Customer FAQs

By setting up a James Hay Online account, you can:

• Begin or review a new product illustration
• Apply for new products using a digital signature (in conjunction with your financial adviser)
• Use online investment tools to conduct fund research
• Buy, sell or switch investments within the James Hay Investment Centre, our in-house fund platform
• Send and request money to be transferred between your product and an investment manager/stockbroker
• Monitor your investments and view valuation reports
• Amend the level and frequency of any existing income payments
• Send and receive queries and instructions via a Secure Messaging service.

You product bank account is designed to hold cash for short periods of time, to facilitate the payment of money in and out of your product. Your investments, and any charges incurred, will also be funded from the relevant product bank account, and so you will need to monitor your balance regularly.

Please see the Bank Accounts page of our website for further information, including details of any applicable interest rates.

We take initial and ongoing administration charges for all products. These are detailed in the relevant product's Charges Schedule, which can be found on our Literature pages.

You may also pay charges to other parties, such as fund providers, investment managers and stockbrokers, depending on the investments you choose, as well as charges to your financial adviser for the services they provide to you.

We do not provide financial advice. Your financial adviser should always be your first point of contact for any advice. If you do not have a financial adviser, you can visit Unbiased at www.unbiased.co.uk or call them on 0800 023 6868 to find regulated financial advisers in your area.

You can also visit www.moneyhelper.org.uk in order to access further support and guidance from Pensionwise, The Pensions Advisory Service and the MoneyHelper.

The Investor Guides on our website provide further information on our processes, including what you need to do to instruct us.

You can also view the Technical Guide for your product, found on our Literature pages, for more in-depth detail on how your James Hay product works.

You can contact us via Secure Message from your James Hay Online account, or for generic non-personal information, via email sent to jhcontactcentre@jameshay.co.uk. Your financial adviser can also contact us on your behalf.

You can also call our Contact Centre on 03455 212 414, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

You can write to us at Dunn's House, St Paul's Road, Salisbury, SP2 7BF.

Your client will receive an email with a link to the DocuSign system. They will then be able to submit their signature from this link.

You can transfer in savings from any other UK registered pension scheme, such as a personal pension or an employer pension scheme. You may also be able to transfer in pension savings from a qualified recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS).

Please note that we can only accept pension transfers from defined benefit (occupational final salary) schemes if you have received advice from an appropriately qualified financial adviser, and they have recommended that you proceed with the transfer.

For transfers from defined contribution (occupational money purchase) schemes, if the transfer includes any safeguarded benefits then you must have received advice from an appropriately qualified financial adviser, recommending that you proceed. Alternatively, if the transfer does not contain any safeguarded benefits, you can proceed without financial advice if you provide us with written evidence from the transferring scheme that the transfer does not contain any safeguarded benefits.

You may be able to transfer in your existing pension assets without selling them. This is known as an in-specie transfer.

By transferring in-specie, you may be able to avoid selling and buying costs, and you can continue to benefit from uninterrupted investment performance.

Please note that it may not always be possible to make an in-specie transfer, as it depends on the investments held in your existing pension scheme. Any transfer is subject to both our acceptance and the agreement of the administrators of the transferring scheme. We strongly suggest that you obtain financial advice before instructing any form of pension transfer.

You can request a cash transfer from the Portfolio screen of your James Hay Online account.

Alternatively you can submit a completed 'SIPP Cash Transfer In Form' or 'SIPP In-specie Transfer Form' found on the Literature pages of our website, along with any supporting documentation, such as discharge forms.

Depending on your product, you may be able to invest in a range of options, including cash deposit accounts, investment manager/stockbroker accounts, funds held on our Investment Centre platform, commercial property, and assets held directly.

Please read the Permitted Investments List for your product, found on our Literature pages, for full details of your investment options.

Through your James Hay Online account, you can place Investment Centre trades, instruct money movements to/from your investment manager, access your stockbroker account, or send us instructions for other investment types via Secure Message.

