Introduction
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd is the sole trustee of the Preci-Spark Limited (1984) Retirement Security Plan.
The Plan is ‘fully insured’ with Phoenix Life Ltd. They undertake all the investment and administration functions. The Plan was established in 1984.
All members in the Plan are deferred members.
This Chair’s Statement applies to the year ending 31st December 2022.
Statement of Investment Principles
A Statement of Investment Principles is not appropriate for the reason explained in the paragraph below.
Default Investment
There is no investment choice for either the trustee or member within the Plan. The only investment is in the form of ‘traditional’ with-profits. This means that each member has a guaranteed fund at Normal Retirement Date based on their historic contributions, to which annual and possibly a terminal bonus may be added.
Return on Investments
The annual bonus declared for the year ending 31st December 2021 was 0.05%.
At the time of writing this Statements Phoenix Life Ltd has yet to confirm the 2022 annual bonus to us.
Core Financial Transactions
There are no active members in the scheme so no ongoing contributions to monitor.
The administration of the settlement of member benefits by Phoenix Life Ltd is not particularly impressive but is adequate.
Charges
The administration costs of the Plan are incorporated within the with-profits contract. This can vary slightly depending on age, but on average is approximately 0.70% pa. This is effectively deducted before any annual bonus is declared by Phoenix Life Ltd. Specific details are contained in each members’ annual benefit statement.
The cost of the trustee is paid by Preci-Spark Ltd.
Value for Money Assessment
The Plan charges are not considered excessively high. The declared investment return is poor, but should be considered alongside that there is a minimum guaranteed fund value and that will have allowed for some core growth.
The Plan also provides a valuable Guaranteed Annuity Rate (approximately 10%) and considering the average age of the remaining membership we do not consider it appropriate to surrender this to move the investment elsewhere.
We have researched online the costs of similar pension schemes and consider the charges applying to the Plan are not unreasonable. It is acknowledged that the administration charges for more modern pension arrangements (for example, workplace pensions) can be cheaper.
Administration and Governance
We have no reason to believe the core data in inaccurate.
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd has been providing trusteeship of occupational pensions schemes since 2004. We keep abreast of changes in legislation and best practices. We are independent of Preci-Spark Ltd and Phoenix Life Ltd.
Donald Beech
Director
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd
0116 2765079
don.beech@beechwoodssas.com
1st July 2023
Introduction
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd is the sole trustee of the Preci-Spark Ltd G.M.P.P.
The Plan is ‘fully insured’ with Royal London. They undertake all the investment and administration functions. The Plan was established in 1988.
All members in the G.M.P.P. are deferred members.
This Chair’s Statement applies to the year ending 31st December 2022.
Statement of Investment Principles
The Statement of Investment Principles is attached. This has not been specifically reviewed in the last three years, and we consider it still to be appropriate.
Default Investment
It is understood that because the G.M.P.P. is not workplace pension arrangement there is no obligation to review the default investment. However, we have reviewed this and consider that the Balanced Lifestyle Strategy (Drawdown) is the most appropriate and complies with the Statement of Investment Principles.
Return on Investments
The investment return for year ending 31st December 2022 for the investments underpinning the Balanced Lifestyle Strategy (Drawdown) is attached. Each members’ fund can be allocated differently among these. The annual member benefit statement details the accumulated investment return achieved on each members’ pension fund.
Core Financial Transactions
There are no active members in the scheme so no ongoing contributions to monitor.
The administration of the settlement of member benefits by Royal London Ltd is not particularly impressive but is adequate.
Charges
Royal London charge each members’ fund 0.60% pa for the administration and investment of the G.M.P.P. An example of how these costs typically affect a members’ eventual fund is attached.
The cost of the trustee is paid by Preci-Spark Ltd.
Value for Money Assessment
The G.M.P.P. charges are not considered excessively high.
We have researched online the costs of similar pension schemes and consider the charges applying to the G.M.P.P. are not unreasonable. It is acknowledged that the administration charges for more modern pension arrangements (for example, workplace pensions) can be cheaper.
Administration and Governance
We have no reason to believe the core data in inaccurate.
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd has been providing trusteeship of occupational pensions schemes since 2004. We keep abreast of changes in legislation and best practices. We are independent of Preci-Spark Ltd and Royal London Ltd.
Donald Beech
Director
Beechwood Trusteeship & Administration Ltd
0116 2765079
don.beech@beechwoodssas.com
1st July 2023
Chapel Street
Syston
Leicestershire
LE7 1HN
United Kingdom
enquiries@preci-spark.co.uk
0116 260 7911
Monday — Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday — Closed
Sunday — Closed
“Continually striving for excellence”
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