Limited Company Pension Options

zenmaster

Some may recall that I transferred my Zurich Executive Pension Plan to MetLife late last year.

Since then we have no pension scheme in place which is both foolhardy and, I believe, soon to be unlawful so we are looking to set something up.

A stakeholder plan seems the most straightforward solution but I was wondering if there are better options.

The plan would be for both myself (employee) and my wife (director) and would run for 10 years. Payments would be non-contributory and IRO £250/month each, though flexibility on that would be a bonus.

So, any suggestions please?

As an aside, my wife had the most pleasant meeting with an IFA I've ever heard of. She specifically asked about Stakeholder Pensions and he replied "If I advise you I have to charge a fee but if I were to advise you then I would probably suggest looking at Scottish Widows". No charge!

jamesd

There is no law prohibiting an individual from not having a pension but firms will be required to automatically enrol employees into one.

Stakeholders pensions are obsolete products. When first introduced they had lower charges but today they have higher charges than the better options and a typically lower range of investment options. What was once a good thing potentially is now more likely to be a bad thing than good.

The Scottish Widows product doesn't seem to be the best around now but it used to be pretty good and it's still not bad. But since this is for just two people, why not do what individuals should do: first decide which investments you want to use, then pick the plan that allows those at the lowest overall cost?

dunstonh

A stakeholder plan seems the most straightforward solution but I was wondering if there are better options.

A stakeholder pension is a niche product that is usually not the best option for most people.

The plan would be for both myself (employee) and my wife (director) and would run for 10 years. Payments would be non-contributory and IRO £250/month each, though flexibility on that would be a bonus.

The contribution level would indicate personal pension would be cheaper than stakeholder. However, flexibility would need to be clarified as stakeholder pensions do have greater options typically on how you can pay into them.

As an aside, my wife had the most pleasant meeting with an IFA I've ever heard of. She specifically asked about Stakeholder Pensions and he replied "If I advise you I have to charge a fee but if I were to advise you then I would probably suggest looking at Scottish Widows". No charge!

There are not many stakeholder pensions left nowadays and stakeholder is not compliant with the RDR. SW is not the best stakeholder on price or functionality but its known brand and very simple. It is a safe option in terms of stakeholder. However, you are looking at a very small list to choose from if you go down that route.