Stakeholder Pension Providers

Marks and Spencer Stakeholder Pension Plan

Kings Meadow
Chester
CH99 9LR
Tel: 0800 363428
Website: www6.marksandspencer.com/default.asp
Registered: Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Membership: Non-restricted

Group Personal Pensions

Originally designed for small to medium sized companies that do not have an occupational pension scheme, and soon also available to be run in conjunction with such schemes, the Marks & Spencer Financial Services Group Personal Pension offers businesses the opportunity to set up a low cost, low administration, fully flexible pension scheme for employees, using the Marks & Spencer Financial Services Personal Pensions Plan. At 0.7%, our annual management charge is 30% below the recommended maximum and we will accept minimum payments of just £10. There are no other charges whatsoever.

The Marks & Spencer Financial Services Group Personal Pension Plans are compliant with the criteria laid down thus far by the Government's Stakeholder proposal which will be implemented in full in April 2001. These criteria include fair charges (1% maximum annual management charge), a minimum contribution of £20 and complete flexibility without penalty.

Special Features

• Minimum number of employees for a Group Personal Pension (GPP) is two.
  
  
• Contributions can be made directly from salaries.
  
  
• All administration is fulfilled by Marks & Spencer Financial Services, with regular pensions statements sent directly to employees and pension contribution schedules sent to employers.
  
  
• Initial meetings are arranged to discuss each company's individual needs.
  
  
• Employees decide whether or not they want to join and how much their contributions will be.
  
  
• Employees can make lump sum payments in addition to monthly contributions.
  
  
• No charges for stopping and starting payments (to take maternity leave or work part-time, for example).
  
  
• Optional "waiver of contribution" insurance which protects your payment if you are unable to do your occupation.
  
  
• If an employee moves to a new job without a company pension scheme, they can continue their plan, and their new employer could also contribute.
  
  
• Information packs are provided for every member who is interested in the GPP, and Marks & Spencer Financial Services staff can visit the company to discuss the plan in detail with staff.
  
  
• Three funds are offered for investment: UK Balanced Equity Pension Fund and international Managed Pension Fund for long-term growth and Fixed Interest Pension Fund for stability and security as retirement approaches.
  
  
• Employees can switch between funds or transfer to another provider with no penalties.
  
  
• No commission is paid to sales staff.
  
  

Please remember that the value of this investment is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up