What is a with-profits fund?
A With-profits fund is a ‘pooled investment’ fund which you will have paid into along with a number of other Pension investors. The fund invests in a diverse number of investments helping to balance the risk and produce a steady rate of growth called a regular bonus rate which is calculated annually. This along with a potential terminal bonus paid out at the end of the investment period provides some underlying guarantees once achieved. These may be lost if paid out before the end of the investment period with potential market value adjustments enforced following an investment market fall.
More info - https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/life-assurance/lam05070