For full details of the risks please read the Stakeholder Key Features Document(SPP17).
We strongly recommend that you speak to a financial adviser if you need help. You can call Standard Life Client Management on 0845 272 8810. Call charges may vary. Or alternatively use our find an adviser tool to help you locate an adviser near to you.
Standard Life Client Management advises on, and sells products from, subsidiaries of Standard Life plc and some external providers.Yes. This plan can accept payments from your employer or from other third parties (spouse/civil partner, parents etc). Their payments would add to your Annual Allowance total (£245,000 for tax year 2009/10).
Yes, but you need to be aware of the rules regarding payments that exceed the Annual Allowance. Standard Life will not accept payments which are not eligible for tax relief.
We recommend that you find out if your new employer has a company pension scheme and whether they make payments to it. If they do it is likely to be a good idea to join your employer's scheme so that you do not miss out on the payments they make. If you are unsure, we strongly recommend you seek financial advice.
You can keep your Stakeholder plan and still make payments to it, again ensuring that you don't go over the Annual Allowance.
Even if you're not earning you can still make payments to your Stakeholder plan up to £2,880 each year - which the tax man will top up to £3,600.
We know it's not always possible to make payments - so we're flexible.
You can take a payment holiday until you're in a position to restart payments. We'll continue to take charges each year even if you stop making payments. This could mean that if you stop making payments and don't restart them, our charges could reduce your plan value by the time you retire.
You can take a payment holiday at any time for as long as you need. We'll continue to take charges each year even if you stop making payments. This could mean that if you stop making payments and don't restart them, our charges could reduce your plan value by the time you retire.
6 weeks before your chosen retirement date you will receive a letter advising you that the date is approaching.
In this letter we detail the different options available to you. In simple terms you should have built up a sum of money. You can normally take 25% of that money out in one go, tax-free. For example, if your fund is worth £60,000 you can take out £15,000 as a lump sum. The remainder is used to provide you with an income for the rest of your life, which will be taxed as earned income. This is usually done by taking what is known as an annuity. Read through our Retirement guide for more information.
Currently the earliest you can receive income from this plan is age 50. However, from 6th April 2010 this age increases to 55.
We will pay out the value of your plan at the date of your death. You can tell us who you'd like to receive your money by completing the Nomination of Beneficiary form.
Everyone is different so you should take time to decide which retirement income product best suits your needs.
The way you choose to take your income after retirement can be done in such a way that you provide an income for your spouse/civil partner, children or whoever you want to after you die. The options you choose may, however, reduce the amount of pension you will receive.
Yes, but transferring can be a big step and you need to make sure that it's definitely the right thing to do, so we strongly recommend that you speak to a financial adviser before embarking on a pension transfer. You should bear in mind that transferring your pension won't necessarily mean you'll get more than you otherwise would have done.
Yes, if you are employed, you can contract-out of S2P. If you contract-out of S2P your pension won't necessarily be higher than if you stay contracted-in, it could be lower. Every year you should review your decision whether or not to contract-out.
We strongly recommend you discuss any decision with a financial adviser.
Tax and legislation are likely to change in the future. The information given here is based on our current understanding of law and HM Revenue & Customs practice. Tax relief may alter and its value depends on your financial circumstances.
