We confirmed your clients new reference number(s) in our Welcome to the Nucleus Platform letter, sent in February 2026, after the upgrade took place. They should use this as the reference for future payments to their products, but they won’t need it to access the new platform.
Frequently asked questions
Nucleus Platform post-upgrade (and new business) tax packs are expected to be uploaded to customer online document libraries on Tuesday 11 August.
James Hay pre-upgrade tax packs are due to be posted in the week commencing 10 August and expected to be received by customers from Friday 14 August. They’ll be uploaded to Nucleus Platform online document libraries approx. one week after posting.
Nucleus Platform Off platform asset tax packs will be uploaded to customer online document libraries at the same time as the James Hay pre-upgrade packs.
Investment Manager only packs will be uploaded to customer online document libraries at the same time as the James Hay pre-upgrade packs.
Our letter of April/May 2025 included a simplified, transparent pricing flyer. It outlined how our pricing will work on the new Nucleus Platform.
User guides for advisers and customers are available on our website.
Comprehensive resources (including videos and webinar training) are also available for advisers to get familiar with the new platform.
Copies of all client specific letters about the upgrade can now be found on the new Nucleus platform. These can be found in the client's account under the documents tab.
You can see all transactions from the past five years on the new platform. Post upgrade, you can't see your upgraded clients’ product history on James Hay Online.
James Hay GIA customers were upgraded to the Nucleus Platform part way through the 2025/2026 tax year, so this time will receive two Consolidated Tax Vouchers (CTV), one for each platform.
Some customers will also receive additional tax packs for assets held with Investment Managers and Stockbrokers.
Fundamentally they are the same, in that they for the most part include the same information. The format has been streamlined for the Nucleus Platform voucher.
That said, the James Hay pack includes acquisition and disposal schedules, ie details of assets purchased and sold in the year, which doesn’t form part of the Nucleus Platform pack.
These schedules were provided to assist clients when preparing their CGT calculations but are no longer required in the Nucleus Platform pack as we can provide actual CGT calculations via the platform CGT tool, so advisers will be able to self-serve.
Other one-off charges
While we’ve reduced the number of charges, there are some one-off fees that apply in specific circumstances, such as offshore bond set up, or the sale or purchase of Exchange Traded Investments (ETI) – which are payable when they take place. These charges only apply when the relevant options/actions are taken so your clients only pay for what they use.
For commercial property some transactional charges also apply.
Also when your clients start to access the benefits from their pension, either through a lump sum or regular income payments, then an annual income drawdown charge will apply.
Other annual charges:
- Investment Manager account covers the cost of using an external Investment Manager for a SIPP. For the Modular iPlan, this is accessed via the Whole of Market module.
- Stockbroker account - this fee covers the cost of investing with our stockbroker accounts: EQI and Stocktrade.
- Annual property charge covers the administrative cost of managing the commercial property investments in a SIPP
Because the new platform issues tax packs via an automated document production process, and James Hay packs are produced through a more manual process, it’s not possible to consolidate the material into a single pack without significant IT development and build. We’ve taken steps to mitigate scope for confusion (eg ensuring consistent branding and explaining in the cover letters).
The dates for all regular payments out will remain the same as they were previously on James Hay (the first of the month). However, payments will now clear on the same day with funds received in the afternoon of the payment date. This means payments will not clear before the payment date.
The only exception to this is where the payment date falls on a weekend, in which case it will be paid on the previous working day. In March 2026 for example, where cash is available or a disinvestment/sell down is complete, regular income will be paid on Friday 27 February.
Please note, cash needs to be available seven days prior to the payment date. If it’s not available, and assets are held that can be automatically disinvested/sold down, then we’ll sell these to cover the payment. Where cash is unavailable, or disinvestment is not possible or incomplete, we’ll check your account for cash daily for 10 working days after the payment date. If cash becomes available, we’ll make an ad hoc payment, which will be processed overnight and paid the following day by faster payment. In this instance, you’ll receive a letter confirming you’ve requested an ad hoc payment.
The new platform allows for any payment date between 1st and 28th of the month to be selected, so if you need the money sooner, you can adjust future payment dates to suit your needs.
Although our brand name is changing from James Hay to Nucleus, the James Hay Pension Trustees legal entity will continue to be responsible for pension funds placed with us, so you’ll continue to see this name.
Customers who have upgraded to our new platform have been brought on our ‘brand journey’. They now know our business as ‘Nucleus’ so it would be confusing to now write to them as James Hay.
That said, because the assets detailed in that tax voucher were administered by James Hay Wrap Managers (JHWM) over that period, it’s appropriate that the branding of the tax voucher is James Hay.
The platform upgrade and new branding are part of our wider strategy to grow our business and improve the online service we offer.
The upgrade of products to new market leading technology required us to establish new client numbers and will be an important component of our improved service.
Your payslip will be available to view on your account on the morning your income is due to be paid, however the funds will not arrive until later in the day. You’ll also receive a payslip in the post a few days later.
This is expected as the regular income moves through the payment cycle. Two days before the payment date, you’ll see your next income payment showing as the following month. Please be assured that you’ll receive your income as usual. You can see your next income payment by navigating within your account to Client > Account > Valuation and income.
Our support pages are designed to help you with using the new platform. They contain information about our products, charges and investments as well as a suite of guides and tutorials. You can also register for our live training webinars. If you have any other questions, please speak with your usual Nucleus contact or our Customer Service Centre on 03455 212 414 or via email at ask@nucleusfinancial.com.
All customers included in the upgrade have been set up on the new platform with the paper-based communication option. This preference can be updated on the platform at any time.
However, all new customers that join after the upgrade will have electronic communication as the default – again, this preference can be updated if required.
This terminology is consistent with our literature and website.