For more details on how to submit a trade instruction, please refer to the guidance notes at the beginning of the individual investment documents on our Literature pages.

Typically from age 55, you can start to access the pension funds that you have been building. Withdrawals from your SIPP can be made in a number of ways:

• As tax-free lump sums and/or taxable income, via a pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) or uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS).
• As taxable income from your crystallised funds (funds you have already designated for payment).
• By purchasing an annuity from an insurance company on the open market. Please note that James Hay is not an annuity provider.

A pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) will normally be a 25% tax-free payment of the chosen amount to you, designating the remaining 75% to be taken as taxable income as and when you wish to access it.

An uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) will pay both the 25% tax-free sum and 75% taxable income amounts to you at the same time, rather than designating an amount to provide a regular income.

If this is the first time you have accessed any pension benefits, please note that by taking income following a PCLS payment, or by taking a UFPLS payment, you will be considered to have 'flexibly accessed' your pension fund. This will affect your annual allowance, and you will need to notify your other pension providers that you have done so within 91 days.

Once you have designated income for drawdown, typically following a PCLS payment, you can manage withdrawals through your James Hay Online account. On the 'Income summary' page, you can view your previous and existing income payments, and make changes to the amount and frequency at any time.

Alternatively, you may be able to submit a completed 'Revised SIPP Income Instruction Form', available from our website. Please note that any changes to income will need to be requested early enough for us to apply the change in time for the next payment run. The payroll cut-off dates can also be found on our website.

You should also monitor your SIPP bank account at this time, as sufficient cash will need to be made available to make any payments to you. If the payment fails for this reason, we will continue to try to make the payment up until the next cut-off date, at which point the instruction will be removed from our systems.

The options and implications of taking money out of your pension are very complex, and should be given due consideration.

We strongly suggest that you do not take any action without advice from a regulated financial adviser. If you do not have one, you can call Unbiased on 0800 023 6868 or visit www.unbiased.co.uk to find financial advisers in your area.

The Pension Wise service also offers free and impartial guidance regarding pensions. You can call them on 0800 138 3944 or access them via the MoneyHelper website to book a free appointment.

MoneyHelper produce a brochure called 'Your pension: your choice', which outlines your options at retirement. This document can be found under the 'Taking money out' section of our literature pages, alongside 'Accessing your pension' and 'Scam-proof your savings' guides, which you should also read.

Please note that you cannot be forced into taking money out of your pension in order to settle outstanding debts. Should you have any concerns of this nature, you may wish to speak to Citizens Advice by calling their advice line on 03444 111 444 or by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

The remaining value of your pension (SIPP) can be passed to your beneficiaries through a number of options. You should take the opportunity to notify us of who you would like this to be if you haven’t already, by completing our Expression of Wish Form.  

Death benefits can either be paid to your nominated beneficiaries as a lump sum or kept within a pension in your name, to provide an income and benefit from continued investment in a tax efficient wrapper. Depending on the options you take there could be tax consequences. These should be discussed with a financial adviser before you proceed.

In simple terms, exactly the same as when the original client dies. The remaining value can be passed on to unlimited beneficiaries and generations until the value is fully eroded or taken by a beneficiary as a lump sum. The income tax liability will again depend on the age of the beneficiary when they pass away.

If you have a Modular iSIPP, you can set up a Modular ISA by following the steps below:

1. Log in to your James Hay Online account.

2. You'll have the option to complete an online product illustration to find out what the Modular ISA can offer you. If you wish to do this, click on the ‘Apply’ button.

3. To apply, go to the ‘Portfolio’ tab, and select ‘Apply for additional products’.

 We strongly recommend you speak to a regulated financial adviser before setting up an account to make sure you are aware of the risks and charges.

• Take control of your investments; decide where your investments go, at any time.
• Choose from 3,700 funds (with the Modular ISA) plus get access to stocks and shares through a stockbroker.
• Gives you the flexibility to make regular withdrawals as you continue to invest.

