My Choices is one of the most important and valuable benefits at MetLife and it is important that you understand how it works. If you still have questions on how My Choices works after reading this section along with the individual benefit pages in 'The benefits' section of this website, you should contact the My Choices helpline on 0800 916 8068 or email metlifemychoices@willistowerswatson.com
My Choices is the flexible benefits plan offered at MetLife. It gives you freedom, choice and flexibility in the way you receive your benefits, as well as giving you the opportunity to make savings where possible. For example, you may benefit from lower prices where MetLife has been able to negotiate competitive corporate benefit terms. Also, you could save income tax and National Insurance Contributions depending on the benefits that you choose.
My Choices offers a comprehensive range of benefits which currently include:
| Finance | Health | Security | Lifestyle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pension | Private medical insurance | Life assurance | Holiday |
| Charity donations | Dental insurance | Partner Life assurance | Childcare vouchers |
| Health assessment | Income protection | Cycle to work | |
| Critical illness for me | Gym membership | ||
| Critical illness for my partner | Travel insurance | ||
| Dining card | |||
| Gadget insurance |
All permanent and fixed term employees of MetLife are eligible for My Choices including those on an expatriate assignment outside the UK and outbound short term assignees, although eligibility to certain benefits may be restricted.
The following people are not eligible for My Choices:
The following employees will continue to be eligible for My Choices although certain benefit restrictions may be in place:
Each year, during the annual enrolment, you will be able to make your choices. This period will usually run for three weeks during November and early December. Subject to the relevant approvals, your choices will be effective from 1 January for the next 12 months or until you cease to be eligible to participate in My Choices (for example, if you leave MetLife), or you change your benefits at a life event if earlier, or changes are made to the benefits by MetLife or any of the benefit providers.
For the 2017 My Choices year, you will be able to make your benefit choices until 5pm (UK time) on 6 December 2016.
If you do not submit your completed My Choices enrolment form by the final day of the annual enrolment, you will receive your default benefits package under My Choices.
You should be aware that there may be restrictions on the type of changes that can be made to your benefit choices at future enrolments. Also, if you decide to opt out of a certain benefit, you may not be able to choose the previous level of benefit at a future annual enrolment or life event.
Even if you think you do not want to make any changes to your benefit choices at a subsequent annual enrolment, you should always review the website and your choices, as benefits (and the terms of particular benefits) may change from year to year. There may also be changes to the tax treatment of benefits under My Choices, which you should consider.
Your benefit choices are subject to approval by MetLife and acceptance by any relevant benefit provider. For example, some or all of your benefit choices may be rejected:
MetLife will aim to provide your chosen benefits, but reserves the right to vary all or part of your choices and cannot guarantee that your chosen benefits will be approved or accepted by the relevant benefit provider. Therefore, confirmation of your choices is entirely at the discretion of MetLife and/or the relevant benefit provider. If your benefit choices are declined in whole or in part, MetLife will not be under any obligation to provide you with an alternative benefit or any compensation in respect of these benefits.
You will be able to access a confirmation statement on this website from MetLife stating the basis on which your choices are offered to you. You will be able to view this statement all year round in the 'Your choices' section of this website.
If any of your chosen benefits are not approved for any reason:
For eligible employees during the My Choices annual enrolment, your benefit choices will start on 1 January, subject to the required approvals described above.
For subsequent My Choices years, any new choices made at annual enrolment will start on 1 January, subject to the approvals described above and any changes in My Choices.
If you join MetLife or become eligible for My Choices after the cut-off for 1 January enrolment, you will be treated as a 'new joiner' under My Choices. A default benefits package will apply from the first day at MetLife which includes 9% of reference salary pension contribution, life assurance at four times your reference salary and income protection at 60% of your reference salary. Any benefit choices that you make will take effect from the first of the month following the submission of your enrolment form on the My Choices website, subject to the approvals described above and provided your submission is made by the penultimate working day of the previous month.
Depending on when you join in the month, you will either have until the penultimate working day of that month or the penultimate working day of the following month to make your choices. You will have been advised of this on joining. If you do not make your benefit choices in this timeframe, you will receive your default benefits and you will not be able to make any changes to your benefits for the My Choices year, unless you have a life event.
The majority of benefits will continue to run unless you specify otherwise by making changes to your benefits at annual enrolment or due to a life event, or you leave MetLife or cease to be eligible for My Choices. If you leave MetLife, benefits may cease on the date at which you leave, at the end of the month in which you leave or at the end of the My Choices year. More information can be found in the section 'Leaving MetLife or ceasing to be eligible for My Choices'.
However, some of the insurers have certain age restrictions that may mean the benefit ceases part-way through a My Choices year if you or your partner or children reach this maximum age. If you reach such an age restriction, cover may cease on the date you or your partner or children reach the maximum age and all future salary sacrifice arrangements in relation to that particular benefit will stop on the date at which cover ceases. Click on the individual benefit options to find out more information about age restrictions.
