SIPPs and Wraps: assessing the risks

Transcription

1 SIPPs and Wraps: assessing the risks

2 This document is designed to help you understand the potential risks associated with SIPP and Wrap products, and holding investments within these products. The following list of risks is not exhaustive but represents key areas that you should consider when assessing whether a James Hay Partnership Wrap or SIPP is appropriate for your needs. James Hay Partnership does not give advice about the suitability of its products or any investments held within them. Should you require financial advice, you should consult a suitably qualified financial adviser.

3 1 Risks associated with choosing a SIPP or Wrap A SIPP is generally a long-term investment designed to provide for your retirement. Therefore, you will not normally be able to access any money held in it or investments made until you reach 55 years of age. A SIPP or Wrap may not be suitable for all investors and if you are in any doubt you should consult your financial adviser. James Hay Partnership is not authorised to give financial advice. If you transfer your existing pension benefits into your SIPP you may be giving up the right to guaranteed pension benefits. If you cancel your product during the cancellation period, you may not get back the full amount of the money you originally invested if the value of the underlying investment has fallen.

4 2 Charges and the effect of charges The functionality and associated costs of SIPP and Wrap products vary depending on the services offered within the product. Product charges are generally higher the greater the flexibility of the product being offered. This could result in purchasing a product that has extra functionality and the associated additional costs that are not appropriate for your specific requirements. Where the value of a SIPP or Wrap is relatively small, fixed charges for the product or investment transactions undertaken may quickly erode the value of the product or have a disproportionate impact on its long-term performance. Charges may increase in the future, and may erode the value of the product. Should you wish to transfer funds into or out of your SIPP or Wrap, the funds may need to be transferred as cash and you will not get the benefit of any investment increases whilst the transfer is being processed. The charges of the investment providers you choose to invest with may change in the future and may impact on the performance of your chosen investments. If you are transferring an existing SIPP, ISA, Offshore Bond or investment to a SIPP or Wrap there could be exit penalties imposed by the previous product provider for the transfer. You may be able to transfer an investment held with another SIPP or Wrap provider to your James Hay Partnership product without selling the actual investment. However, there may be charges for doing this both from your existing provider and from James Hay Partnership. Further information For more information on the charges applicable to your product, please see the appropriate Charges Schedule available from our website:

5 3 Taxation Tax legislation and practice may change in the future. Any changes may affect your personal tax circumstances and/or the tax efficiency of a SIPP. This could potentially affect the long-term investment performance of the product selected and, where applicable, the expected pension benefits you can take from it. If you become resident outside of the UK, this may impact on the tax treatment of your SIPP or Wrap. You should seek local tax advice accordingly. Current pensions legislation and HM Revenue & Customs practice could change in the future. This may affect the pension benefits you receive from your SIPP. Enhanced Protection will be lost if you make additional contributions to your SIPP resulting in it being subject to standard tax charges. If you contribute more than the Annual Allowance into your SIPP you may be subject to a personal tax charge. Further information For more information on the impact of taxation relating to your product, please see either the SIPP or Wrap Technical Product Guide available from our website: or speak to your financial or tax adviser.

6 4 Risks associated with holding investments within our products Some of the products offered by James Hay Partnership allow you to invest in a wide range of investments, each of which will have its own particular risks. You should ensure that you understand these risks and are comfortable with them before proceeding with the investment. A wide choice of investment options can increase the complexity of actively managing the investments you have selected for your SIPP or Wrap. If you do not have the time to actively manage these investments, or you do not have sufficient knowledge to understand the risks associated with them, then you should seek advice from a regulated financial adviser or investment professional. You should be aware that investment performance might be worse than illustrated. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back what you originally put in. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future returns for your investments. Our SIPP and Wrap products are designed to utilise certain tax benefits that are available for pensions and investments. However, these tax benefits may be dependent on your individual tax circumstances and could be subject to change in the future. A lack of diversification in the investments held within your SIPP or Wrap can increase the risk of exposure to a single investment s poor performance or failure of the investment provider or counterparty. Certain investments may not be readily realisable or may be illiquid. You may have difficulty selling these investments within a reasonable time period, at a reasonable price or worse; you may not be able to sell them at all when you wish to do so.

7 5 The bank that holds your product s cash deposits may fail. You have protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) but this has limits. Details of the current protections offered by the FSCS can be obtained from their website at The interest rates payable on the product bank accounts are variable and could change in the future both down and up. Any change in current interest rates could affect the value of your investments if you are invested directly in cash deposits, or invested in financial instruments whose prices are affected by interest rates in the financial markets. The income from your investments may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed unless specifically stated by the investment provider. Investments that promise high returns may be subject to a higher risk of potential losses. Investments with a low level of risk may give a low rate of return. Any foreign investments may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could impact their value. When investing in markets outside of the UK, the market practices for the dealing or settlement of transactions, and how these assets are held on your behalf, could be different to those in the UK and may involve greater risk.

8 6 You may be excluded from certain investments if you are not resident in the UK or if your residential status changes after you have made the investment. For example, some investment funds may not be eligible for investment for US Persons. Further information You should obtain the relevant literature from the provider of the investment (e.g. any terms and conditions, prospectus and details of charges applicable for the investment). James Hay Partnership does not provide investment advice and does not assess these risks on your behalf. If in any doubt, you should contact the investment provider or take suitable financial advice from a qualified financial adviser.

