Pension Portfolio
Pension Portfolio is a self-invested personal pension, offering access to thousands of funds, equities, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds. It offers both phased and single drawdown options for your clients.
Transparent charging
Your clients only pay for the options they use
Flexible
To meet your clients' varied needs
Consolidation
Your clients can consolidate all their pension funds into one
Product details
Why Pension Portfolio?
- A transparently priced pension plan with clients only paying for the options they use
- It’s flexible so it can meet a client’s level of investment sophistication and attitude to risk
- Flexi-access drawdown available on a phased or single basis
- Clients can consolidate all their pension funds into one
- Clients can move between options at any time as their investment and financial needs change
- Minimise the time your client’s money is uninvested with in-specie asset transfer
- Manage clients’ investments with online fund and investment research and client reporting tools
- Submit applications online and access online valuations, customer correspondence and quarterly statements
- Tiered charging structure in place so, depending on the amount invested across the ISA, Investment and Pension Portfolios, clients may receive a discount on their Pension Portfolio charges
- Clear statements and valuations
Core and Choice options
Pension Portfolio offers two investment options - Core and Choice - each with its own investment choices and charges.
Your clients can move between the options as their investment needs change. They'll only use and pay for the level of investment sophistication they need.
| Core option | Choice option |
| · Over 150 insured pension funds | · Over 150 insured pension funds · Thousands of collective investment funds · Equities · Exchange traded funds · Investment trusts
|
The value of investments can go down as well as up and investors may not get back what they put in. Tax rules may change in the future and will depend on clients' individual circumstances.
Facts and figures
Standard charges for new customers
| Aviva charge by portfolio value | Core option | Choice option |
|---|---|---|
| Up to and including £30,000 | 0.35% | 0.40% |
| £30,000.01 to £250,000 | 0.30% | 0.35% |
| £250,000.01 to £400,000 | 0.20% | 0.25% |
| £400,000.01 and above | 0.10% | 0.15% |
| Equity trading costs Winterflood Business Services is our nominated stockbroker to carry out equity dealing on behalf of your clients. | Core option | Choice option |
| Per individual trade | N/A | £4.99 |
| Per trade within a model portfolio | N/A | No charge |
| UK exchange-traded investments electronic transfers in or out | N/A | No charge |
| UK exchange-traded investments transfers in or out using a paper certificate (not electronically) | N/A | No charge |
| Commercial property (existing investments only) Curtis Banks, our nominated holder of commercial property, administers the investments in commercial property. | Core option | Choice option |
| Annual administration charge | N/A | 0.12% of net value, taken monthly. Curtis Banks will make additional charges relating to buying, selling and owning commercial property. Details of these charges are available in the document library under the 'Commercial property' section. |
| OCF/TER fund manager charge | Core option | Choice option |
| Fund managers take charges that will depend on the investments chosen. These charges may be shown as the ongoing charge figure (OCF), total expense ratio (TER) or for insured funds, simply the annual fund charge. These cover the charge made by the fund manager for managing the investment as well as expenses incurred by the fund. Please note these charges are variable and may change over time. | From 0.1% (only Aviva insured funds available) | From 0.02% |
Pension Portfolio
| Pension Portfolio limits | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 18 | - |
| Initial contribution or transfer | £5,000 (including tax relief) £1,000 if making regular payments | Subject to HMRC limits |
| Regular contributions | £100 a month (including tax relief) | Subject to HMRC limits |
| Additional lump sum | £1,000 | - |
| Fund switch amount | - | - |
| Account balance | £250 | - |
| Balance for each fund | £50 | - |
Income drawdown
Income drawdown at a glance
Pension Portfolio lets your client draw a regular income whilst their pension fund remains invested.
Your client can take any amount from their pension fund at any time after they reach their normal minimum pension age. Pension Portfolio offers flexi-access drawdown on a phased or single drawdown basis. New clients will have a normal minimum pension age of 57, unless they reach age 55 before 6 April 2028 (or are already 55), or have another pension in the Aviva Personal Pension Age set up before 4 November 2021, or make an eligible transfer. Please speak to your Aviva contact if you need more information on this point.
