Jargon buster

This page is here to clarify some of the concepts and terms that you may come across when looking at your account or associated documents 

Back to home

An Accumulation Account is a Pension account which accepts contributions and is held for the purpose of building value in a pension fund. An accumulation account contains uncrystallised funds (savings which have not been accessed yet in any way).

An APS allows the surviving spouse or civil partner of an individual who passed away, on, or after 3rd December 2014, to inherit their ISA allowance. This enables them to invest more money in their ISA without affecting their annual ISA subscription limit.

The Annual Allowance is the maximum amount of pension savings an individual can make each year without an annual allowance charge applying. This includes pension contributions made by the individual, their employer or a third party. 

The APC is an annual charge made by IFDL and payable by clients as payment for using the Platform and IFDL’s associated costs in operating the Platform. The charge is expressed as a percentage of the investments and cash in a Client Portfolio and may vary. Details of the current APC may be found in your Charges Document.

An Annuity guarantees to provide you with a regular income for the rest of your life, in return for you paying over a lump sum from your pension fund.

The application(s) completed by you or on your behalf to open a Client Portfolio on the Platform.

BACS is a regulated payment system used by businesses in the UK to move money electronically from one bank account to another. 

A Beneficiary is someone who benefits from a will, trust, pension fund or a life assurance policy.

Capped Drawdown is a crystallised pension account (accessed by a client by taking pension benefits) that restricts the amount of income up to a maximum limit, or ‘cap’. The maximum cap gets reveiwed at set intervals. It’s no longer available but if you’re already in capped drawdown, you can continue to use it.

CHAPS is a same-day system that is used to settle high-value payments. 

A Client Portfolio is a portfolio that we open in your name. It allows you to hold multiple Accounts, which in turn hold underlying Investments and Cash Accounts.

A Contract Note is a document to evidence the fact that an Asset has been bought or sold and sets out, amongst other things, the price paid or received for the Asset and the date of the transaction.

Convertible Securities are investments that can be changed from their initial form into another form. 

A term used to refer to the element of pension savings which has been accessed by a client by taking pension benefits (either the payment of income, payment of Tax Free Cash or purchase of an annuity).  

Debunture stock is stock that makes fixed payments at scheduled interviews of time.

A Decumulation Account means a SIPP account containing crystallised funds (the element of pension savings which has been accessed by a client by taking pension benefits) which may be used for providing pension payments.

A DFM is a third-party investment manager who invests your money within the boundaries of your risk-profile. 

Drawdown is an option for taking money from your pension. With this option, you can take some, or all, of your tax-free cash first, and then some, or all, of your taxable money as and when you need it. 

You can take money out this way, as single amounts, and/or regular income. 

The taxable money is taxed like a salary. 

EFTs are a group of investments brought/sold by a brokerage firm and sold as a single investment product. 

To be part of a Family Group, you must be the spouse (through marriage or civil partnership), co-habiting partner living at the same address, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild (including adoption and step relations) of another member of the Family Group. Spouses of children and siblings do not qualify. Members of a Family Group must have the same Financial Adviser.

A Financial Adviser is a professional who provides expert guidance and advice on managing finances. Financial Advisers help their clients make informed decisions to achieve their financial goals.

The FCA is an independent body that regulates the financial services industry in the UK.

The FOS is a service which settles disputes between consumers and providers of financial services in the UK. Contact information for the service:

Telephone: 0800 023 4567 – calls to this number are free on mobiles and landlines.

Address: The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

FAD is a crystallised pension account (accessed by a client by taking pension benefits), which allows you to take a flexible amount of income or lump sums, without restriction. This replaces flexible and capped drawdown, although existing capped drawdown plans are continuing. 

Funds are investments that pool together the money from many individuals. Fund managers then use it to invest in a wide range of charges and/or bonds. Each investor is issued units, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund.

A GIA allows you to pay in flexibly without any limits and to access your money at any time. Investments in this Account will usually be subject to UK tax.

HMRC is the UK's tax and customs administration and is responsible for collecting tax revenue on behalf of the UK government. HMRC provide the rules and regulations on how we should manage our SIPP, ISA and GIA products.

An Illustration is an example of the potential growth you may expect to receive from an investment. The growth rates used are set by the industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is important to remember that the actual return received could be higher or lower than that shown on the illustration.

