Pensions _ Stakeholder Will They Won't They

More rumours have emerged that the Government is looking at the relevance of the 1 per cent charge cap on Stakeholder pensions.Some in the industry have argued that the reason Stakeholder pensions have not succeeded as expected is because the profit margin for advisers selling them is too low.  Whilst we agree that a 1 per cent charge leaves little room for adviser remuneration when the client chooses not pay a fee, the other side is that the charge represents excellent value for money.  If the Government were to raise the 1 per cent charge cap it would have much wider repercussions, especially as Ron Sandler in his review suggested there should be more products charged like Stakeholder pensions.  The Government is said to start consulting with the industry and consumer bodies shortly regarding Stakeholders success (or failure) and the impact that the 1 per cent charge has had.  To learn more about low charging stakeholder pensions visit the Stakeholder Cafe.com.