Welcome to your guide to the Defined Contribution (DC) Section of the Allen & Overy Pension Scheme.

This guide, together with the separate 'A Guide to your Investment Choices' section, describes the DC Section of the Allen & Overy Pension Scheme. Under the DC Section, the contributions paid by you and Allen & Overy, including any investment returns, are invested in your own individual Retirement Account. At retirement, the money available in your Retirement Account is used to provide retirement benefits.

The Scheme is a "registered pension scheme" under the Finance Act 2004. This means that the Scheme's investments receive valuable tax advantages from HMRC and members' contributions currently receive full tax relief.

The Scheme is not contracted-out of the State Second Pension (S2P), previously called the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). This means that the benefits you receive from the Scheme will be in addition to any benefits paid by the State.

The Trustee of the Scheme is Allen & Overy Pension Trustee Limited. The Trustee is responsible for investing the Scheme's assets and has set out the principles adopted in a Statement of Investment Principles.

The Scheme's Trust Deed and Rules govern its provisions. This guide is for general guidance and provides only summary information. It is overridden by the Trust Deed and Rules if there is any inconsistency between them or uncertainty to any entitlement.

If you were a member of the DB Section of the Scheme immediately before 1 January 2007 different terms may apply to your benefits - these are noted in this guide where relevant. All other information in this guide applies to your benefits under the DC Section only.

The day-to-day running of the Scheme is looked after by Capita - an external service provider. The Administration Team can be contacted using the details provided on the Contact Us page.

If you have any questions about the Scheme or your entitlement to benefits please address them to HR Advice at Allen & Overy LLP, 68 Donegall Quay, Belfast, BT1 3NL or by email at hr.advice@allenovery.com. You can also obtain a copy of the statement of Investment Principles and Scheme Trust Deed and Rules from HR Advice

A number of the terms used in this guide are shown in bold type. These are defined terms and can be found in the Glossary of terms.