Talbot and Muir

Flexible Retirement Account

The Flexible Retirement Account (FRA) is a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and has been designed to allow members to benefit from the full range of saving, investment and income options available under current pensions legislation, enabling them to have the maximum level of control and flexibility over when they make provision for their retirement, how their funds are invested and how their benefits are paid.

Talbot & Muir acts as the administrator and authorised provider of the scheme. Each FRA SIPP is established under its own Master Trust Deed. TM Trustees Ltd, the trustee division of Talbot & Muir and a non-trading company, acts as co-trustee on each FRA SIPP along with the scheme member. TM Trustees Ltd holds all of the assets of our FRA SIPPs for the benefit of and on behalf of the member. This co-trustee arrangement affords the member the flexibility they require whilst ensuring that the scheme is secure, as their assets are ‘ring-fenced’ and are held distinctly separate from all other clients’. The fact that each SIPP is established under its own Master Trust Deed also has positive implications for the operation of a scheme pension, as the level of pension paid to any member can be reduced without affecting members of our other SIPPs.

Each FRA will operate an interest-bearing current account with Cater Allen Private Bank, which is part of Santander Group, one of Europe’s biggest banking groups.

When a new member establishes an FRA, all contributions and transfer values received are paid into an individually designated bank account with Cater Allen to receive and pay monies as required. Contributions will start to earn interest as soon as they are deposited.

Information on eligibility to establish and contribute to an FRA, the taxation status of the scheme, where funds are invested and how benefits can be taken can be found in our Key Features Document (available from the Downloads page).
In addition, further explanation and details concerning permitted investments and taking benefits can be found in the Technical Centre.

A Summary of the Benefits of using the Flexible Retirement Account

• Transparent fee basis and low charges.
• Flexibility of contribution payments – members may stop, start, and change contributions subject to HMRC limits at any time without penalty (unlike a conventional insurance company product).
• Total portability means members can transfer or move their fund at any time without penalty.
• Members may take early retirement without penalty.
• Members may defer purchasing an annuity, and receive pension payments from their own SIPP instead.
• The FRA is a cost-effective vehicle for receiving transfers from other pension schemes.
• The ability for the member to formulate investment choices on their own or in conjunction with their investment adviser.
• Commercial land and property purchase facility.
• No restrictive insurance policy conditions.
• Retirement allowed between age 55 and 75 (earlier in serious ill health).
• Significant tax savings on contributions.
• Largely tax-free growth.
• Access to the full range of retirement options allowed by legislation, including phased retirement and scheme pension.