SNAM
Unlike the nationals who are on a final salary scheme ( 15-20 yrs max I think?), the rest of us join a provident scheme. 3 funds, A B & C. All are invested in either stocks and shares or can be placed in a cash fund.
Fund A is the companies contribution and equates to 12% of your salary per month for the first 10 years, increasing to 15% contribution after that. If you leave within the first 3 years, you lose the entire amount, 50% from 3-5 years is yours, 75% from 5-7 years and the full amount after 7.
Fund B is your compulsory contribution and equates to 5% of salary. Both of these funds invest in a very limited range of specific shares, unique to EK, and are designed to meet or exceed a pre determined target.
Fund C is a voluntary contribution fund ( AVC's) which can be any amount you wish, invested in a far more diverse range of funds available to the public.
All three funds are managed by 3 diff finance houses, Fidelity, Meryll lynch and one other whos name escapes me. What you end up with will depend on ;
your attitude towards risk, amount of contribution, length of contribution and the biggest of all.............performance of the choosen funds. Many here don't contribute to the C fund as they're not impressed with their A & B funds but the C fund is a different beast altogether and you'll need to invest in this if you're looking to gain a reasonable return. I've managed around 18% over the last 3 years which is over double the 7.5% that is 'targeted' as aggressive investment. All funds, however, are in Dollars so reality is not so good if you needed to convert the fund into sterling or Euro cash.
The bonus is that the cash is yours and you don't need to purchase a crappy annuity!
Hope this helps
BYMONEK