You have two options in relation to your deferred pension in the Scheme:

1. You can choose to keep your pension in the Scheme, where it is due to be paid to you when you retire, subject to the provisions governing the Scheme; or
2. Alternatively, you can choose to transfer the cash value of your pension benefits out of the Scheme to another pension arrangement, subject to the consent of the Scheme’s Trustee, where necessary.

For a limited period, the Company is enhancing the transfer value that would otherwise be payable to you from the Scheme. This enhancement plus your Scheme Transfer Value is the ETV offer.

The ETV offer being made to you is outlined in your offer letter.

This is the pension that is due to be paid to you from the Scheme if you do not transfer out your benefits, subject to the provisions governing the Scheme. This pension will be paid from your Retiring Age and it will be based on your reckonable service and pensionable emoluments or equivalent (as defined by the Scheme rules) in the Scheme at the date you left employment with the Company.

Depending on the financial position of the Scheme, you can draw your benefits early if you are over age 50 and have left the service of the Company. In the event of early retirement, the benefit would be reduced to allow for early payment. Currently early retirement is permitted.

Early retirement below age 50 may also be possible but only in circumstances where you experience incapacity.

Your pension in the Scheme may increase once in payment, although this is not guaranteed. Pension increases are provided at the discretion of the Company and are not granted under the Rules of the Scheme. The Company has a stated pension increase policy which is reviewed from time to time. The latest policy is dated November 2012 and was considered and re-confirmed in a letter dated December 2019. Members can find a copy of this policy on the Scheme website.

Your deferred pension (as outlined in your offer letter) will be adjusted each year, between your date of leaving service and 31 December prior to the date payment commences. The annual adjustment will be the lower of the percentage change in CPI in each year or 4%.

Under current tax rules, yes, you have an entitlement to take a tax efficient lump sum from the Scheme when you retire.

Your maximum tax efficient lump sum will be based on your service and salary with the Company and can be provided by foregoing some of your Scheme pension, or through your AVCs (if applicable). The lump sum can also be provided from a combination of these sources.

There is a lifetime limit that applies to an individual’s lump sum taken from all pension arrangements.

If you have already waived your right to a lump sum from the Scheme, you may not be able to take a lump sum from your receiving arrangement if you accept the ETV offer. You should discuss this in more detail at your meeting with WTW Ltd.

This is the transfer value that is available now from the Scheme in respect of your deferred pension. The assumptions used to calculate the Scheme Transfer Value are determined by the Trustee and are currently based on statutory minimum assumptions set by the relevant Minister.

No. The ETV must be paid into either a Personal Retirement Bond, to a new employers’ pension scheme, or if allowable, to a Personal Retirement Savings Account.

The ETV offer is valid until 5pm on 21 January 2022.

If you are interested in the ETV offer, you will need to register your interest by returning the Expression of Interest form as soon as possible, but not later than 8 December 2021. A meeting will then be scheduled with an independent financial advisor from WTW Ltd.

If you decide to accept the offer, you will need to complete and return the appropriate forms at the latest, by 5pm on 21 January 2022.

The Company currently has no plans to repeat this offer for you in the future.

In the current low interest rate environment, there is scope for the Company to offer an increased transfer value in excess of the Scheme’s current transfer value basis which we believe would be at a level that is attractive to members while also assisting us in reducing the Scheme’s liabilities and hence the Company’s risk exposure.

The Company believes it may suit some of the members of the Scheme to take an ETV as this will give them greater flexibility over how they can receive their benefits when they retire.

If you are not comfortable with taking investment risk and/or take more comfort in the security of a regular pension from the Scheme from your retirement age (subject always to the Scheme’s governing provisions), then you might prefer to leave your pension in the Scheme.

You should register your interest by completing and returning the “Expression of Interest” form which is included in your ETV offer letter to Global.Pensions@diageo.com. Alternatively, you can express your interest on this website here. You must do one of these by 8 December 2021, although we would encourage you to do so sooner.

After your financial advice meeting, WTW Ltd will send you a recommendation. You will need to complete the forms provided by WTW Ltd and provide any additional information you are required to submit by 5pm on 21 January 2022.

The offer provides for a 14 day ‘cooling off’ period from the date you accept the offer, during which time you can change your mind. You may not change your mind after this period has elapsed.

If you do not want to accept the ETV offer, you are not required to take any action. If you take no action then your pension will remain in the Scheme, where it is due to be paid to you when you retire (subject to the provisions governing the Scheme).

It should be noted that attending the individual advice session does not bind you to accept the offer.

After the deadline, you may be able to take a transfer payment subject to the financial position of the scheme, however, the offer of an enhancement to the Scheme Transfer Value will no longer exist.

This guide and the personalised offer letter you received provide detailed information in relation to the ETV offer.

If you have a general question in relation to the ETV offer throughout the offer period, you can contact Global.Pensions@diageo.com. The Company has also collated information on the ETV offer on this website.

