A free pension wrapper for life from Fidelity International

Fidelity International, UK manager of ISAs and PEPs, is today offering savers who are comfortable making their own investment decisions the chance to invest in a personal pension wrapper that is free – for life.

Investors who take out the Fidelity Personal Pension before December 10, 2007 will pay:

No set-up fee
No annual administration charge for the life of the plan

Investors will also benefit from the Fidelity Personal Pension’s permanent low-cost features and pay:

No initial charges on any of the funds held in the pension
No switching fee when they change investments

In fact, the only fees paid by an investor in the Fidelity Personal Pension are the usual management charges levied by the investment companies managing the underlying mutual funds that savers choose.

Moreover, investors in the Fidelity Personal Pension, a streamlined version of the FundsNetworkTM SIPP can take advantage of the following features:

Free transfers from higher cost personal pensions and SIPPs
A choice of more than 1,000 funds from over 55 fund providers
Up to 40% tax relief on contributions
An IFA referral process for savers wanting or needing advice

How does the Fidelity Personal Pension compare with a stakeholder pension?

The Fidelity Personal Pension is aimed at investors who want to build a retirement savings portfolio at low cost or switch from higher cost personal pensions. But it also compares favourably with Stakeholder pensions for investors who are willing to make the maximum monthly contribution of £300 or £3,000 in a year.

By combining the Fidelity Personal Pension with Fidelity’s MoneyBuilder UK Index Fund, one of the lowest-cost FTSE tracker funds on the market, investors can create a pension which has total annual expenses of just 0.3%.

This combination offers potentially better value than stakeholder pension plans, introduced by the Labour Government in 2001 to encourage more private retirement saving. Stakeholder pensions have annual costs of up to 1.5% in the first ten years, falling to 1% in subsequent years.

Richard Wastcoat, UK Managing Director of Fidelity International, says: “For those savers who are comfortable making their own investment decisions, the Fidelity Personal Pension offers unbeatable value. These savers can now have a pension wrapper that is free for life, just as they have enjoyed free ISA and PEP wrappers.

“For too long, tax planning and pension rules have dominated retirement savings. But of far greater importance for savers is the underlying investment. The Fidelity Personal Pension offers a choice of more than 1,000 funds from over 55 providers. Savers can now think about the investment first, the wrapper second – just as they do with ISAs.”

Further product details

As an approved pension, the Fidelity Personal Pension qualifies for full personal pension tax relief - an uplift of up to 40% of net contributions. This means that for a higher rate tax payer, a gross contribution of £20,000 has an effective net cost of £12,000 once higher rate tax relief is reclaimed.

Minimum contribution to the Fidelity Personal Pension is £10,000 for lump sums or transfers. Regular savings start at £300 per month or £3,000 per year. Savers can call 0800 085 0923 for a personalised illustration of what their pension could give them in retirement.

The Fidelity Personal Pension will accept transfers from personal pensions and other SIPPs, but not from occupational pension schemes including EPPs, SSASs, Section 32s and AVCs. Savers with more complex retirement needs – such as drawdown, or a transfer from such occupational schemes – can be referred by Fidelity to local independent financial advisers.