Single drawdown
For a tax-free lump sum with the remaining 75% invested to draw as an income.
Your client could also benefit from our phased drawdown option:
Self-Select phased income drawdown
For clients who:
- Want to take their retirement income in the most tax-efficient way possible, using a mix of tax-free lump sum and taxable income
- Have specific income needs, which optimise tax bands and allowances
- Need taxable income that doesn’t exceed a specified crystallisation amount.
| Flexi-access drawdown | |
|---|---|
| Minimum client age | 18 (N.B. this is for transfers of funds already held in drawdown by the client, either in member's flexi-access drawdown, or in drawdown as an inherited pension.) |
| One-off withdrawals | Yes, through the one-off withdrawal route |
| Payment frequency for regular withdrawals | Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly |
Existing capped drawdown clients
Capped drawdown is no longer available for new clients. But if they were in capped drawdown before 6 April 2015 they can transfer their existing capped drawdown arrangements into an equivalent new arrangement on the Pension Portfolio and stay in it as long as they don't exceed GAD limits. If clients go over these limits they'll automatically move into flexi-access drawdown which will trigger the money purchase annual allowance. Self-Select phased drawdown is not available to capped drawdown clients. They can also transfer existing capped drawdown funds to Aviva and convert them to flexi-access drawdown on the way.
Client suitability
Our Core and Choice options are designed to give you and your clients the flexibility to adapt their Pension Portfolio as your client's circumstances change.
Core
The Core option offers access to over 150 insured funds managed by Aviva Investors and other fund managers. It has a fund range similar to that of an individual personal pension and could be right for:
- clients with straightforward investment needs
- clients who only require access to insured pension funds
- clients who want a simple lower-cost pension
- clients who are unlikely to have a wide range of investments.
Choice
The Choice option is for clients who may require a wider investment strategy. It offers access to investment options such as equities and exchange traded funds. It could be right for:
- a range of clients, from those with some experience of different investment types, through to people with more complex investment needs
- clients who want access to a wide range of investment options to meet their financial objectives
- clients who take an active interest in their financial affairs
- clients who are cost-conscious, but understand they may have to pay extra charges for certain asset types that are more expensive to administer.
Clients transferring in
Clients should understand what valuable or safeguarded benefits they are giving up if they transfer, and be comfortable that the benefits of the transfer outweigh the loss of these benefits. There is no guarantee that what they receive at retirement will be greater than they could have received from the previous scheme.
Clients transferring from older pension schemes may lose their right to safeguarded benefits, such as a guaranteed final salary based income or a guaranteed annuity rate. Also, they may not necessarily get greater benefits in the new scheme as the growth is defined by future investment returns and these (and the retirement income from them) can go down as well as up.
Your client should consider all options prior to transferring to see which is best for them. They should also consider the charges, fund ranges and any valuable benefits, such as a protected early retirement age, protected tax-free lump sum that they could lose, together with any tax implications. The value of your client’s pension can go down as well as up and they may get back less than has been paid in. This may not be the case in your client’s previous pension scheme. It’s important your client receives ongoing financial advice following the transfer.
Please see our Target Market statement
Adviser remuneration
Adviser Charge options
We offer a range of adviser charge options which allow your client to pay for advice from within their investment.
