“A stakeholder pension is only as good as the funds behind it, where your money is invested. There are many to choose from, and it is important to look ‘inside’ the pension to check its risk level, and how it is going to perform. Principle First’s suite of analytical tools, coupled with our funds analysis capabilities, enable us to do this for you.”
Gareth Flanagan, Principle First Financial Advisers
Stakeholder Pension Schemes
A stakeholder pension is a standard private pension scheme, where your contributions are invested on your behalf by a professional fund manager.
A stakeholder pension scheme offers access to a limited range of investment funds, when compared to more expensive pension schemes, but is a good option for those making smaller contributions and who may not have a sophisticated knowledge of investments. The stakeholder pension is also the most economical of private pension schemes, with management fees that may not exceed 1.5% of your savings in the scheme for the first 10 years, and not more than 1% per year thereafter.
The stakeholder pension attracts tax relief on your contributions, according to the amount of tax you pay. For those paying tax at the basic rate of 20%, each £80 saved will result in £100 going into their fund.
We have wide experience of setting up stakeholder pensions for our customers, and in a free, no-obligation review our pensions experts will recommend the right scheme for you.
Request your free Pension Review or call 0800 678 5929
Flexibility of the stakeholder pension
Stakeholder pensions offer several attractive and flexible options. You may stop, re-start and change your payments, without penalty fees, as and when you wish. This can help when once-off events make short-term demands on your finances.
You can start a stakeholder pension scheme with contributions as low as £20 per month.
Another advantage is that you can switch stakeholder pensions, without the provider you leave charging you. This is important if your existing scheme’s performance is below par.
Because of the popularity of the stakeholder pension scheme, there are a wide range available on the market. For this reason, most people speak to a quality independent financial adviser who can identify the best stakeholder pension for them.
Make a Pension Enquiry online or call 0800 678 5929
Children’s Stakeholder Pension
If the notion of pensions for children sounds strange to you, it may be time to think again.
There is an old saying among pensions experts that ‘It’s the first pound that makes the most money’, and therein lies the secret of a children’s pension fund.
We all accept that a pension is a great and tax-efficient way of saving for our own future, and we know that savings earmarked for your retirement are best placed in a pension fund, to take advantage of government tax relief and tax-free growth. That also applies to saving for our children!
Pension funds usually expose your savings to the stock markets, and stock market investments can develop strongly over time. History shows that you should plan stock investment for not less than 15 years - in fact, the longer, the better. This makes a pension a fantastic investment for your children, as your savings can grow for 50 years or longer.
In fact, if you set up a child pension for your little one now, the early contributions you pay in for them during the first 18 years of their life could potentially provide more for them than the pension savings they make themselves, during their working career!
You can start a pension fund for your child with as little as £20 a month, but you may pay in up to £2,880 per year. This maximum would be topped up, by government tax relief, to £3,660. If you were able to pay in the maximum for each of your child’s first 18 years, then, taking inflation at 7%, that would mature into a fund worth over £3.1 million by the time your child reached 65!
Get Pensions Advice online or call 0800 678 5929
