Member Declaration

Thank you for your recent account opening to establish a pension, submitted by your financial adviser. The next steps to set up your pension plan are:

To read the linked documents, which can be found here
Then to read these declarations, which ask you to confirm some important information which we will rely on to run your pension plan correctly
If you do not understand any point within the linked documents and declarations, or if you have any questions, please get in touch with your adviser
Once you are happy to accept all of the declarations and wish to proceed with your pension account opening, please confirm this at the bottom of the page, which we will take as your formal acceptance of those declarations, the Terms and Conditions and other supporting documents

General Declarations

I apply to become a member of the Scheme and agree to be bound by the Rules of that Scheme as set out in the Terms and Conditions, which may be amended from time to time. A copy of the Rules is available on request. I confirm that I have read and understood the following documents that together form the contract I am agreeing to enter into through opening my pension account:

I authorise Gaudi Trustees Limited and Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd to open such accounts as required in order to action my investment instructions made on my account and agree to the terms and charges of these accounts.

I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of the information I have supplied in relation to my account opening is correct and complete and I accept the responsibility to advise of any incorrect information I become aware of.

I understand that death benefits are payable by Gaudi Trustees Limited to my beneficiaries as determined at the discretion of Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd, who will take into account my Nominations but cannot be bound by them. I declare that I nominate all individuals detailed as Nominees on my pension account, for the purposes of allowing them to receive death benefits in the form of Flexi-Access Drawdown, if applicable.

I understand that under the Terms and Conditions I am only entitled to receive money from my pension plan as an ‘Authorised Payment’. I agree that if an ‘Unauthorised Payment’ is made from my pension plan I will indemnify Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd for any charges levied by HM Revenue & Customs.

Information Declarations

I understand that the operation of my pension plan relies on email communications and I confirm I will maintain the email address I have provided, monitor it regularly and inform my financial adviser immediately if I change my email address.

I confirm that the address I have provided to open my pension account is my permanent residential address and that I will inform my financial adviser of my new address within 30 days should it change. I will also inform them within 30 days if I change my name.

I confirm that if I have not flexibly accessed any benefits from any other pension arrangements, that if I do flexibly access any pension benefits, I will inform my financial adviser of the date benefits were flexibly accessed within 30 days. I understand that I would become subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance from the date I first flexibly accessed any benefits.

I understand that if I have any Lifetime Allowance protection(s) or enhancements it is my responsibility to provide evidence of the relevant protection(s) to avoid some or all of a Lifetime Allowance Charge that may apply. I confirm that I will inform my financial adviser if I should lose or have revoked any Lifetime Allowance protections or enhancements I may have. I give my authority for my protection details I supply to be checked with HM Revenue & Customs.

I give my permission for my personal data to be processed in accordance with the Privacy Statement contained in the Terms and Conditions Document and the General Data Protection Regulations.

I agree to the carrying out of checks to establish proof of my identity and residence, and those of a third party or my employer, where contributions are to be paid by either of them. Should these checks prove unsatisfactory, I understand that I will be required to provide proof of identity that is deemed satisfactory before my pension account opening can be accepted.

Financial Advice Declarations

I hereby authorise both Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd and Gaudi Trustees Limited to accept instructions on my behalf from my appointed Financial Adviser as agreed in the platform terms.

I agree to the adviser charges applied to my account and hereby authorise and instruct to pay them to my Financial Adviser, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions, from the funds held in my account.

I understand that these authorities will remain in force until I inform Gaudi, in writing, to the contrary.

I understand I will only pay these charges if my Financial Adviser is appropriately authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and has agreed to the Financial Adviser Terms of Business.

I acknowledge and accept that Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd and Gaudi Trustees Limited do not provide financial, investment, tax, legal or any other form of advice and the services provided do not extend to financial advice under the terms of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Transfer-in Declarations – these apply to any transfers into this pension plan from an existing pension scheme

I confirm that I wish to transfer the pension benefits from my transferring pension scheme(s), as detailed in the recommendation from my adviser, into my new account and instruct all relevant parties to proceed with arranging those transfers.

I understand that where any benefits being transferred are in capped drawdown they will only be accepted on the basis that they will be immediately converted to flexi-access drawdown. I also understand that if I draw any income via flexi-access drawdown I will become subject to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, if I am not already subject to it. I hereby instruct that any capped drawdown benefits are converted to flexi-access drawdown upon receipt.

I authorise my financial adviser to instruct my transferring pension scheme(s) to transfer sums and assets under the scheme(s) directly to Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd and to provide any instructions and/or discharge forms required to complete the transfer(s).

I authorise my transferring pension scheme(s), Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd, any employer paying contributions to a transferring pension scheme, any financial adviser I may appoint and any other relevant third party to obtain from and release to each other, any information that is necessary to enable the transfer to take place.

