Sipps firm boss: We're not playing game of chicken on fees

A Sipps firm says it has refused to play a "game of chicken" with rivals about revealing fees, as the new pensions landscape opens up. Liberty Sipp has published its full post-April fee schedule and claimed it is the first pension provider to do so. The company is set to freeze drawdown fees after announcing its offerings under the new pension rules.Managing director John Fox said his firm had distanced itself from other companies that he claimed were engaged in a game of who blinks first - waiting to see what others would do before making a decision on their fees.He also called on the industry to "resist the temptation to hike fees". {desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}Mr Fox said: "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 confirmed that it will leave its drawdown fees unchanged at a flat fee of £100 for drawdown of any kind. Customers can switch from capped to flexible access drawdown at no extra charge, it said.The firm, which manages 4,500 Sipps and has £400million of assets under administration, will charge £25 for 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.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.

Sipps firm boss: We're not playing game of chicken on fees

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