At annual enrolment, if you don�t make and submit your benefit choices by 8 December, you will receive the following default benefits (those automatically allocated to you by MetLife):
| Benefit | Default |
|---|---|
| Finance | |
| Pension | Your current % contribution selection. |
| Charity donations | Your current selection |
| Flex allowance | Any unused allowance will default into the pension plan if you are a pension plan member. If you are not a pension plan member, this will be donated to the charity of the year. Please note that if some or all of your flex allowance is defaulted into the pension, the contribution will not be matched by the company. |
| Health | |
| Private medical insurance | Your current selection |
| Dental insurance | Your current selection |
| Health assessment | Your current entitlement |
| Security | |
| Life assurance | Your current selection |
| Partner life assurance | Your current selection |
| Income protection | Your current selection |
| Critical Illness insurance for me | Your current selection |
| Critical Illness insurance for my partner | Your current selection |
| Lifestyle | |
| Holiday | Your current entitlement i.e. no holiday buy or sell |
| Childcare vouchers | Your current selection |
| Cycle to work | No selection |
| Gym membership | No selection |
| Travel Insurance | Your current selection |
| Dining card | No selection |
| Gadget insurance | Your current selection |
You may be able to change certain benefit choices during the My Choices year if your personal circumstances change significantly. Such changes are referred to as life events. Click here to review a summary table setting out the main qualifying life events. For further details, please contact the My Choices helpline on 0800 916 8068 or email metlifemychoices@willistowerswatson.com to confirm which benefits you can change for each life event.
Please note:
Changes in response to a life event must be made within 60 days from the date of the life event or 90 days if the change is in response to the birth or adoption of a child. If you do not make changes in this timeframe, you will not be able to make any changes to your benefits, unless you have another life event. You should complete and submit your life event enrolment form to make your life event changes. The changes to your benefits will take effect from the first of the month following submission of your enrolment form on the My Choices website, provided that your enrolment form is submitted by the penultimate working day of the month. Your choices are subject to approval by MetLife and acceptance by any relevant benefit provider.
Any changes in your salary or working hours during the My Choices year will not affect the cost of your chosen benefits, except pension contributions. If your pensionable salary changes during the My Choices year, your pension contributions and any pension benefit will be adjusted in accordance with the relevant pension plan rules.
If you change your working hours by more than 10%, this is considered a life event and you will be able to review some of your benefit choices.
Any benefit payable under life assurance for you or income protection will be determined on your reference salary at the point of claim in accordance with the relevant scheme rules.
Salary sacrifice is an arrangement where you give up part of your contractual salary and MetLife provides you with one or more non-cash benefits. This is a variation to your contractual terms and conditions of employment.
All benefits within My Choices operate on a salary sacrifice basis with the exception of charity donations and dining card which are deducted from net pay. In certain circumstances, for example when you are in receipt of income protection or on some forms of unpaid absence, your benefits may continue if you agree to fund them via a net pay deduction.
On your payslip, each of your benefit choices will be listed along with the associated cost of that choice. Your payslip will also show any net pay deductions in a separate column.
If you have some flex pot remaining when you sum all of your benefit choices, the unallocated flex pot will default into the pension plan if you are a pension plan member, or into charity donations if you are not a pension plan member. Please note that if some or all of your flex allowance is defaulted into the pension, the contribution will not be matched by the company.
If you have sold some days of holiday you will receive this value as a credit which increases your overall cash salary, subject to income tax and National Insurance Contributions.
If you have spent more than the value contained in your flex pot on benefits, the overall effect on your salary will be a cost. It is this overall cost that dictates how much your salary is reduced by for benefits provided through salary sacrifice.
By receiving benefits under a salary sacrifice arrangement, there will be a reduction in your contractual salary and there may be a reduction in the amount of National Insurance Contributions and income tax you pay (if you receive income tax and/or National Insurance Contributions exempt benefits under My Choices). This could affect the level of certain State benefits you may be eligible to receive. For further information on State benefits, please see the Department for Work and Pensions website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits and HM Revenue and Customs website at www.hmrc.gov.uk
Any salary sacrifice arrangement will not however affect any salary-related benefits you receive from MetLife � this is because your salary before you make any selection under My Choices will be recorded and maintained as your reference salary and will be the salary that is used to calculate other salary-related benefits and compensation.
You will not be permitted to make choices that reduce your gross salary below the National Minimum Wage. If your choices would have the effect of reducing your salary to below the National Minimum Wage, you will be asked to adjust your choices accordingly. The salary sacrifice will not be applied to reduce any other minimum levels of pay which you may be eligible to receive in accordance with any statutory requirements (such as statutory maternity pay).
The company has introduced a "Pay Protection Limit" of £12,960 for the My Choices scheme. This is to protect you from making selections that could negatively impact your state benefits. The flex system will not prevent you from making choices that reduce your gross salary below the Pay Protection Limit (subject to the National Minimum Wage restriction), however if you make choices that take your salary below this limit you will be contacted by HR who will ensure that you understand the impact this may have on your state benefits.