I understand and accept that once the transfer has completed, that where the whole of the transferring scheme benefits have been transferred, I will have no entitlement to benefits under the transferring scheme or, where there has been a partial transfer of benefits from the transferring scheme, I will have no entitlement to benefits under the transferring scheme in relation to the part transferred.

I understand that until this pension account opening is accepted and complete, Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd’s responsibility is limited to the return of the total payment(s) to the transferring scheme(s).

I accept responsibility in respect of any claims, losses, expenses, additional tax charges or any penalties that Gaudi Regulated Services Ltd and the transferring scheme(s) may incur as a result of any incorrect, untrue or misleading information in this application or given by me, or on my behalf, or of any failure on my part to comply with any aspect of this application. This includes where I have been asked to provide any original policy document(s) in return for the transfer of funds and I am unable to do so.

Contribution Declarations – these apply at any point contributions are paid

I understand that contributions which are not eligible for UK pension relief at source tax relief cannot be paid into this pension plan. If contributions are paid to my pension on which tax relief is sought, I declare that:

I am under age 75 and am a relevant UK individual (see Note 1, below).
The total of the contributions paid (see Note 2, below) to this Scheme and to other registered pension schemes, in respect of which I am entitled to tax relief, under section 188 of Finance Act 2004, will not exceed, in any tax year, the higher of:

the basic amount in that tax year (see Note 3, below); or
my relevant UK earnings (see Note 4, below) in that tax year.

The declaration in b) is correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief.
I will give notice to my financial adviser if an event occurs, as a result of which I will no longer be entitled to relief on contributions, under section 188 of Finance Act 2004 for example, I cease to be a relevant UK individual (see Note 1, below). I will give this notice by the later of:

5th April in the year of assessment in which the event occurs; and
the date which is 30 days after the occurrence of that event.

I understand and acknowledge that if I have Enhanced or Fixed Lifetime Allowance protection this will be lost if a contribution is made to this pension plan or any other pension plan and it is my responsibility if this occurs. I understand and acknowledge that once contributions have been received into my pension plan, they cannot generally be refunded other than as an Excess Contribution Lump Sum Payment or I cancel my pension plan within the 30 day cancellation period.

Note 1: Relevant UK individual

You are a relevant UK individual for a given tax year if you:

have relevant UK earnings (see Note 4, below) chargeable to income tax for that tax year; or
are resident in the United Kingdom at some time during that tax year; or
were resident in the UK at some time during the five tax years immediately before the tax year in question and were also resident in the UK when you joined the pension plan; or
you or your spouse have, for that tax year, general earnings from overseas Crown employment subject to UK tax (as defined by section 28 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA).

If you fall within category b), c) or d) above and you do not have relevant UK earnings, the maximum member contribution is the basic amount (see Note 3, below).

Note 2: Total contributions

This means the total gross contributions that you make each tax year to all the registered pension schemes of which you are a member. In the case of contributions to a relief at source scheme such as this pension plan, it means the full contributions, that is, the net contributions plus the amount of tax relief we collect from HMRC and add to the pension plan.

Note 3: The basic amount

The basic amount is currently £3,600 (including tax relief) and has remained at that amount since 2006. It may be changed by legislation in the future.

Note 4: Relevant UK earnings

As a general rule most income that is earned and assessable for income tax in the UK counts as relevant UK earnings. Income that generally does not count, includes:

Pension income.
Dividends.
Most rental income.
The first £30,000 of a redundancy payment.
Income earned in the UK but not subject to UK income tax due to a double taxation agreement with another country where you are liable for tax.

Examples of earnings that count as relevant UK earnings can be found on the HMRC website.

As you must declare that your contributions in excess of the basic amount will not exceed your relevant UK earnings in any given tax year, if you are in any doubt as to whether earnings, on which you are reliant to justify the amount of contribution being paid, are relevant UK earnings, then you should consult your financial adviser.

Your Cancellation Rights

You have a legal right to cancel your account opening within 30 days of the first payment being received into your pension.

If you do wish to cancel your account opening, your Message Hub, as detailed below, contains a Cancellation Form which you should sign and return.

Online Access

You can access your pension online. The main function of your online access will be the ability to access and view all correspondence that is generated on behalf of your pension account.

Any communications in relation to your pension account will be available on your Message Hub. You have access to your Message Hub 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which means you can choose as and when you want to catch up with what has been happening on your pension account.

We hope you find the online offering provides you with the assurance you require in understanding the current position of your pension account.

The information you provide in this application and the declarations you agree to are used in dealings with HM Revenue & Customs for tax relief purposes. It is a serious offence to make false statements with penalties being severe. False statements could lead to prosecution. Please note you’ll be able to access a copy of this text, the T&Cs and the KFD at this link.