Welcome to your members area

Your Workplace pension is an excellent way for you to save for your retirement.  Whilst you pay in, your employer pays in too.  You benefit from tax relief on the contributions you make, and your investments grow free from tax.

The People’s Pension has over 4.9 million members and is one of the largest master trust workplace pensions in the UK. They provide pensions to people from all walks of life.

Clarkson Evans will contribute 3% of your qualifying earnings as long as you contribute a minimum of 5%.

The notional retirement age for the scheme is 65 but, under current legislation, you may take all or part of your benefits at any time from the age of 55. This minimum age will rise to 57 from 2028. No contractual penalties will be applied if you take your benefits early. You will have paid contributions for a shorter time and your fund will have had less time to grow.

Your pension will, therefore, be lower than you would expect to receive if you invested for longer. You may take up to 25% of your accumulated fund as a tax-free lump sum. The balance of your fund can be used to provide an income; Income may be provided by purchasing an annuity (a guaranteed income for life). The annuity can be level or increasing in payment and you may include a spouse’s pension if required. The annuity may also be guaranteed for up to 30 years even if you were to die within that period.

The annuity may be purchased from any company. It pays to shop around as rates vary considerably. As an alternative to an annuity you may leave your pension fund invested (net of any tax-free lump sum) and draw an income directly from your funds. This is known as Income Drawdown. You can also withdraw the entire residual fund, but care should be taken as this would be taxable. It is strongly recommended that you seek independent financial advice when considering your options at retirement.

In order to provide a balanced spread of investments, all contributions will be invested 100% into the scheme’s default profile.

The default profile offers investment into a diversified range of UK and International Equities, Fixed Interest Securities, Commercial Property and Cash. In the lead up to the Scheme retirement date (age 65) the fund is progressively switched into more cautious funds to reduce possible fluctuations in fund value as retirement approaches.  This is known as “lifestyling”.

If you do not wish to invest in the default fund you may select your own investment portfolio from the wide range of funds available.

No initial charges apply to your plan. All contributions are invested without deduction in the default investment fund or fund(s) of your choice. No penalties will apply if benefits are transferred away in the future.  The annual management charge in the default fund is only 0.50%. Additional charges will also apply to some internal and external funds if they have been selected.

In the event of your death before you have drawn any benefits from your plan the full value will be paid to your dependants or other nominated beneficiaries.

If you leave, your plan goes with you. You may continue to contribute by direct debit or you may suspend payments. You should however, always join your new employers workplace pension scheme because whilst you pay in, so do they!