Why work with us?
97%
Our client retention rate
£148 bn
Listed on the FTSE 100, we are one of the world's largest financial advice firms
900,000
The number of clients we work with around the world
7 Years
That's how long we have been listed on the FTSE 100.
UK & Asia
We are regulated in Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom
4.9/5
Vouched for rating
Financial advice is about how we make your future happen. We aim to help you understand the retirement savings you have in the UK and elsewhere, to ensure you have enough to live the retirement that you want and leave a legacy for your loved ones.
We want to put you in control of your money, not the other way around.
Discovery meeting
Getting to know one another in a no-obligation consultation is the first step. Here we will understand what retirement savings you have in place.
At St. James’s Place, we believe in one-to-one, face-to-face advice wherever possible, so you can talk in confidence, ask questions, and decide if you are a good fit. This can be done virtually and/or in person to suit your needs.
Let's get started
Your financial adviser will have regular face-to-face or virtual conversations with you to review your financial goals and ensure you are on track. Your long-term relationship with your Partner is as important as the decisions and advice they help you with. You can pick up the phone for advice from your Partner at any time – and you can check your investments via our Client login too.
Our advice guarantee to you
Our Partners are among the industry’s leading financial professionals, and we support their ongoing professional development to ensure they remain as well-qualified and technically able as possible. As a result, St. James's Place guarantees the suitability of the advice given by members of the St. James’s Place Partnership when recommending any of the wealth management products and services available from companies in the group.
Key UK Pension Considerations
Tax Considerations
We can help you understand all relevant taxes and allowances. This includes tax that you might incur when you start to withdraw your pensions and when you look to pass these to loved ones.
The lifetime allowance
The lifetime allowance is the limit on how much you can build up in pension benefits over your lifetime while still enjoying the full tax benefits. If you go over the allowance, you’ll generally pay a tax charge on the excess at certain times. It’s important to monitor the value of your pensions especially any defined benefit pensions, as these can be surprisingly large.
Pensions Consolidation
Failure to keep tabs on old UK pensions has led to billions of pounds worth of savings being misplaced or forgotten about.
We can help you to track these down and consolidate them if necessary.
Are you in the right scheme for yourself
Different pension schemes have different levels of flexibility, different benefits and potential downsides. We will help you understand the UK retirement savings that you have and your personal situation.
What happens to my pension when I die
It’s important to understand the death benefits rules that apply to your pension – they can vary depending on the type of pension you have and your age when you pass away. We can help you understand how this might impact your spouse, civil partner or beneficiaries.
How well is my pension performing
There are two primary things which impact the growth of you pension – your investment performance and the charges you pay. We can examine the underlying investments to ensure they meet your appetite for risk and meet your growth aspirations. We can also determine what charges you are paying.
Types of Pensions
There are many different types of pension that you might come across, but the majority typically fall into one of two themes; Defined Contribution (DC), or Defined Benefit (DB).
Defined Benefit Pensions
Schemes that run through an employer, where you accrue benefits based on your earnings, length of service and membership in the scheme.
Defined Contribution Pensions
Based on contributions set up by you, or through your employer. They work by paying a known amount of money into a pension, typically monthly, by you or possibly your employer, or both.
Defined benefit pensions are increasingly rare but offer some key benefits for those in the scheme, the most important of which is a guaranteed income for life. If you have a UK defined benefit pension we recommend you seek professional financial advice to understand how it fits into your retirement plans.
Key benefits?
They offer a guaranteed income for life, and usually the option of a tax free cash lump sum. The age at which you can take benefits is set by the scheme and is typically 60 or 65.
Possible downsides?
The basis on which the benefits are paid might not have the flexibility you are looking for, or fit with your current retirement plans, such as the age which you want to retire.
Our experts
Expert advice on UK pensions can be difficult to obtain in Asia. Our team of specialists have experience, expertise and qualifications across jurisdictions.
Claire Robinson
Partner – UK Pensions Specialist
Claire is a UK Pensions and investments specialist. The pensions landscape is ever changing, and Claire’s role is to help clients navigate what can be extremely complex financial decisions. She has been advising clients for over ten years both in the UK and in Asia and was the first Partner appointed to St. James’s Place Hong Kong in 2015. She prides herself on goal driven, rather than product driven, advice.
Tony Smith
Head of Tax and Technical
Tony Smith has been in the financial services industry for over 26 years. He joined St. James's Place in 2012. Tony provides tax and technical support to St. James's Place Clients focusing on taxation and trust planning issues in relation to specific client circumstances. Tony offers cross jurisdictional tax expertise to globally mobile clients – vital to decisions regarding UK pensions.
Our awards
Important Notes
The guide provided by St. James's Place Wealth Management is general communication provided for informational purpose only. It should not be relied upon as financial advice and it does not constitute a recommendation, an offer or solicitation. No responsibility can be accepted for any loss arising from action taken or refrained from based on this publication. All information presented herein is considered to be accurate at the time of production, but no warranty of accuracy is given and no liability in respect of any error or omission is accepted.
The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.
Members of the St. James’s Place Partnership in Hong Kong represent St. James’s Place (Hong Kong) Limited, which is an insurance broker company licensed with the Insurance Authority (Licence No. FB1075), a licensed corporation with the Securities and Futures Commission (CE No. AAV439) and registered as an MPF Intermediary (Registration No. IC000852)
St. James’s Place Wealth Management Group Ltd Registered Office: St. James’s Place House, 1 Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1FP, United Kingdom. Registered in England Number 02627518.