Charges.

Below is a summary of the charges currently associated with our Stakeholder pension plan. For full details on our Stakeholder pension, please read our Stakeholder key features (PDF: 1186KB) document.

The charges

• The Government sets a maximum charge for Stakeholder pension schemes that all companies must adhere to. Currently, the maximum charge is 1.5% a year of the value of the fund for the first 10 years of your plan, and 1% a  year thereafter.
• Our charges for online applications are lower than the Government maximum rates. The basic annual management charge is tiered according to the value of your fund.
• As your fund grows the rate of charge decreases.

For example, if your investment in our funds is worth £40,000 throughout the year, the basic annual management charge would be £385.

This is calculated as follows (£25,000 x 1.0%) + (£15,000 x 0.9%), which is £250 + £135 = £385.

• If you decide to invest in any externally managed investment funds, an additional annual management charge (currently 0.15% a year) will apply to your investment in those funds only.
• You can of course apply on a paper application form if you wish. However, as well as the online charges above, an additional annual management charge will apply until the fund value of your plan first reaches £15,000 at the start of a plan month or until the plan has been running for 10 years, whichever is the sooner. Full details can be found in your paper application pack, which you can request using the contact us section on the right-hand menu.
• We can increase our charges but we'll let you know at least 30 days before we make any change. The reasons why we might do this are listed in the Member's Policy Booklet (W10578) (PDF: 681KB) .
• Our total annual management charge will not exceed the maximum charge as set out by the Government.