I’ve received the following note from Aviva with regards the TATA group personal pension which has replaced BSPS as the corporately sponsored pension arrangement going forward.
Thanks for your note below re the query you have received from a BSPS member. In answer to your questions, the TATA Aviva GPP can accept CETVs from DB schemes so long as the member is active and has taken financial advice regarding their DB Transfer.
The TATA GPP arrangement was set up by a Financial Adviser. Aviva can though, on request, set up a separate linked policy for a member so as to be able to take a Transfer into the scheme from a different Financial Adviser to the one who set the GPP up. This separate Transfer policy facilitates a number of different “ Adviser Charging” options, all of which do allow the Adviser to deduct their Fees from the member’s policy. We would, of course, require the written consent of the member to this before we facilitated any such payment(s) to an Adviser.
As well as Adviser Charging, the TATA Aviva GPP has the over c.250+ Funds to invest in should the member or their adviser on their behalf wish to invest in options outside of the TATA default fund. This fund range covers all of the main asset classes on both passive and active bases, including all of the main geographical territories. It does not though have a self-invested option. In addition the TATA Aviva GPP has the full range of Pension Freedoms built into the policies as and when the members need them in the run up to retirement.
Without a letter of authority from an active TATA Aviva GPP member, we are not able to disclose the exact AMC on this particular scheme to you. I can tell you that the AMC is very competitive for a scheme of this size and nature and is therefore, as you would expect, well below the current charge cap.
Aviva has taken numerous calls from the members of the various BSPS schemes asking if they can transfer their CETV from the DB scheme into our GPP. Our starting point on such calls is that we always inform them that they must take financial advice on this matter. Aviva hasn’t actively promoted the fact that the TATA Aviva GPP can take CETVs as we don’t particularly want to be seen to be encouraging DB Transfers in the first place. The feedback from the member below is certainly useful and I will make sure that it reaches the relevant people who are dealing with the BSPS Trustees
and by separate mail
The AMC on the TATA Aviva GPP is the same for both Regular Contributions and any Transfers In; there is no difference in them.
Any Adviser Fee Charging deductions, if agreed by the member, is treated aside from the AMC and has no specific impact on it. We show it as a separate explicit charge so that it is clearly visible to the member.
The verified cost of the default investment strategy for TATA Aviva GPP members is 0.26% (exclusive of transaction costs).
My immediate thoughts
- The Tata GPP can accept transfers in from BSPS
- The cost of this workplace pension to members is not disclosed but we only need one BSPS member to confirm the offer.
- The offer to transfer is only available to those actively at work with Tata.
- The assumption is that the terms of the offer are available on transfers (will needs be checked by financial advisers)
- These terms are likely to be extremely competitive
- Advisers can be paid through “adviser charging” on this scheme
- Aviva’s procedures for ensuring advisers get paid from the fund do not seem onerous.
In the light of this information , I would suggest that advisers talking to BSPS members make sure the Tata Aviva GPP is discussed and the terms available disclosed. While these won’t necessarily be the terms recommended by the adviser, the adviser should provide an explanation of why this option is not preferred.