Independent Schools

A number of independent schools have already left the Teachers Pension Scheme due to rising costs. With schools dealing with uncertain future liabilities many others are likely to follow to protect their finances.

Complete the short form today to see how we can help you find the best defined contribution and employee benefits scheme for your staff and school.

The APTIS Scheme (Aviva Pension Trust for Independent Schools) is a low cost off the peg pension that offers up to 36 funds ranging in cost from 0.32% to 1.24% per annum* and is often chosen as the default scheme for schools leaving the Teachers Pension Scheme.

However, did you know that you don’t have to use this arrangement and at similar costs there are possibly more suitable arrangements that are available for your staff and school?

We can help you weigh up all the facts and decide whether the APTIS or a Group Personal Pension will be more appropriate for your school.

As well as providing advice to the school, we’ll also help your staff to understand their new scheme and benefits.
If they need more assistance, we can offer the staff advice on fund selection the new pension that matches their risk tolerances and if required keep them under review.

We work on fixed fees to provide your school with unbiased advice on pension scheme suitability and implementation.

Please be aware that if your school plans to follow the hybrid model you should be prepared for significant additional costs for legal advice and financial advice.

*Fund range and costs accurate from APTIS Charges Document October 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

No – we are a regulated firm of independent financial advisers and commissions have been banned for advised investment and pension sales since 2012 as part of the Retail Distribution Review.

We will charge the school fixed fees and make a suitability recommendation based on the most appropriate solution based on needs of the school – this may be a recommendation to use the APTIS or another GPP provider.

There are no charges for initial discussions and we will explain when we charge our fees, how much they are and what they are for but the final costs will depend on the amount of work you need us to do.

For scheme selection we charge a fee of £4995 plus VAT this includes a recommendation and suitability report for the school based on the schools needs as well as staff webinars / seminars to explain the new scheme selected and it’s benefits and limitations.

If you want to provide your staff with initial advice on fund selection in the implementation of the new scheme, we charge fees as follows:

£195 plus VAT per member for the first 10 members
£150 plus VAT per member for the next 10 members
£100 plus VAT per member there after

This includes a 1-2-1 where we will explain how the new scheme fits into their existing retirement planning and make a recommendation on the most appropriate funds available to match the members risk tolerance.

We can also provide ongoing advice to the school or directly with individual members of staff – these fees will depend on the scope of the work required and will be discussed on an individual basis with the school or member.

The option to choose between the schemes is only available with the hybrid model – this means that members are given an option to stay in the Teachers Pension Scheme with a reduced salary or to join the new Defined Contribution Scheme.

This is not applicable if the Teachers Pension Scheme has been closed to all existing school members and all members of staff are joining the new Defined Contribution Scheme or if existing staff are remaining in the Teachers Pension Scheme (with no option to switch to the new Defined Contribution Scheme) but closed to new members of staff joining.

If you have selected the hybrid model and have staff that need advice on whether to stay in the Teachers Pension or join the new Defined Contribution Scheme, this is known as “Defined Benefit Opt Out” advice and from a regulatory and liability perspective is considered an extremely high risk advice area.

This risk is so high, that many firms choose not to provide Defined Benefit Transfer / Opt Out advice.

As a firm we are both authorised and insured to provide this advice, however to assess and make a recommendation we will need to conduct a full individual financial review for each member that requires this advice.

The cost for this will be a minimum of £3,000 plus VAT per member with the actual fee being calculated on the value of each members benefits upto a capped maximum limit.

If you require advice for Defined Benefit Opt Outs our fees are set in line with regulatory guidance, non-negotiable and payable in full whether the advice is to remain in the scheme or join the new one.

For more information: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fg21-3.pdf

 

Yes we can help you set up additional employee benefits such as Death In Service, Income Protection, Private Health as well as explaining the benefits and tax savings of salary sacrifice to both staff and the school.

There are usually no additional advice fees to establish employee benefit arrangements.