CAUTION
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S.226. Refers to the section of the 1970 Income and Corporation Taxes Act which governed RACs, and used as a general reference to the retirement annuity. S226a dealt with life cover.

S.32 (Finance Act 1981). The legislation which first permitted pension benefit accrued under an occupational pension scheme to be transferred to anything other than another exempt scheme.
See ‘Buy Out Policies’.

S.A. Abbreviation for société anonyme, denoting the equivalent of PLC in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Also abbreviation for public companies in Spain and Portugal.

Salary Sacrifice. A method of increasing input into a pension scheme by giving up existing salary or proposed salary increases, so that the sum foregone can be used as additional company contribution into an occupational pension scheme.

Sale and leaseback. An arrangement where the owner of property or assets sells and then leases back from the new owner, thus releasing capital value in exchange for the leasing overhead.

SARL. Abbreviation equivalent to private limited company in France and Italy.

Save As You Earn. A method of saving regularly from salary, by employer deduction. There are various schemes to accommodate this, some tax efficient, others merely savings administration.

Scam. Slang for fraud.

Schedule. A sheet attached to a document providing additional or specific information relevant to the main purpose of the document.

Schedule D. Tax collection regime for the self employed.

Schedule E. Tax collection system for employed people.

Scheme Administrator. The person responsible for the management and administration of an occupational pension scheme. All exempt approved schemes must appoint an administrator in UK.

Scheme Rules. All pension schemes will have rules, as they are the practical, day to day guide for the operation of membership and benefits.

School Fees Insurance. A generic term for ‘packages’ of investment, savings and insurance put together to ensure provision of money to meet education costs. A full package will cover not only fees but incidental schooling costs and go on to cover graduate studies.

Scrip Issue. Shares issued to shareholders, in proportion to existing holdings, to increase the number of shares to make them easier to sell in smaller denominations.

Second Death. An option under a joint life policy whereby the policy proceeds are paid out on the death of the second of the insured persons.

Secondary Market. The market for existing shares on the UK stock exchange.

Section 21 Orders. Refers to Social Security Pensions Act 1975, S21. This section requires that the State additional component and GMP are revalued in line with the increase in National Average Earnings, up to State Pension Age. Now known as S.148 orders.

Securities and Futures Authority. The SRO governing stock market, stockbrokers, merchant banks, discount houses and firms dealing in derivatives.

Securities and Investment Board. Organisation to which overall control of investor protection has been delegated by the Treasury.

Securitisation. The process of making a loan into a tradeable security by issuing a negotiable document encompassing the loan and selling it on.

Security. A bond or share certificate evidencing ownership or debt.

Segregated Fund. Pension scheme investments managed alongside, but separately from, other investments under control of a particular manager.

Selection. In underwriting terms, this is taken to mean the potential for the less fit and healthy to propose for life assurance and PHI contracts. This is particularly pertinent where members of group schemes may be offered ‘underwriting free’ continuation options upon leaving the scheme.

Self Administered. Simply, administering something yourself, and applied particularly in respect of certain occupational pension schemes.

Self Administered Personal Pension. Variation of the SIPP, except with the SAPP the scheme assets are invested by the insurance company and administered as a segregated or 'earmarked' fund within an appropriate fund under their management.

Self Assessment. System of collecting tax from:

1. Individuals i.e. the self employed and some others with a tax obligation other than under PAYE. It began for individuals on 6th April 1996.

2. Companies in respect of accounting periods finishing after 1st July 1999. Replaces the Pay and File System.

Self Employed Pension. Generally refers to Retirement Annuities (S226 policies) and Personal Pension Plans, even though both may be taken out by those employed persons not in pensionable employment.

Self Invested Personal Pensions. A PPP where the policyholders, usually in a group, organise and manage the pension fund investments for themselves.

Self Investment.

1. Rather than hiring specialist investment oneself; used particularly in respect of some pension arrangements.
   

2. Investment of the assets of a pension scheme in the business of the employer; strictly controlled and regulated by OPB, Disclosure Regulations and PSO.

Self Regulatory Organisation. Organisations established following introduction of Financial Services Act 1986 to regulate and oversee particular segments of the industry. Each SRO has its own rules and is responsible for direct supervision of its members. Originally 5 SROs but now 3: PIA, IMRO and SFA.

Sequester. A court order to confiscate property.

Service. Period of employment.

Settlement. An arrangement of land or other property by deed, under which a trust is created by the settlor.

Settlor. A person who establishes a trust.

