BT employee share plans - transfer to pension option

Transferring shares

From time to time, BT may offer its employees the choice to transfer employee share plan shares into the BT Share Pension Fund.

The transfer would be made into the Group Flexible Retirement Plan (GFRP) provided by Standard Life Assurance Limited for BT employees. The value of shares transferred would be invested in the BT Share Pension Fund, which is a unitised fund that holds BT shares. The BT Share Pension Fund is available alongside the full range of investments available through the plan.

If you are a BTRSS member then you will have access to the BT Share Pension Fund through your BTRSS plan and the transfer can be made to your existing plan.

If you are not a BTRSS member you will need to set up a GFRP, which is a type of personal pension contract; this will give you access to the BT Share Pension Fund alongside the full range of funds.

Moving employee share plan shares into the BT Share Pension Fund could help you save for income in your retirement.

It's up to you to decide whether this is the right choice for you, so if you're unsure at all then you should take financial advice.

Ready to go ahead? Here's what to do

I am already a member of the BTRSS and I want to transfer shares - what do I do next?

Just complete your online employee share plan maturity/vesting choices. You don't need to do anything else.

I am not a member of the BTRSS but I want to transfer shares - what do I do next?

If you’re not in the BTRSS, you’ll need to apply for a plan with Standard Life Assurance Limited. You can do this even if you are already contributing to another BT pension arrangement.

If you already have a plan with Standard Life that was set up for transferring shares from a BT employee share plan (and you still have funds invested in that plan) you do not need to apply for a new plan. You will be asked to quote your Standard Life plan number in your share plan online maturity instructions.

Transferring shares to the BT Share Pension Fund option in a plan with Standard Life does not make you a contributing member of the BTRSS and you will not be entitled to all of the benefits of the BTRSS. For example you will not be able to make regular contributions or benefit from BT contributions.

How to apply for a BT Share Pension Fund plan:

Read the important documents below, print off and complete the employee application form using your temporary plan number (see bullet 2) and return it electronically to the BT team at Standard Life at bt_admin@standardlife.com.
To create your temporary plan number use your staff number preceded with a Z and followed by a 0 (for example: Zstaff number0).
Complete your online employee share plan maturity choices.

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Transferring shares - what happens next?

Once your plan has been set up, on the agreed date the value of your shares you've elected to transfer to pension will be transferred to Standard Life and used to provide units in the BT Share Pension Fund.
The value of the shares is treated as a personal contribution to a pension plan, so Standard Life will also ensure you receive basic rate tax relief at the same time. This will secure further units for you in the BT Share Pension Fund. If you pay more than the basic rate of tax you may have to claim back additional tax relief manually (please see information about pension allowances).
Standard Life will send you confirmation of the transfer and investment.
You will no longer directly hold the BT shares. Future dividends on the BT shares the BT Share Pension Fund holds will be reinvested in the fund.
You can then see your fund value by using your BT credentials to manage your pension online.
If you are not already a BTRSS member, Standard Life will also send you an activation code that will allow you to manage your pension online.
With access to your plan, you will be able to make changes to how your contributions are invested. You will have access to the full range of Standard Life pension fund investments.

Common questions

: Transferring a high value of shares to a pension plan could mean your pension savings exceed the Annual or Lifetime Allowance limits. Find out more about tax relief
: There is an annual management charge applied to the BT Share Pension Fund. BT employees benefit from a rebate. Find out more about charges
: Once the value of your shares has been transferred into your plan and has been invested in the BT Share Pension Fund, you can move into other investment options if you want to.

Find out more about your investment options.
: There is a single transfer date associated with each employee share plan. This is set out in the information that BT has provided. You will be allocated units in the BT Share Pension Fund on the same day that your shares are transferred.
: You can choose to transfer all or some of your employee share plan shares to your pension. You might want to consider having access to some of them.

BT Share Pension Fund Application

You only need to apply to join if you're not a member of the BTRSS.

Before you decide whether or not to apply, please read the documents below including the Offer Letter, Key Features Document and Key Features Illustration.

These documents will tell you about the risks and commitments of setting up a personal pension plan with Standard Life, the funds you can choose to invest in and the charges which apply as well as give you an indication of what you might receive when you retire. Please read all this information as it'll help you decide if this is right for you.

You should print off all these documents and keep them for future reference.

If you now wish to proceed with the transfer of your shares to the BT Share Pension Fund, please complete parts 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 6b of the employee application form and return it to Standard Life no later than the deadline confirmed by BT in the information provided for your share scheme.

Important information

As with any investment, the value can go down as well as up, and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Charges and rebates are not guaranteed. They are regularly reviewed and may be changed in the future.

Laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in April 2024.

Please note that if you have Enhanced protection or Fixed Protection, you should consider not transferring your employee share plan shares as you will lose this protection.