FAQs for Members

The government has announced that all auto enrolment pension schemes, including ours, must waive their flat fee administration charges for individual members who would have pensions savings of £100 or less in their pot after deduction of the fee. This is in line with pension legislation and aims to help prevent small amounts of pension savings (small pots) being eroded by charges.

Yes. Even if you’re a deferred member who’s stopped contributing to the Scheme, the following charges still apply. 

• A monthly administration charge of £1.75 (£21 a year) which covers the cost of running the Scheme.
• An annual investment charge of 0.3% of the value of your savings. This covers the cost of investing your money and it doesn’t change.

Transaction costs, for buying and selling investments, also impact your savings. These costs are levied by others when investing your savings. These costs are factored into the returns on your savings.

You can see the combined effect of the annual investment charge, monthly administration charge and transaction costs over time in our costs and charges booklet.

These charges are the same for all members, whether you’re:

• an active member contributing to your pension regularly, or
• a deferred member – you’ve stopped contributing but still have pension savings in the Scheme.

We believe splitting the charges in this way spreads the costs fairly across all members. It also makes it easier to understand what you’ll pay for your pension every year.

Monthly administration charge
This is the charge we make for running the Scheme and it costs you £1.75 each month (£21 a year).

Charging limit
We won’t take any administration charges if this deduction would result in your pension savings account falling below £100. This will help prevent small amounts of pension savings being eroded by administration fees.

The annual investment charge of 0.3% will remain the same for all members. This is one of the lowest charges in the industry.

Annual investment charge
This is for investing the money in the Scheme and costs 0.3% of the value of your pension savings each year.

The amount you pay for your pension matters a lot over a lifetime of saving. Download our costs and charges booklet for examples of the effect of costs and charges on the value of your pension savings over time.

No. If you leave your employer or stop contributing to your pension, you can transfer your pension savings out to another pension provider. We won’t charge you to transfer your pension savings out.

However, it’s possible the pension provider you’re transferring to will make a charge. You should check this.

If you’re leaving a small amount of savings in the Scheme – only a few hundred pounds, for example – it may be sensible to transfer your savings out, because the charges will continue to apply. If you don’t move your money, the charges could mean that your pension savings get smaller over time, as the total charges each year could be higher than the investment returns on your pension savings.

Costs and charges explained

The amount you pay for your pension matters a lot over a lifetime of saving. To help you understand pension charges, we’ve provided examples of how pension savings can be affected by the compound effects of costs and charges in our costs and charges leaflet. You can download a copy here.

No. You can transfer savings from other pension providers into your pension savings with us free of charge, as long as the Scheme can accept the pension you’re transferring in. See more on our Transfers FAQs section.

Yes. These charges are the same for all members, whether you’re:

• an active member contributing to your pension regularly, or
• a deferred member – you’ve stopped contributing but still have pension savings in the Scheme.

We send you an annual benefit statement that explains the value of your pension savings with us, including the costs and charges that apply. 

Our charging structure is designed to be simple, transparent and fair. Our charges cover administration for your pension savings, management fees for investing your money and the cost of buying and selling investments

All members of the NOW: Pensions Trust (‘the Scheme) pay two charges.

• A monthly administration charge of £1.75 (£21 a year) which covers the cost of running the Scheme.
• An annual investment charge of 0.3% of the value of your savings. This covers the cost of investing your money and it doesn’t change.

Transaction costs, for buying and selling investments, also impact your savings. These costs are levied by others when investing your savings. These costs are factored into the returns on your savings.

You can see the combined effect of the annual investment charge, monthly administration charge and transaction costs over time in our costs and charges booklet.

These charges are the same for all members, whether you’re:

• an active member contributing to your pension regularly, or
• a deferred member – you’ve stopped contributing but still have pension savings in the Scheme

We believe splitting the charges in this way spreads the costs fairly across all members. It also makes it easier to understand what you’ll pay for your pension every year.

Monthly administration charge
This is the charge we make for running the Scheme and it costs you £1.75 each month (£21 a year).

Charging limit
We won’t take any administration charges if this deduction would result in your pension savings account falling below £100. This will help prevent small amounts of pension savings being eroded by administration fees.

The annual investment charge of 0.3% will remain the same for all members. This is one of the lowest charges in the industry.

Annual investment charge
This is for investing the money in the Scheme and costs 0.3% of the value of your pension savings each year.

Here’s how this works for different amounts of pension savings.

The amount you pay for your pension matters a lot over a lifetime of saving. Download our costs and charges booklet for more examples of the effect of costs and charges on the value of your pension savings over time.