Fletcher Greenwood & Co, Chartered Accountants, Registered Auditors
11 Broad Street, Bradford, BD1 4QT - Tel 01274 729178 - Fax 01274 725470 - Email
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Stakeholder Pensions

• Stakeholder pensions were introduced on 6th April 2001 Details of the regulations and a list of eligible schemes is available at OPRA's site. 
• All payments to personal pension plans from 6th April 2001 will be made net of basic rate tax regardless of the employment status of the contributor.
• If you have five or more employees (this includes part time employees) you will have to provide access to a Stakeholder pension scheme from 8th October 2001. If you have an existing pension scheme you may be exempt. If you have fewer than five employees you will not have to provide access to a Stakeholder pension.
• We are concerned that an increasing number of brokers and consultants are using the current consultation period as an opportunity to make sales of Stakeholder “friendly” products that “can” be altered later. It is however unlikely to be in your best interest to purchase a product on this basis.
• We recommend that all employers put in place a designated stakeholder scheme (or amend the rules of their occupational schemes or contracts of employment to ensure they have no relevant employees) even if they currently have less than five employees or no relevant employees by reason they are all part-time earning less than the lower earnings limit. The reason for this advice is that the penalties are so disproportionate that it would conceivably be possible to incur a £50,000 fine by paying a £100 Xmas bonus. 

All items © 1996-2006 Fletcher Greenwood & Co.  Site last updated 07/11/2006 12:38
Registered to carry on audit work by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales