Stakeholder

 

 

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Stakeholder Pension Schemes

A Stakeholder Pension (SHP) is a type of Personal Pension Plan designed to provide an optional lump sum and income in retirement. In common with a Personal Pension Plan, Stakeholder Pensions are available to any United Kingdom resident under the age of 75. The minimum age for Stakeholder Pension is 55.

You, in conjunction with your adviser, choose the pension provider and make the arrangements for paying the contributions to the plan.

You can start a SHP even if you have a workplace pension or if you’re self-employed and don’t have a workplace pension. You don’t have to be working to take out a SHP and you can also provide a SHP for your spouse/partner or your child/children.

When you contribute to a SHP, your money is invested by the pension provider (usually an insurance company) to build up a fund/pension pot over a number of years.

A Stakeholder Pension incorporates a set of minimum standards established by the government, which include:

  • A capped charging structure is a maximum of 1.5% per year for the first 10 years and 1% per year thereafter; if an employer is using a stakeholder pension to meet their automatic enrolment duties there will be a charge cap of 0.75%
  • The minimum contribution is £20 per month
  • You can pay in lump sums whenever you want
  • You can stop and start payments as you wish
  • You can switch to another scheme at any time without penalty
  • You do not need to retire to draw your stakeholder pension benefits. You can take benefits from age 57
  • At retirement, the option exists to take a quarter of the fund  as a tax-free amount

The key point about SHPs, as with any other pension, is to start contributing as early as possible and keep making contributions for as long as possible. That way your pension pot has time to build up and the investment returns compound through reinvestment over many years. The result should be a significant sum of money to invest when you retire.

If you die before age 75 and you have not started to take benefits from your pension the funds will normally be passed to your spouse or other elected beneficiary free of inheritance tax. Other tax charges may apply depending on the circumstances.

It is possible to continue past age 75 without taking benefits. If you die after age 75 your pension pot can still be passed to a nominated beneficiary free of inheritance tax. However, if paid as a lump sum, tax at the beneficiary’s marginal rate will apply (2026/27). If it is paid as an income to your spouse or dependant there will be no initial tax charge, but any income paid would be subject to income tax.

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THE VALUE OF PENSIONS AND THE INCOME THEY PRODUCE CAN FALL AS WELL AS RISE. YOU MAY GET BACK LESS THAN YOU INVESTED.

TAX TREATMENT VARIES ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Other Areas of Expertise

Andrea - mid 50s

business owner

I came to see Josh not only helping me plan for my retirement but also in helping me look after a Trust fund for my Nieces. Josh is always quick to respond to queries and deals with all requests in a timely and efficient manner. I feel very comfortable in the fact that if I ask for something to be done or need some advice he ALWAYS delivers.
I have not always had this service from other financial advisors. I would happily recommend Josh to anyone needing financial support.

 

Trevor

Power of Attorney

Following our mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis and admission into a residential care home, my sister and I were looking for financial advice on the options available to fund her care. Our main concern before speaking with Josh was finding an adviser who would provide us with sound financial advice.
Josh provided us with various funding options relating to our mother's residential care provision. These options gave my sister and I the information we needed to determine the best way forward in respect of funding our mother's care needs. Josh provided clear, concise, and timely financial advice, and responses to all our questions were swift, friendly, and easy to understand. He also went out of his way to secure an immediate needs care annuity within the timescales required to meet my mother's urgent funding needs.
My sister and I received excellent support from Warwick Road Financial Services and believe that, without Josh's assistance, we would have struggled to achieve a successful outcome.
My sister and I have a cautious approach when it comes to making major financial decisions. We believe the approach used, and the advice offered by Warwick Road Financial Services, would be of benefit to people who, like us, have a cautious approach when it comes to financial matters.

Darren

IT professional – requiring and receiving ongoing Pre-retirement advice

I approached Jethro several years ago because my wife and I really hadn’t paid any attention to our pension planning. Jethro helped us by identifying various plans from previous employers, and a personal plan that I’d left to stagnate from my contracting days.
The result was that Jethro managed to consolidate all these into single managed portfolios for each of us. One thing we really liked was his clear explanation, regular communication, and friendly but professional approach. He explained things to us in language we could both understand. We found the experience very easy to navigate thanks to Jethro’s detailed and clear explanation and guidance.
We would recommend Jethro to people who need a full-service pension professional to guide them clearly and safely through their options and manage the entire process for them.

Miss Parker

I instructed Claire Adams from Warwick Road Financial services to assist me with consolidating my various pensions into one with Quilter.
Claire took care of everything on my behalf and kept me updated at all times.  Clare was extremely professional, efficient and explained everything in great detail. 
As I was so impressed I also took out life cover, which again Claire found the best deal and it was set up almost instantly.
I would highly recommend Claire to future clients, friends and family as I know they will receive a first-class Service.

Steve

58, Director

We originally approached Lawrence because we were looking for help with our insurance/mortgage and general finances, whilst in our early 20’s.
Before we had met you, we were concerned about obtaining financial advice from somebody who we didn’t know or wasn’t recommended, due to a family members previous bad experience.
Lawrence helped us by putting us at ease, explaining everything in layman’s terms, so that we understood the advice and were always given opportunities to wait, delay or decline any plans that were offered.
As a result, almost 30 years later we still see Lawrence at least once per year to discuss our current situation and our plans. We are in an excellent position financially regarding our mortgage, savings and pensions, largely thanks to Lawrence.
One thing I really like is the trustworthy and friendly attitude he has always shown towards us.
I found the experience very comforting, knowing that our finances were being taken care of by a professional and that our long-term plans were reachable.
The sort of person that would benefit most from using them would be a young couple, starting out in their careers, as we were when we first met Lawrence.

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