There are two types of advice charge for Pension Portfolio:
- Initial advice charge
- Ongoing advice charge
|
| Initial advice charge – regular payments | Initial advice charge – single or transfer payments | Ongoing advice charge – regular, single or transfer payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Spread – specify either a number of months or an end date | One-off payment | Spread – specify either a number of months or an end date |
| Frequency | Monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually | One-off payment | Weekly |
| Calculation method | £ only | £ or % of payment | £ or % of fund value |
| Additional info | · You can't set the payment start date for the initial advice charge for a future date · We treat employer and employee regular payments as the same payment · There is no minimum or maximum initial advice charge, but you can't input an amount greater than the amount of the regular payment · This spread initial advice charge option is only available as a monetary amount and not as a percentage - and only where your client is making regular payments. | · We will take the initial advice charge before we invest your client's money in the Pension Portfolio · Each single or transfer payment operates in its own right. This means it is possible to receive advice payments on a number of different transfers · The payment type for percentage or sterling amount can vary by each single or transfer charge · The initial advice charge is payable immediately. You can't delay payment to a future date. · There is no minimum or maximum initial advice charge, but you can't enter an amount greater than the single or transfer payment. | · Unlike the initial advice charge, you can start the ongoing advice charge at a future date if you prefer · Charge type can differ by portfolio. For example, you can take a sterling charge on your client’s pre-retirement portfolio and a percentage charge on their post-retirement portfolio · The ongoing advice charge payment can't be greater than the portfolio value · You can increase, decrease, stop or start the ongoing advice charge at any time, but we’d need confirmation from your client · The ongoing advice charge payment is limited to the term of the portfolio
|
Pension death benefits
Passing on pension death benefits
On death, your client's pension will be available to provide benefits to others. The beneficiary will be selected at Aviva's discretion, keeping the benefits out of the member's estate. To ensure this protection, your client should ensure we always have an up-to-date nomination, which will be held in very high regard when we exercise our discretion. The nomination can be recorded online, or there is a nomination form in the document library. If the beneficiary puts the fund into drawdown and doesn't use it all, the remainder will be available to others, and so on until it is all used up. You will also find a dedicated trust to receive Platform pension death benefits, and guides on how and when to use it.
If your client dies before age 75, we'll normally pay any benefits tax free.
- If your client dies holding accumulation funds then the payment will be assessed against their lifetime allowance. This process is part of dealing with their estate and is carried out by your client's legal representative. Their beneficiaries will need to pay tax on any lump sum over the lifetime allowance or where it’s not released to the chosen beneficiary within two years of Aviva being told of their death.
- If your client dies holding de-accumulation funds then the payment will be tax free if paid as an income, and tax free if paid as a lump sum as long as that lump sum is paid within two years of Aviva being told of their death
If your client dies aged 75 or over, their beneficiaries will pay tax at their marginal rate(s) of income tax on any benefits that they receive. If the plan is written under trust, or we make a lump sum payment to a trust that the client has nominated, it will be taxed at 45%.
You can also use Pension Portfolio to administer any funds your client may inherit themselves. All inherited benefits must be held in a separate suitable arrangement.
Tax rules may change. Any tax benefits depend on an individual's circumstances.
Business support
Get more from the Aviva Platform
We’ve designed the Aviva Platform to be easy and straightforward to use. And we’ve got a range of support in place to help you get the most out of it:
- Regionally based wealth development managers providing face to face and telephone support to help you use the platform for your day-to-day business. Our team consists of experienced consultants who have attained the high standard set by Aviva for account management
- You can call dedicated platform service and support teams on 0800 056 4607 - lines are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Download our guide to everything you need to know about due diligence and the platform
- Step-by-step 'how to' guides to help you use and work with the platform
- Online product literature and sales support from our product literature library
- Demos to help you navigate, manage and transact business on our platform.
Adopting the Aviva Platform for your business
Our platform adoption team can help set up the Aviva Platform for you and turn it into an essential part of your business. We offer:
- a demonstration of how to use the platform functionality
- user guides so you can go at your own pace
- access to reference material
- an online document library with information about all our products
- an investment centre with information on all our funds, including fund group profiles, performance data, portfolio functionality and income analysis.
Get a free demonstration
Contact us to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants:
Email DISTPAC@aviva.com
Got a technical pension query?
Call our Pensions Technical helpdesk on: 0800 051 5437 for generic legislative queries.
Calls to and from Aviva may be monitored and/or recorded. Calls to 0800 numbers from UK landlines and mobiles are free.
Key documents and resources
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See our contact us page for a full directory.