The M&G Wealth Stocks & Shares ISA allows you to invest in stocks and shares, up to the subscription limit set by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). No tax is payable on any investment income or gains within your ISA. For more on investing in a ISA see the Individual Savings Account Factsheet.

An ‘in-specie transfer’ is more commonly known as ‘re-registration’. It means the transfer of an investment in asset form, rather than selling it and transferring in cash.

Insured Funds means a fund which is provided by an insurance company. 

The UK company of which M&G Wealth Platform is a trading brand. IFDL is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA number 114432. 

Investment Trusts allow you to combine your contributions with other investor's contributions to buy shares, which are managed by a fund manager. 

A Joint Account is an account set up in joint names with up to a maximum of four individuals. Note that you may not hold a SIPP or an ISA jointly with another person.

A Junior ISA allows you to invest for the benefit of a child, up to the HMRC annual subscription limit, in a Junior ISA. For more on investing in a Junior ISA see the Junior Individual Savings Account Factsheet.

A KFD is a document that financial service providers are obliged to offer retail clients before they open certain investment or savings products. It must outline the main characteristics of the financial service in a simple format, so the potential client can decide whether it is right for them.

The LSA is a limit which applies to the maximum amount of tax-free cash and the tax-free cash element of uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) payments, permitted. Your Financial Adviser can tell you the current allowances or you can view them at gov.uk. 

The LSDBA is a limit on the amount of lump sum death benefits and serious ill-health lump sums that can be paid without tax. 

The value of these allowances are set by the Government at the time you begin receiving your pension benefits. Anything you take above the limit will be taxed at your marginal rate of income tax. Your Financial Adviser can tell you the current allowances or you can view them at gov.uk. 

M&G Wealth Platform (MGWP) is the trading name given to the Platform, operated by Investment Funds Direct Limited.

MPS is a collection of investments created by Financial Advisers or Discretionary Fund Managers to meet their clients' goals. 

The MPAA restricts your pension contributions that can be made by an individual, their employer, or a third party. It is triggered once you’ve started drawing a taxable income from your defined contribution pension.

Your National Insurance number is a personal account number. It is unique and used for life. It makes sure national insurance contributions and tax are paid properly and recorded against a person's name.

The NMPA is the earliest age that a member can usually take their full pension benefits. This may not apply with ill−health early retirement or if the individual or scheme has certain protections.

OEICs are investment funds which provide a managed portfolio of pooled investor funds.

The OMO is a choice a member has to buy an annuity or another retirement income product from any provider in the market, not just from their current pension provider.

The Pensions Ombudsman is an independent organisation set up to deal with complaints about pensions.

Telephone: 0800 917 4487 Monday to Friday 10am-2pm

Address: The Pensions Ombudsman, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU

Email: enquiries@pensions-ombudsman

Website: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

PIBs are fixed-interest securities by building societies.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions for you, or act on your behalf, if you're no longer able to or if you no longer want to make your own decisions.

A QROPS is an overseas pension scheme that meets certain requirements set by HMRC. A QROPS can receive transfers of UK pension benefits.

REITs are companies that own income-producing real estate and allow individuals to invest. 

A re-registration means the transfer of an investment in asset form, rather than selling it and transferring in cash. This is also known as an ‘in-specie transfer’.

A SIPP is a type of pension that lets you choose your own investments typically from a much wider range than other pensions. Investing through the SIPP allows you to save towards your retirement income in a tax efficient Account. You can find more information in the M&G Wealth Pension Account Key Features.

Structured Products are pre-packaged investments that normally include assets linked to interest.

A TPPA allows you to invest funds you hold in a product provided by a third party (e.g. an offshore bond or pension) on our Platform. You should ask your Financial Adviser or the third party product provider for more information.

An Uncrystallised Pension refers to pensions savings that haven’t been accessed yet in any way.

An UFPLS is a direct withdrawal of funds from your uncrystallised pension pot (An Uncrystallised Pension refers to pensions savings that haven’t been accessed yet in any way).

Up to 25% of an UFPLS is tax-free, the remainder is taxed as ordinary income based on your current income tax rate.

Taking an UFPLS triggers the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA).

Unit Trusts are a form of collective investment. It allows investors to pool their money into a single fund which is managed by a fund manager. 

UCISs are not authorised by the FCA.

VCTs are trusts which mostly invest in small early-stage companies.

Need further support?

Please speak with your financial adviser if you need any help understanding the terminology within our communications.

If you need to contact us directly you can find our details on the Contact us page.

 

Are we missing something?