9 7 Risks associated with taking pension benefits from SIPPs The value of your SIPP fund and the benefits it provides are not guaranteed. They will depend on future investment performance, how much you have paid into the SIPP, the charges deducted and your age when you take benefits. In addition external influences such as inflation, interest rates and annuity rates could all have an impact. Therefore, the actual benefits available may be lower than those previously shown in your illustration. If you take your benefits earlier than shown on your illustration or stop paying regular contributions or reduce the amount of your contributions, your benefits may be lower than illustrated. When you commence taking benefits from your SIPP, if the value of your total pension rights from all registered pension schemes is higher than the Government s standard Lifetime Allowance limit, your SIPP will normally be subject to additional tax charges unless you have applied to HM Revenue & Customs for protection. For SIPPs that permit commercial property as a holding, the value of any commercial property held by the SIPP will be based on a professional valuer s estimate when used to calculate an investor s benefits. It may take time to sell certain investments such as commercial property. Also, in volatile markets, fund providers may suspend the dealing in units of their fund. If a delay does occur, this may affect your retirement planning, as funds may not be available at the time that you want to take benefits. High levels of withdrawals from your SIPP are unlikely to be sustainable for a long period without high investment performance. You may need to sell investments to fund withdrawals. This may also reduce any potential annuity or the amount available to provide for dependants in the event of your death.

10 8 When taking benefits from your SIPP by means of Income Withdrawal or Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum, depending on the amount you take, your withdrawals may not be sustainable over a long period and you may outlive your pension savings. Your income levels will only be secured if you elect to purchase an annuity. Income withdrawals are subject to Income Tax at your marginal rate (apart from the tax free lump sum of 25% of your pension). This means that depending on how much cash you withdraw from your pension, you could fall into a higher rate tax bracket and pay 40% or even 45% tax on your income withdrawals. Annuity rates can change substantially over short periods of time both up and down. In the event that you elect to purchase an annuity to provide an income in retirement, you should be aware that annuity rates might be lower than expected at your selected retirement date. Your SIPP may be affected by a change in your personal circumstances; for example, your SIPP could be subject to a pension sharing order as a result of divorce proceedings or the dissolution of a civil partnership, resulting in a lower pension for you. Further information For more information please see our SIPP Technical Product Guide available from our website:

11 9 Additional Family SIPP-specific risks If you make joint investments with other Family SIPP members, the Trustees may need to sell them if funds are required to pay retirement or death benefits from another member of the scheme. Additional Wrap ISA and Modular ISA-specific risks The rate of interest payable on cash held in your ISA is variable and could change in the future both down and up. Additional Wrap Offshore Bond-specific risks In respect of your Offshore Bond, there is no guaranteed return. If you or a trustee becomes resident or takes up citizenship in an overseas jurisdiction, the tax treatment and/or reporting of your Offshore Bond may change. For example, under US law your Offshore Bond would not qualify as a Life Insurance contract and gains made each year would need reporting under self-assessment rules. Further information For more information please see our Wrap Technical Product Guide available from our website:

12 Dunn s House, St Paul s Road, Salisbury SP2 7BF James Hay Partnership is able to provide literature in alternative formats. The formats available are: Large Print (as recommended by RNIB), Braille, Audio Tape and PC Disk. If you would like to receive this document in an alternative format please contact us on For the hard of hearing and / or speech impaired, please use the Typetalk service via James Hay Partnership is the trading name of James Hay Insurance Company Limited (JHIC) (registered in Jersey number 77318); IPS Pensions Limited (IPS) (registered in England number ); James Hay Administration Company Limited (JHAC) (registered in England number ); James Hay Pension Trustees Limited (JHPT) (registered in England number ); James Hay Wrap Managers Limited (JHWM) (registered in England number ); James Hay Wrap Nominee Company Limited (JHWNC) (registered in England number ); PAL Trustees Limited (PAL) (registered in England number ); Santhouse Pensioneer Trustee Company Limited (SPTCL) (registered in England number ); Sarum Trustees Limited (SarumTL) (registered in England number ); Sealgrove Trustees Limited (STL) (registered in England number ); The IPS Partnership Plc (IPS Plc) (registered in England number ); Union Pension Trustees Limited (UPT) (registered in England number ) and Union Pensions Trustees (London) Limited (UPTL) (registered in England number ). JHIC has its registered office at 3rd Floor, 37 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey,JE2 3QA. IPS, JHAC, JHPT, JHWM, JHWNC, SPTCL, SarumTL and IPS Plc have their registered office at Trinity House, Buckingway Business Park, Anderson Road, Swavesey, Cambs CB24 4UQ. PAL, STL, UPT and UPTL have their registered office at Dunn s House, St Paul s Road, Salisbury, SP2 7BF. JHIC is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission and JHAC, JHWM, IPS and IPS Plc are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The provision of Small Self Administered Schemes (SSAS) and trustee and/ or administration services for SSAS are not regulated by the FCA. Therefore, IPS and IPS Plc are not regulated by the FCA in relation to these schemes or services.(01/14) JHP 0026 APR15 GDF