My Choices has been designed to help you make tax savings in relation to your benefits package wherever possible. If the sum of your total benefit choices (other than net pay deductions) is negative (i.e. you have 'spent' more than the value of your flex pot), these are provided on a salary sacrifice basis and certain benefits provided in this way will be free from income tax and/or National Insurance Contributions.
The summary information on income tax and National Insurance is correct as at 6 April 2015 (for UK residents). However, it is summary information only. The law governing the tax and National Insurance treatment of benefits is complex and may change at any time. The information provided is not therefore a substitute for obtaining your own professional advice which will be influenced by your personal circumstances.
Should the tax legislation and/or the guidance from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) change so that more income tax or National Insurance Contributions are due on any of the benefits you have chosen through My Choices, you will be responsible for such additional amounts due. Any such changes will be notified to you as soon as reasonably practicable.
For employees, income tax is generally collected through the PAYE system operated by employers � you will be allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) based on your allowances and other income (such as benefits-in-kind) and your employer deducts the tax due according to that code and pays it over to HMRC.
HMRC may be taxing you through your tax code, on an estimate of your benefits-in-kind based on previous tax years, if they were not taxed through payroll in those previous tax years. Under My Choices, MetLife may simultaneously be taxing some of those same benefits through payroll. We therefore recommend that you carefully study any tax code issued to you by HMRC. If your tax code has factored in any benefits-in-kind (such as private medical insurance) which you previously had as an employee but which you are now receiving through My Choices and which will therefore now be taxed through payroll, then we recommend that you contact HMRC to have your tax code amended accordingly.
You should call HMRC on the number provided on the notice of coding that you receive, and explain that your employer is now taxing the relevant benefit through payroll. If there is any period of overlap before HMRC amends your tax code, this will ultimately be corrected by HMRC and any duplication of taxation refunded to you.
If you are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, you are eligible for My Choices and the benefits you have chosen for the My Choices year will continue (subject to the terms and conditions of each benefit and MetLife's maternity and adoption policy).
Commencing maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and the birth or adoption of a child are all life events where you can choose to change some of your benefits. For example, you may want to include your new child for private medical insurance. Note, however, that for some benefits, you will only be permitted to make two life event changes each year and there may be other restrictions on the type of change that can be made. For further details on life events, please see above. For more information on the maternity policy, you should click here to review the policy pages on My.MetLife.
During maternity, paternity or adoption leave your salary sacrifice arrangements will continue as long as your pay levels permit.
If you are on sick leave of less than 26 weeks, the benefits you have chosen for the My Choices year will continue (subject to the terms and conditions of each benefit and MetLife's sick leave policy). For more information on the sickness policies, you should click here to review the policy pages on My.MetLife.
Salary sacrifice arrangements will continue as normal during sick leave of less than 26 weeks, except that the salary sacrifice arrangement will be applied to any discretionary sick pay which you may be eligible to receive. If your company sick pay ceases, your benefits may continue if you agree to fund them through a net pay deduction.
If you are absent from work on sick leave for a period of 26 weeks or more as a result of incapacity, you may be eligible for an income protection benefit, subject to the terms of MetLife's income protection scheme and the insurer's acceptance of your claim. If you are absent from work for more than 26 weeks MetLife may change the benefits which are available to you, at its discretion. The acceptance of a claim for income protection is also treated as a life event under My Choices, which means you can choose to change some of your My Choices benefits, if you wish to do so, at the point at which you become a claimant.
Please note, however, that for some of the benefits, you will only be permitted to make two life event changes each year and there may be other restrictions on the type of change that can be made. For further details on life events, please see above.
If you do not return to work after a period of sick leave, you will be required to repay any outstanding amounts which you owe to MetLife, which shall be recoverable from you by MetLife as a debt.
If you take a period of approved unpaid leave of absence, whilst you will continue to be eligible for the My Choices benefits you will not be able to fund these by salary sacrifice. You will need to agree with HR the benefits that you would like to retain and agree any corresponding payments. The cost of your benefit selections may need to be paid for out of net pay on your return to work. If MetLife is unable to recoup the cost of the benefits through payroll, you will need to agree with HR the process of repaying these outstanding amounts from your net salary.
For more information on the unpaid leave policies, you should review the policy pages on My.MetLife.
In the month that you cease to be eligible for My Choices (for example, the month in which your employment terminates), all future salary sacrifice arrangements will stop on that date with the exception of childcare vouchers, gym membership, charity donations, gadget insurance, dining card and cycle to work in accordance with the terms and conditions of each of these benefits. You agree that any additional sum owed by you to MetLife under My Choices, including any repayment obligations on you, for example, relating to a period of leave, may be deducted from your salary for your final month of participation in My Choices and/or from any other payment(s) due from MetLife or any associated company. To the extent such amount is greater than your final month's salary payment you will immediately repay the amount to MetLife on demand.
When you cease to be eligible to participate in My Choices, your benefits (including any benefits chosen for your partner and children) will terminate as set out in the termination of benefit summary.