Factsheet
13: Stakeholder Pensions
Stakeholder pensions are low-cost, private pensions which
were made available from
If you employ 5 or more Personal Assistants whose earnings
exceed the N.I. lower earnings limit you must offer a Stakeholder Pension
Scheme, providing you are not exempt (see below). If you employ less than five P.A.'s you
may still offer this scheme voluntarily if you wish.
The key features of this pension scheme are as follows:
Ø
The designated pension scheme cannot charge more than 1.5% a year (1% if
the scheme was started before April 2005) on the value of the members funds for
the first ten years.
Ø
Members can transfer into or out of the fund at any time, or indeed, stop
paying in for a time without incurring any charges
Ø
All schemes must accept contributions of £20 per month or more, though
some may accept lower payments
As an employer, you can be exempt from providing
access to a
stakeholder pension scheme if you:
·
Have fewer than 5 employees, or
·
offer an occupational pension scheme to all of your employees within one
year of them starting work, or
·
offer to contribute at least 3% of earnings into a personal pension scheme
for your employees (as long as the personal pension does not have penalties for
employees who leave the scheme), or have employees that earn below the lower
earnings limit
If you are not exempt, you must designate a Stakeholder
Pension Scheme.
The schemes are offered by banks, building societies and
insurance companies. Once a scheme has been designated, as an employer you must
provide the employees with information about the scheme and also give them the
option to have the pension deducted direct from their pay.
For further information, please contact your local
Independent Living Adviser at the Rowan Organisation.