The Company has engaged WTW Ltd to provide you with independent financial advice in relation to the ETV offer, at no cost to you. It is essential that you fully understand the potential consequences of transferring out of the Scheme prior to accepting the offer. For this reason, members will be required to take independent financial advice from WTW Ltd before they can avail of the ETV offer.

You may also take additional advice from your own financial advisor if you wish, but this will be at your own expense.

Yes, members may bring their spouse, civil partner, or dependant to the individual meeting.

Yes. As it will be difficult to arrange a meeting in person, we will arrange for the financial advice meeting to be conducted by Zoom, MS Teams or by phone.

In addition to meeting with WTW Ltd, which is compulsory if you wish to accept the ETV offer, you may also take additional advice from your own financial advisor if you wish, but this will be at your own expense. If you do use your own financial advisor, you should check whether your financial advisor is a pension specialist and is fully qualified to deliver the advice you require.

If you choose to also seek advice from your own financial advisor, they may receive commission if the proceeds are paid into a Personal Retirement Bond, but this is something you will need to address with your own financial advisor. We recommend that the advice you receive is on a fee, rather than commission, basis.

No. It is entirely your decision whether you decide to accept the ETV offer. You may still decide to keep your pension in the Scheme even if WTW Ltd recommends that you accept the ETV offer.

Similarly, you may decide to accept the ETV offer even if WTW Ltd recommend that you reject the offer. If this is the case, you will be required to sign an additional waiver which will be provided to you following your meeting.

You may transfer the amount to your new employer’s pension scheme (if permitted). Alternatively, we will facilitate members transferring to a Personal Retirement Bond (PRB), which can be established on preferential charging terms, or if permitted, to a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA).

PRBs are individual policies written by insurance companies and some other providers (e.g., stockbroking firms). The option is not available if you are living outside the Republic of Ireland.

Please note that you can only transfer your benefits to a PRSA if certain conditions apply (in particular, you must have been a member of the Scheme for less than 15 years).* If you decide to transfer to a PRSA, a Certificate of Benefit Comparison will be needed. You will need to separately cover the cost of this certificate.

^{* It is expected that the Government will remove the less than 15 year service requirement in the upcoming Finance Act due to be signed into law in December, although this is not guaranteed.}

Further information relating to the Personal Retirement Bond option will be provided during your meeting with WTW Ltd. This will cover important topics such as the investment choices available to you under the Personal Retirement Bond, the charging terms (including preferential terms that have been negotiated with the preferred provider) and the options for drawing your benefits.

Yes, there are PRBs available in the market, known as “self-directed” PRBs, which provide greater investment flexibility, including the option to invest in individual properties. Further information and individual financial advice on the options available will be provided as part of your session with WTW Ltd.

This would depend on the rules of your new employer’s pension scheme. Not all pension schemes will accept a transfer in. If you are interested in this option, you should look through any documents (e.g. the scheme booklet and your latest annual benefit statement) that you have in respect of your new employer’s pension scheme and discuss this with your appointed advisor during your meeting with WTW Ltd.

After bringing your ETV into your new scheme, the options available will depend on the rules of your new employer’s scheme and how/when you intend drawing your benefits.

It depends on where you wish to transfer to and where you are resident. Irish law restricts transfers only to pension plans that have similar features to Irish pension plans. If you wish to transfer overseas, we will require details of the pension plan that you wish to transfer to, and further documentation may need to be completed.

If you decide to accept the ETV offer and transfer your benefits out of the Scheme, the value of your AVCs will be transferred at the same time to your chosen pension arrangement. No enhancement will be applied to the AVC investment element of the transfer value payment.

Please note that the AVC amount is not guaranteed, as it will depend on market movements, and the ultimate value will not be known until the date of transfer.

Any previously transferred-in benefits you have in the Scheme will be transferred out to your chosen pension arrangement with your Scheme benefits. If the benefits you received in respect of the transfer value into the Scheme, are in the form of an additional DB benefit, the portion of the transfer value relating to those benefits is also enhanced. If they are held in DC form, they will not be enhanced and their value is not guaranteed.

The Scheme currently meets the Funding Standard which is a statutory funding measure. A full actuarial review of the Scheme was completed as at 31 December 2018 and the Company is currently paying the contributions recommended following that review. Further information on the position of the Scheme can also be obtained from the most recent Scheme Review which can be found on the Scheme website.

The Standard Fund Threshold (or lifetime limit) is €2 million. If the value of your total tax-approved pension benefits (those from the Company and any other retirement benefits that you have) exceed this limit, then you may incur an additional tax liability when you come to process your retirement benefits. If you are affected by this legislation or might be in the future, this will be covered in your meeting with WTW Ltd.

Please refer to the privacy notice appended to your initial offer letter for further information.

The Trustee of the Scheme is the Diageo Ireland Pension Trustee Designated Activity Company.

The ETV offer is an offer from the Company. If you elect to take an ETV, a portion of the Scheme transfer payment will be paid by the Scheme administrator on behalf of the Trustee. The Company will pay whatever contribution is required to top up the transfer payment from the Scheme to the total ETV amount.