Share. Part of the capital of a company, grants part ownership of the company to shareholder. Can be unquoted or quoted and ordinary or preference shares. Ordinary shares normally confer voting rights.

Share Capital. The money paid (subscribed) for ordinary and preference shares in a limited company. Authorised share capital means the total amount of shares available to be issued. Issued share capital relates to the total amount of shares actually subscribed for.

Share Exchange. Owners of unit trusts may use shares they already own to make an investment without having to sell them first. This saves dealing charges.

Share Incentive Schemes. Schemes offering tax incentives to encourage employee participation in a business.

Share Option. An offer by a company, usually to its employees and directors, to buy its shares at a given price before a specified date. With a growing company this can be a valuable employee incentive.

Share Protection. Life assurance and written agreements intended to provide that on the death of a shareholder, money is available to buy the deceased's shares and ensure that control of the company is in the right hands.

Share Protection Agreements. Written agreements designed to ensure that the estate of a deceased shareholder sells to the surviving shareholders and that the survivors buy the shares.

Share Warrant. Document giving the holder the right to buy shares at a fixed price at a given future date.

Shareholders Funds. Total shareholders investment in a company, covering issued share capital, retained profit and reserves.

Short Service Benefit. The benefit provided for someone who leaves a pension scheme before Normal Retirement Date, as controlled by Social Security Act 1973 preservation requirements.

Shorts. Short dated gilts with seven or fewer years to redemption date.

SICAV. French equivalent of a unit trust; ‘Societé D’ investissement A Capital Variable’.

Sight Bill. A bill of exchange payable when presented.

Simple Trust. See ‘Absolute Trust’.

Simplified Scheme. The Finance Act (No 2) 1987 introduced a simple and standard approval regime to save time on documentation and the approval process. A Simplified Defined Contribution Scheme (SDCS).

Simultaneous Deaths.

1. Where husband and wife die 'together', say, in an accident, and there is no evidence as to which of them died first, the elder is deemed to have died first. (Commorientes).
   

2. In applying IHT rules, however, both are deemed to have died at the same time so that both estates retain full allowances.

Single Premium. A one time only, not repeatable single payment.

Single Premium Costing. A system of treating each premium separately and applying it as one off amount for either investment or protection purposes, charges being taken from each premium. Contrasted with Level Premium costing which results in a level premium being paid from introduction of a contract to the date of last premium, charges being taken costed at outset, usually resulting in low premium allocation in the first years of a contract. Contrasted with Single Premium costing.

Single Pricing. Method of pricing unitised investments. The purchasing and selling price of units is the same. Pricing method always used for OEICs and may be used for unit trusts.

Sinking Fund. Regular or periodic instalments saved or invested to repay a loan or purchase a replacement of an asset in the future.

Small Companies Rate. Rate of corporation tax below the standard and marginal rates.

Small Gifts Allowance. An annual IHT allowance, enabling a donor to give up to £200 per year to any number of separate individuals, which do not have to be accounted for in calculating IHT liability.

Small Self Administered Pension Schemes. To all intents and purposes an 'ordinary' pension scheme but without the involvement of a life company other than the provision of death in service benefits. ‘Small’ refers to schemes with less then 12 members, to which special rules apply.

Société d'Investissement à Capital Variable. (SICAV) The most common type of European investment fund. Has variable capital and is similar to OEICs.

Soft Commodities. Foodstuffs traded as investments.

Sole Proprietor. Sole owner of a business, usually referring to a self employed person not in partnership.

Solvency. The state of being able to pay outstanding debts on their due date.

Sort Code. In banking, the three pairs of figures usually found at the top right hand corner of cheques. Each branch has a unique identifying number to facilitate payments and receipts.

Sources & Applications of Funds Statement. Financial summary of source and uses of cash during the trading year of a business.

SpA. Italian Plc - societa per azioni.

Split Capital Trusts. Investment trust company which splits the returns from income and capital growth between investors.

Split Level Investment Trust. Investment trust with both investment shares and capital shares.

Spot. Price now of something for immediate delivery.

Square Mile. City of London, ‘The City’.

Stag. Someone who buys a large volume of a new issue shares in the hope of the price rising, thus giving them the chance to sell quickly at a profit.

Staggered Vesting. Phased or staged retirement, achieved by taking cash and income from different policies at different times.

Stakeholder Pensions. Introduced in April 2001 to promote wider pension saving. Must meet certain minimum standard criteria. Enable individuals without earned income to make provision for their retirement for the first time. No minimum age restriction.

