Personal Investment Plan?

The value of your investment and the income from it can go up and down and you may get back less than you invested.  Please refer to the Key Features document (PDF New Window) for more information.

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Will I get a loyalty bonus?

Depending on how long you invest in the plan you may be eligible to receive a loyalty bonus. Each loyalty bonus depends on the average daily plan value over a given period, as shown in the table below. It will be paid by adding units to the plan, providing it's in force when the loyalty bonus is due. It will be calculated as follows:

Can I take money out?

• You can cash in some or all of your plan at any time.
• If you cash in some or all of your plan or take withdrawals of more than 7.5% a year of the amount invested within three years of your plan’s start date, you will have to pay an early withdrawal charge.
• If you cash in some of your plan or take withdrawals this will reduce the value of any loyalty bonus that may be added to your plan and might also affect any reduction in the yearly management charge that may otherwise have applied.
• If you cash in your whole plan before a loyalty bonus is due, you won’t receive the loyalty bonus.
• You can take regular withdrawals from your plan every month, every half-year or every year, paid by direct credit to your bank account.
• The minimum amounts you can choose for regular withdrawals are £50 a month, £250 a half year or £500 a year.
• If you want to cash in part of your plan, the minimum you can request is £50.
• You’ll need to leave at least £500 in your plan after any encashments or taking regular withdrawals, otherwise we'll close it, cash in the remaining units and pay you the proceeds. An early withdrawal charge may also apply in these circumstances.
• When you need to take money from your plan, it’s important you have all the information you need to avoid unnecessarily losing any of the plan benefits or paying extra tax. Please call us on 0870 901 0137* and we’ll send you an information pack along with a form to complete and return to us.

• We’ll process your request within five working days of receiving a completed withdrawal form and pay the money by direct credit to your bank account, which can take up to four working days to arrive.

What happens to my Personal Investment Plan if I die?

• If your life is the only life covered, we’ll pay out the benefits of the plan to your estate. If the plan is written under trust, the payment will be made to the trustees.
• If two lives are covered, we'll pay out the benefits of your plan when the last life covered dies.

For both single and joint plans:

• If death is not due to an accident then the amount we will pay is 100% of the plan value at the next valuation point after our administration unit receives official notification of death
• If death occurs as a direct result of an accident (as defined in the policy conditions) then we will pay 110% of the plan value at the next valuation point after our administration unit receives official notification of death.

In both circumstances the plan value as a result of death will include any accrued loyalty bonus. Any reduction in YMC will be applied. Early withdrawal charges will not apply.

Any loyalty bonus that has accrued will be calculated from the last loyalty bonus due date up to and including the day before the date our administration unit receives written notification of death.

Can I change my mind?

• When your plan is set up, you'll have 30 days to change your mind if you wish. If you decide that you don’t want the Personal Investment Plan you've bought, please confirm this to us in writing within this period.
• We’ll give you your money back less any fall in the investment value by the time we receive your instructions.

• If you don't want to cancel your plan, you need take no action and it will continue.

How will I know how my plan is doing?

• We’ll send you a statement each year showing the number of units you bought with your investment and the total value of your plan.
• You can get details of the unit price from our helpline on 0800 141418* or on our website.
• You can ask for a plan value at any time by telephoning or by writing to us. View details on how to contact us.