The firm said that it had broken ranks with the SIPP industry, where "most pension providers are playing a game of chicken – waiting to see what rivals will do before making a decision on their fees".
Liberty SIPP has confirmed that it will leave its drawdown fees unchanged, continuing to charge a flat fee of £100 for drawdown of any kind. Customers can switch from capped to flexible access drawdown at no extra charge.
The firm, which currently manages 4500 SIPPs and has £400 million of assets under administration, will charge £25 to customers who use the new pension freedoms to make a one-off withdrawal from their pension pot.
The flat rate fee will be payable on lump sum payments made from funds that have not been used for drawdown (uncrystallised fund pension lump sums). The fee will apply to each payment, and customers can make multiple withdrawals. These fees will be capped at £100 per year to mirror the drawdown fee.
The announcement comes a year after Liberty SIPP pledged to freeze the annual cost of its flagship product until April 2016.
John Fox, Managing Director, Liberty SIPP, commented:
“April’s pension reforms will hit the industry like a shot of adrenalin. With countless thousands of savers expected to use their new freedoms to withdraw lump sums from their pension pots, many of the big pension firms are fearing the worst.
“But while it’s likely that there will be outflows, this is no excuse for pension providers to hike their fees. More people than ever before are taking an interest in their pension planning – and the industry should use its moment in the spotlight to show how it has modernised, and ditch the complex and opaque fee structures that have dogged it for too long.
"Liberty SIPP has always prided itself on its transparency and low fees; our clients only pay for what they need, and don’t pay over the odds for services they don’t need. More than 250 IFA companies now use our services, and we’re convinced that simplicity and ease will be crucial factors for the thousands of people keen to use their new-found pension freedom after April.”