Standard and Poors. American credit rating organisation, awarding ratings of AAA (triple A) to D. Anything below BB is purportedly a doubtful proposition for investment purposes.

Standard Policy Wordings. Each insurance company will have a standard framework for each of its policies. They will be personalised by use of endorsement or schedule.

Standing Order. Regular payment system whereby the purchaser of goods or services instructs their own bank to pay direct to the supplier’s bank.

State Earnings Related Pension Scheme. Earnings related pension based on earnings between LEL and UEL.

State Pension Age. Fixed retirement ages for men and women, currently 65 and 60 respectively. To be equalised to 65 for men and women, from April 2020 (with 10 years phasing in from 2010).

State Pensions Scheme. Actually two schemes:

1. Basic pension, a flat rate sum paid to all with qualifying NI contributions.
   

2. SERPS, based on earnings between the Lower Earnings Level (LEL) and Upper earnings Level (UEL).

State Scheme Offset. Reduction applied to benefits arising from an occupational pension. Can be a deduction from pension itself or a deduction used when calculating pension amount. Purpose is to take account of some or all of State pension member will receive.

Statement of Investment Principles. Written statement which trustees of occupational pension schemes must prepare and maintain. It details their investment objectives and principles. Must be made available to members on request.

Statement of Long-Term Insurance Practice. A code of conduct, governing the operating practices of insurance companies in respect of proposals, documentation, claims, procedures and complaints. Applies to policies taken out by UK residents.

Statement of Standard Accounting Practice. Accounting standards on different subjects.
e.g. SSAP 21 deals with leasing, SSAP 24 deals with pension fund accounting.

Statute. An Act of Parliament; law enacted by Parliament.

Statutory. Relating to law contained in statute.

Statutory Discharge. The discharge provided when a member exercises the statutory right to a "cash equivalent" or transfer from a pension scheme.

Statutory Sick Pay. Payable to employed persons by their employer after 3 days sickness for up to 28 weeks.

Stock. In the UK, refers to fixed interest securities, usually issued in denominations of £100. In the USA, relates to ordinary shares.

Stock Exchange. A market where stocks and shares are bought and sold.

Stock Exchange Automated Quotation System. Screen based system used by Stock Exchange market makers to advise the market of their trading prices.

Stockbrokers. Middlemen, agents, who buy and sell stocks and shares for customers.

Stop-loss i. A notional price, perhaps 20 per cent below the buying price, at which a share will be sold to avoid further losses.

Stop-loss ii. A form of reinsurance aimed at setting a ceiling on claims for the primary insurance company with the reinsurer picking up claims over that amount.

Straddle.

1. the simultaneous purchase of put and call options in the same underlying security in the traded options market.
   

2. sometimes used in the sense of the difference between the bid and offer price.

Subordinated Loan. Often an unsecured loan, and one which would only be repaid after secured loans had been repaid.

Subrogation. Recovery of an indemnity granted to an insured from the third party liable for the loss incurred.

Subscribe. As in ‘subscribe to...", taken to mean to apply for shares in a new issue.

Subsidiary. A company where more than 50% of the voting shares are owned by another company.

Succession. The passing of property on death of the property owner.

Sum Assured. The guaranteed amount paid on death under a life assurance policy.

Sunrise Industries. New, high-tech, electronics based industries which are replacing ‘sunset industry’, or old style heavy industries, as the source of major employment and capital investment.

Superannuation Fund. Another name for an occupational pension scheme; tends to be used in reference to 'national' schemes such as those for teachers, police, local authorities, and so on. All are governed by the same Revenue rules and regulations.

Superannuation Funds Office. Forerunner of the Pension Schemes Office.

Surety. Can be used in the sense of either:

1. the term for a person who provides personal guarantees for someone else, or

2. a forfeitable cash sum, in the event of the non-appearance at court of a defendant.

Surrender. Cessation of premium payments and recovery of any residual value of a life policy with investment content.

Surrender Value. The amount paid to a policyholder who stops paying premiums into a policy before the expected date. The amount depends on the period the policy had run and expenses still to be recouped by the insurance company.

Swap. Exchanging one thing for another, and used in the financial arena e.g.

1. currency swap, for trading purposes, or
   

2. interest rate swap, where borrowers swap fixed rate for variable rate investments.

Switching. Transferring sums of money from one unitised fund to another. This is done on a bid to bid basis to avoid 'new money' charges when buying units at the offer price.

SWOT Analysis. A list and examination of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats inherent in any situation and course of action.