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Stakeholders
What is it?
A stakeholder pension is a type of low-charge pension. You can buy a
stakeholder pension from a commercial financial services company,
such as a bank, insurance company or building society.
Stakeholder pensions must satisfy a number of minimum government
standards to ensure that they offer value for money and flexibility.
These standards include:
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management charges in each year must not amount to more than the
charge cap as set down by law – for people who join a
stakeholder pension scheme on or after 6 April 2005 the cap is
an annual management charge of 1.5% for the first 10 years,
which will reduce to 1% from then onwards if these members
remain in the scheme
-
the stakeholder pension contract must not have charges for members
transferring into or out of the stakeholder pension scheme
-
all stakeholder pensions schemes must accept contributions of £20 or
more, though some may accept lower payments
-
stakeholder pension schemes must be run in the interest of their
members, and will either have trustees or they will be run by a
scheme manager
Note: The annual charge for members who purchased their stakeholder
pension scheme before 6 April 2005 will remain at 1% for as long as
they remain in the scheme. However, if such members move to another
stakeholder pension scheme on or after 6 April 2005, the new charge
cap of 1.5% will apply for the first ten years of membership of that
new scheme.
For individuals You can read or print a copy of our guide to
stakeholder pensions, called
Stakeholder pensions - Your Guide (PM8) from the resource centre on The Pension
Service website.
www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
You can also call our Pensions Info-Line on: 0845 7 31 32 33 or
text phone: 0845 604 0210. Calls are charged at local rates and the
line is open 24 hours a day. Or, you can write to us at:
Pension Guide
Freepost RLXH-JUEU-GZCH
Northampton
NN3 6DF
You can also visit the
Financial Services Authority website
www.fsa.gov.uk
for information on a range of personal finance products and issues.
There is also a
section on pensions
that includes stakeholder pensions.
You can also contact the helpline, run by the “The Pensions Advisory
Service” and funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and the
Financial Services Authority.
For employers Many employers are required by law to offer
their employees access to a stakeholder pension scheme. Some
employers however will be exempt. To find out how you are affected,
see our guide,
Stakeholder pensions - a guide for
employers.
You can order a copy from the Inland Revenue's Employer's Order line
on: 0845 7646 646. The order line is open Monday to Friday, 8.00am -
8.00pm, and Saturday, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
You may also find the following useful:
-
The register of stakeholder
pension schemes. This is a list of approved and registered stakeholder pension
schemes published by the Pensions Regulator, from which
employers can select a scheme.
-
Stakeholder pension schemes legislation:
Welfare Reform Act
Regulations on stakeholder
pensions
-
If you have any other questions about stakeholder pensions, you can
also call the Inland Revenue Employer's Helpline on: 0845 7143
143. The helpline is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to
8.00pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 8.00am to 5.00pm. A text
phone number is available on: 0845 602 1380. You can visit HM
Revenue & Customs website at
www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/index.shtml
-
The
'Employers' section of The Pension Service website
Helpline Numbers
If you have a query relating to:
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Stakeholder pension scheme registration - contact the Pensions Regulator on: 0870 2433 123, Monday to
Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm
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Tax approval and contracting out - contact the Inland Revenue Pensions Schemes Office on: 0115
9741 777
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Tax repayments
- contact the Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office (FICO)
on: 0151 4726 109
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DWP legal requirements
- call the Inland Revenue Stakeholder Pension Scheme Provider's
Helpline on: 0845 9150 150, Monday to Friday from 8.00am to
5.00pm
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The rules for authorising stakeholder pension scheme managers,
or the marketing or promotion of any stakeholder scheme -
contact the Financial Services Authority on: 020 7676 0082,
Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm
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Stakeholder pensions (general enquiries), call the helpline on: 0845 601 2923, Monday
to Friday, from 9.00am to 5.00pm; the helpline is run by The
Pensions Advisory Service and is funded by the Department for
Work and Pensions and the Financial Services Authority, and
deals with consumer enquiries about stakeholder, occupational
and personal pensions
Remember that this website is only a general guide to benefits and
schemes, and is not a full and authoritative statement of the law.
Contact us
for more information. |
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