This tool helps demonstrate concepts and the impact of certain decisions in retirement. The tool or the reports it produces should not be used in place of an illustration and should only be used with a professional financial adviser.
The tool uses the following calculations:
- Annual Management Charge (AMC), Set-up Adviser Charge (SUAC), Ongoing Adviser Charge (OAC) and fund-size discounts. We make certain assumptions for charges and costs which are subject to change. These assumptions vary or are not always applicable, so cannot be relied upon for accuracy. For details of the charges and how they work, please refer to your Key Features documentation.
- Any income shown in the reports is calculated in arrears and may be less than the level required.
- Survival rates are based on Office of National Statistics (ONS) data which is then adjusted to allow for the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) mortality improvements model. The data is specific to gender (male and female) and UK region (Scotland, England, Wales & Northern Ireland). The mortality rates can only be used for the specific purpose of this tool. This data should not be used for any other purpose.
- Where the forecast is selected to be shown in real terms, we will apply inflation. Inflation affects all investments and reduces the buying power of money. To illustrate the effect of this, the following rates take into account inflation at 2% yearly. Actual inflation could be more or less than this. This means the amounts shown give you an idea of what your pension or pension income could be worth, in today's prices, taking into account the effect of inflation.
We can't predict the future. The figures we’ve shown are just an example. They are not guaranteed, and aren’t a guide to future performance. The value of your investment can go down as well as up so you might get back less than you put in.
Selecting a fund and a growth rate
Your adviser will select a fund and a growth rate that will determine how fund performance is shown using the tool and can take into account charges and any other applicable costs. The fund values and income paid are shown based on the policy anniversary date and the appropriate age.
Important information on our PruFund range of funds:
PruFund funds aim to grow your money while giving you a smoothed investment experience. They do this by investing in Prudential's With-Profits Fund.
Prudential set Expected Growth Rates (EGR); these are the annualised rates your investment would normally grow at. The EGRs reflect our view of how we think each PruFund fund will perform over the long-term (up to 15 years). Each PruFund fund has its own EGR and investments into a PruFund will normally grow daily by the relevant EGR. We review EGRs every 3 months, when they could rise or fall.
For details of the current EGRs visit our website.
Although we use a long-term view of performance to set EGRs, we also have to take into account shorter-term performance. On a daily basis, if the shorter-term performance differs too much from our current Expected Growth Rate, we would have to amend the value of your fund up or down to ensure we are not returning too much or too little. We call these Unit Price Adjustments.
In certain circumstances we might need to suspend the smoothing process for one or more of the PruFund funds.
For the range of PruFund funds, what you receive will depend on the value of the underlying investments, the Expected Growth Rates as set by the Prudential Directors, our charges, the smoothing process and when you take your money out.
For other funds or bespoke portfolios, your adviser is required to enter a growth rate. This growth rate they choose, will reflect the realistic return they expect from the fund or funds chosen. This should reflect how any income from assets is to be distributed (e.g. reinvested into the fund or invested elsewhere).
For information on the PruFund smoothing process read 'Your With-Profits Plan - a guide to how we manage the fund' (PruFund Series E range of funds, reference WPG627603) available from your adviser.