This reduction in AMC, enables employers to offer an AMC discount of between 0.25 per cent and 0.75 per cent to their employees who pay regular pension contributions.
To qualify for the permanent AMD the scheme member must be making regular contributions on the 10th anniversary of their plan’s start date, with no breaks in payments other than premium holidays of no longer of 13 months.
If an employee decides to leave the employer, the Active Member Discount is not necessarily lost as he or she can continue to make contributions for as little as £20 each month to retain the discount.
Previously, Aegon’s AMD option was only available for group personal pensions Flexi-menu and group Sipp Flexi-menu schemes, but the provider is now extending this option to its new group stakeholder plans. AMD terms will also now be an option on single and transfer premiums within group personal pensions and group Sipp Flexi-menu and group stakeholder schemes.
Adrienne Allan, head of corporate pensions marketing at Aegon Scottish Equitable, says: “Both employers and employees are our customers. Our Active Member Discount means an employer can offer their employees a valuable pension plan throughout their working lives – and the employees don’t have to stay with that employer to benefit.
“Increasingly advisers and employers are recognising that a single price for all members regardless of their contributions is less fair than rewarding those who make regular payments.”