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What is a relevant life plan?

A relevant life plan is insurance for an employee in case of death in service. It’s a plan paid into by the employer, which is designed to pay a lump sum if the employee dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

“Very few people have heard of the plan, so the uptake of the policy is very small compared to the number of people who could benefit and save”

“A higher-rate taxpayer can save 49 per cent by paying for their personal life insurance via a relevant life plan. For a basic-rate tax payer the saving is around 36 per cent”

 

Typical relevant life examples

The majority of clients that seem to take out relevant life insurance tend to be IT contractors that contract through their own limited companies. Typically their spouse will also be a director and therefore cover is arranged for both parties in line with their insurance needs and remuneration multiples. Of course many other types of company directors can benefit such as tradesmen, business consultants, doctors or any one working through their own limited company. Other clients may include bigger businesses looking to take out three or four death in service policies for a few of their employees.

Speak to an expert from Mint FS to discuss how your business could benefit from a relevant life policy, and make sure your business doesn’t fall down the protection gap.

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Relevant Life FAQs

Who should consider these policies?

  • Directors wishing to provide their own individual ‘death in service’ benefits without taking out a scheme for all employees
  • High-earning employees where ‘death in service’ does not form part of their ‘lifetime allowance’ (£1.5 million 2012/13)

When are relevant life plans not suitable?

Relevant life plans are not available where there isn’t an employer-to-employee relationship. For example: sole traders, equity partners of a partnership or equity members of a Limited Liability Partnership

Who should be covered by relevant life policies?

The majority of company directors have some personal life insurance. But nearly all of these are paying for their life insurance either personally through pre-taxed income or through their company and getting a P11D benefit-in-kind penalty for this. Up until recent years, getting the limited company to pay for personal life insurance was only possible for companies that took group life insurance, often these type of policies were only possible for companies wishing to insure 10 or more employees.

What are the savings?

Relevant life plans are similar to most other types of life cover except they aim to provide a tax-efficient benefit provided by an employer for an employee.

This means that for a higher-rate taxpayer, the company director can save 49 per cent, by paying for their personal life insurance via a relevant life plan. For a basic-rate taxpayer the saving is still significant at around 36 per cent. The problem is that most company directors and even accountants have never heard of the plan. Therefore the uptake of the policy is very small compared to the number of people who could benefit and save.

Who offers the policy?

Originally the relevant life policy was offered by one provider only. Other providers held back to ensure that the legislation that the policy took advantage of was solid. Since then many providers have entered this market – A selection of the providers that offer relevant life are:

  • Scottish Provident
  • Zurich
  • AEGON
  • Legal & General
  • Pru Protect
  • Liverpool Victoria
  • Royal London

How much cover can you have?

Like a traditional death in service policy, the sum assured with a relevant life policy is also based on a multiple of remuneration. For a company director the definition of remuneration is based on salary plus dividends plus bonuses etc. The multiples vary from provider to provider and depend on the age of the director being insured. These range from 10 times remuneration to 25 times remuneration.

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The legal bit...

Your home is at risk if you fail to keep up payments on your mortgage or any other loans secured against it. Buy to Let mortgages and Commercial Lending are not usually regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage which is secured against your property or a home reversion plan which requires the sale of property for a discounted price. To understand the features and risks, ask for a personalised illustration. You only continue to own your own home with a lifetime mortgage. Equity release may impact the size of your estate and it could affect your entitlement to current and future means-tested benefits. Mint FS Limited , trading as Mint FS , Mint Financial Services and Puzzle Mortgages is an Appointed Representative of New Leaf Distribution Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: FCA Number 460421 Mint FS Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 11993128. Registered Office: Unit 6 The Centurion Centre, Castlegate Business Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6QX. The information contained in this website is subject to UK regulatory regime and is therefore intended for consumers based in the UK.