A stakeholder pension is a type of personal pension designed to encourage regular savings.  You can pay in as little as £20 per month, and usually choose how and where your money is invested.

If you’ve decided to save money in a retirement fund, then you’ll need to work out which kind of pension plan suits you best.  Stakeholder pensions, for example, have to have certain features that make them attractive.  They can’t charge more than 1.5% of your pension fund annually for the first 10 years; they can’t penalise you for moving your pension fund from one provider to another, and you can put as little as £20 into your stakeholder pension at a time.

Stakeholder pensions usually give you a choice over how your money is invested, too. You can choose which funds you’re most comfortable with – and hopefully see your money grow!

Why would I choose a stakeholder pension?

A stakeholder pension is a good idea if you want to start saving for retirement, but don’t want to pay the charges associated with a more complex product – such as a Self Invested Pension Plan.  An independent financial adviser (IFA) can set up a stakeholder pension for you, and tell you more about the investment options included in each provider’s product.

Questions you might like to ask an IFA…

How much will the pension provider charge me?

Which types of fund can I invest my money in?

What other options are there, how else could I save money for the future?

Which tax advantages could I benefit from, when I invest in a pension?