Sharesave maturity FAQs
At the end of the savings period, EQ will contact you to explain your choices. As long as you are still employed by Aberdeen Group plc, you can use your savings to buy Aberdeen Group plc shares at the special discounted price. You will have six months in which to buy the shares following your maturity date. If you don't want to buy shares, you can just withdraw your savings.
Neither Aberdeen Group plc nor EQ can advise you what you should do. If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you should contact an Independent Financial Adviser.
For every contribution you have missed, your maturity window moves back by one month. You’ll continue to have deductions taken from your pay until you have completed your total 36 or 60 payments. Your online Sharesave maturity statement will show your new maturity date.
As the ii Stocks and Shares ISA choice is only available via the Portal until 22 October 2025 and for shares allotted on 3 November, if you have a maturity date of 1 December 2025 and onwards any instruction for this choice won’t be processed and your shares will be transferred to the Aberdeen Share Account. You can then transfer your shares from the Aberdeen Share Account.
Remember, you have 90 days from buying the shares to transfer your shares into an ISA or the shares will be sold and bought again which may give rise to a CGT liability.
Your request will be processed in accordance with the timetable.
You can access your maturity statement and plan details via the Share Plans Portal. The number of Options granted will be the maximum number of shares you can buy at maturity.
To have your instruction processed at the earliest opportunity (1 November 2025), you'll need to submit your instruction on the Share Plans Portal by 6pm (UK time) 22 October 2025. Please refer to the timetable for more details of the deadlines. Remember, you'll have until 6pm (UK time) 30 April 2026 to give an instruction, instructions cannot be accepted after this time.
If you’ve missed contributions your maturity window will move back by each month missed.
No, there is no tax-free bonus payment to be paid at maturity in respect of the 2020 5 Year or 2022 3 Year plan.
Providing you haven’t missed any contributions, the final salary deduction will be taken from your September 2025 salary. This payment may not show against your SAYE account until after 1 October 2025.
No. Once you have submitted your exercise instruction it is irrevocable and cannot be cancelled or amended under any circumstance. However, please note that if your Option is underwater then it will not be processed.
If you don’t make an instruction by the end of your maturity period, your options will lapse and your savings will be automatically returned to you. If EQ hold your bank details this repayment will be direct to your salary bank account.
You can’t ask for a repayment via the Share Plans Portal, you’ll need to contact the employee helpline for more information on the repayment options.
Employee helpline - +44(0)371 384 2534. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:30 – 17:30 (UK time) excluding public holidays in England and Wales
Email - aberdeenshares@equiniti.com.
Under current legislation there is generally no liability to UK income tax or National Insurance Contributions on any gains you make when you exercise your Sharesave Option.
If exercise your Option to buy the shares and sell them you may be liable for Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Everybody has an annual CGT allowance (the ‘Annual Exempt Amount’), which means that you’re able to make a certain amount of capital gains each year before a liability to CGT arises. The Annual Exempt Amount for the 2025/26 tax year is £3,000. If you’ve any doubts about your tax liability you should seek independent financial advice.
By giving an instruction, you are confirming that you’re aware of the possible impact of CGT and acknowledge that it is your responsibility to report the gain and pay any tax due accordingly. Please see the CGT Guide for more information.
The choices available to you on the Aberdeen Share Plans Portal are set out on the microsite. Please note that the choices available to you will depend on when you choose to exercise your Option. In summary the choices available may include:
- Exercise and sell (all shares or some shares) immediately
- Exercise and transfer your shares to your ii ISA (this choice will only be available via the Aberdeen Share Plans Portal until 6pm on 22 October 2025)
- Exercise and transfer your shares to the Aberdeen Share Account
- Exercise and transfer your shares to a share certificate
If you transfer your shares to the Aberdeen Share Account or to a certificate then you will subsequently be able to transfer your shares to a stocks and shares ISA, to another individual, or to a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Please note that a transfer to an ISA or to a SIPP must occur within 90 days of exercise, otherwise tax consequences may arise. Please refer to the ISA guide and the CGT guide for further information.
It is important to remember that you don’t need to exercise immediately. You will have until 6 months from the maturity date of your Option (30 April 2026 if your Option matures on 1 November 2025) to make a decision.
If you decide to buy the shares there will often be a small cash amount left in your Sharesave account. This is because it’s very unlikely that your savings will divide exactly into whole shares at the special discounted price. Any residual balance will be returned to your salary bank account after you place an exercise instruction.
Your Sharesave deposits are held with Lloyds Bank plc. If you chose to buy and sell immediately, the third-party administrator (Link or Equiniti, depending on the year of the Sharesave plan) need to arrange for the payment of your savings to Aberdeen to buy the shares; Equiniti then have to arrange transfer of the shares into your name and their sale or transfer. To streamline the process and minimise administration, exercise instructions are therefore processed once per week. Please refer to the timetable for further information on when an instruction will be processed based on the date that you submit it.
If the Option price (i.e. the special discounted price which applies to your Option) at the time of exercise is higher than the market price of an Aberdeen Group plc share, then the Option is said to be ‘underwater’. If this occurs, Equiniti will not process your exercise. You will still be able to submit an instruction until 6 months from the maturity date, but in the event that your Option is underwater the functionality to exercise on the Aberdeen Share Plans Portal may be turned off until such time as the share price exceeds the special discounted price.
Aberdeen employees
Prior to making an exercise instruction you will be required to seek permission to deal from My Compliance Office (MCO). Further information on the process is included in this guide. Please note that if you are a permanent or project insider you must obtain clearance to deal from Group Secretariat, as well as seek MCO approval, prior to submitting an instruction. If you have been identified as a permanent or project insider then you will have been, or will be, contacted by Group Secretariat and they will provide information on the steps that you must follow to seek clearance to deal. Please note that clearance to deal will not be granted when Aberdeen is in a closed period or a restricted dealing period.
ii/FPAL
If you are a current employee and have been identified as an insider you will need to seek individual clearance as per ii’s Share Dealing Code before placing an exercise election. Please be advised that exercise and sale instructions are exempt from the ii 7 day holding rules, including scenarios where you have transferred the shares directly into an ISA, into your Aberdeen Share Account, or have received a share certificate.
Yes, provided you do not request a repayment prior to your maturity date. If you request a repayment then you are still able to exercise your Sharesave Option in the 6 months following your maturity date provided you return your savings to EQ. Please contact EQ directly if you request a repayment and subsequently wish to return your savings and exercise your Option.