The Abundance Pension is a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) which is a type of pension that allows you to control where you invest the money within your pension.

The Abundance Pension restricted you to making investments on Abundance only so you are not able to hold any other investments such as those available in the wider financial market. The Abundance Pension alone will therefore not provide all

your retirement planning needs and you should consider additional investment products or pension plans to meet your overall needs.

In March 2023, Gaudi Regulated Services Limited (“GRSL”), the provider and administrator of your Abundance Pension, took the decision to restrict any new investments for Abundance members that hold a SIPP with them.

This decision was due to increasing regulatory costs for pension providers that hold certain types of assets classified as ‘non-standard’, such as the investments on Abundance as well as other types of assets like property or unlisted investments. This made it uncommercial for GRSL to continue to offer SIPP products that allow this type of investment to be made.

For Abundance customers who have an Abundance SIPP it is therefore no longer possible to make investments on Abundance through your SIPP and you can't make contributions to your pension or transfer new money in from another pension you hold.

This decision has no effect on the investments you already hold and your Abundance SIPP will remain open and will continue to be administered by GRSL. Existing investments and any cash you hold will continue to be held in your pension wrapper and you do not need to take any immediate action (unless you would like to).

You will no longer be able to add new money to your Abundance Pension or reinvest any money you have in your SIPP portfolio, such as money you have received back from your existing investments.

You can continue to hold your existing investments in your SIPP and there is no requirement to take any immediate action. However you will not be able to invest any cash you currently hold in your pension, or any money you receive back over time from your existing investments so you should consider what to do with the available cash in your pension. Cash held in your Abundance SIPP will not be earning a return.

In principal yes, it may be possible to transfer your entire pension holdings from GRSL to another provider, however you would need to find a new pension provider yourself and they would need to be willing to let you hold the types of investments you hold on Abundance (known as 'non-standard assets' in pension terms).

An alternative pension provider will be willing to accept a transfer of cash from your Abundance Pension to them, however in our experience very few pension providers are likely to be able to accept a transfer of the investments you hold.

As you can no longer invest any cash you hold in your Abundance SIPP, and there is no interest paid on cash, you should consider your options for this money so it is not sat idle.

There are fees to making a pension transfer or drawing down (although GRSL is offering two free transfers a year) - please see the fees section below.

If you'd like to transfer cash you have in your Abundance Pension to another pension provider, you will need to initiate this process via your new pension provider.

Contact the pension provider you would like to transfer to and they will have a process, typically an online form, to start the transfer process. Your pension provider will then contact GRSL directly to arrange the transfer over to them. Gaudi use the electronic transfer service (called Origo) that most pension providers use to ensure an efficient transfer process.

Your pension provider will typically require certain information to start the pension transfer, however you should only need to provide a few details to allow your pension provider to contact GRSL and let them provide any additional information required to complete the transfer.
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The information you will likely need to provide to your new pension provider is:

You can normally start taking money out of your pension at the age of 55 or over - this is typically referred to as drawing down money or taking benefits from your pension.

There are different ways you can choose to take benefits from your pension, such as flexibly taking an income, taking out a lump sum, or purchasing an annuity for a guaranteed income.

If you would like to start taking money out of your SIPP, please contact Platform One using the details below and they will provide you with a form to complete and can answer any questions you have on your options.

You can contact Gaudi Regulated Services Limited directly about your pension on:

We encourage you to get free specialist guidance from Pension Wise to help you make an informed decision if you are thinking about making a pension transfer or drawing down. Pension Wise is a government-backed service from MoneyHelper giving you specialist and impartial guidance, either face to face or over the phone. You can find out more here:
​https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise

Fees related to your Abundance Pension are charged by GRSL.
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There is an annual administration fee of £165 + VAT (£198 inc. VAT) which will be deducted from your pension each year. This fee will continue to be charged despite the restriction on investing as GRSL will still be providing ongoing pension administration services in relation to your SIPP.

There is a fee of £75 + VAT (£90 inc. VAT) for transferring money to another pension provider. As you can no longer make investments in your Abundance Pension, GRSL is offering 2 fee free transfers per calendar year for Abundance investors.

There are additional fees for taking benefits from your pension, depending on how you drawdown. See below for the full charging schedule for your Abundance Pension:

The key documents related to your Abundance Pension are as follows:

The Abundance Pension is a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provided by Gaudi Regulated Services Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the FCA (488015). Abundance is not a pension provider and cannot give pension advice. Please note that tax relief levels on pension contributions depend on your individual circumstances and are subject to change by HMRC.