You can take out the Modular ISA if you are:

• over 18
• a resident in the UK
• not an undischarged bankrupt

The maximum amount you can pay into an ISA in the 2024/25 tax year is £20,000. This limit may be reviewed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and could change in the future. There is no minimum amount.

You can make regular or occasional payments at any time and you can vary the amount and frequency of your payments, as long as you do not exceed the HMRC maximum limits for tax free savings into an ISA account in any tax year.

Full details of our charges can be found here. You may also incur charges to other parties depending on the investments you select in addition to your financial adviser (if applicable). These charges can be paid out via your Modular ISA.

Our charges are normally deducted from the ISA Bank Account.

If an ISA account holder dies on or after 6 April 2018, the investments remain sheltered from tax as a ‘continuing account of a deceased investor’, until the earlier of:

• the completion of the administration of the deceased’s estate
• the closure of the ISA account, or
• the third anniversary of the ISA account holder’s death.

During this period, no new subscriptions can be made to the account, and it normally cannot be transferred to another ISA manager.

If this is your first James Hay ISA subscription, please send a completed ISA Subscription Form to James Hay Partnership, Suite 202, Warner House, 123 Castle Street, Salisbury, SP1 3TB. You can then transfer money to your ISA product bank account by using the bank details (including payment reference) available within your James Hay Online account.

If you also hold a Modular GIA or Wrap Investment Portfolio you can send us a request, via secure message or in writing, for money to be moved from these products to your ISA as a subscription. You must ensure there are sufficient funds available in the relevant product bank account in order to make the transfer.

If you want to make a regular subscription to your ISA, we can set up a Direct Debit if you also complete the mandate at the end of the above form.

Adding new money into your ISA is a straightforward process. Payments made into your ISA, known as subscriptions, are protected against capital gains and income tax while held within the product, and you can make withdrawals at any time.

Please note that each tax year (6 April - 5 April), there is a limit to the amount that you can subscribe to your ISA. For the 2024/25 tax year, the limit is £20,000.

In each tax year, you may subscribe to one cash ISA, one stocks and shares ISA and one innovative finance ISA. Your James Hay ISA is a stocks and shares ISA, as defined under ISA regulations.

You can split the amount you pay into each type of ISA, up to a total limit of £20,000. If you do not use your full allowance in any tax year, you cannot carry it forward.

James Hay ISAs are Stocks and Shares ISAs, as defined under regulation. You may also separately subscribe to a Cash ISA and an Innovative Finance ISA, however the annual subscription limit of £20,000 applies across all ISAs that you hold.

Please note that this limit is unaffected by withdrawals. Taking money out of an ISA does not free up any subscription allowance, and you can only pay this money back into an ISA if you have sufficient unused allowance for the current tax year.

Please send us a completed ISA Subscription Amendment Form if you wish to amend the amount, frequency or date of your current regular subscriptions, or if you wish to pause, cancel or reinstate these payments.

Please note, if you withdraw an amount from your ISA, you can only reinvest that amount back into an ISA if you have available unused subscription allowance for that tax year. Flexible ISAs are not available with James Hay though availability may change in the future.

You may transfer in an existing ISA at any time, provided the transfer is in accordance with ISA regulations. If you are transferring from another stocks and shares ISA, it must be a full transfer if it contains subscriptions from the current tax year.

A transfer can be made in cash or by re-registering assets, depending on your ISA manager's agreement. You should check with your existing ISA manager whether they will apply any charges for doing so.

To arrange the transfer of an existing ISA, please complete and submit the 'ISA Transfer Request Form', available from our website.

Through your James Hay ISA, you can invest in a range of options including direct shares through a stockbroker and funds held on our Investment Centre platform.

Please read the Permitted Investments List for your product, found on our Literature pages, for full details of your investment options.

You can use your James Hay product to invest in a range of options, including investment manager/stockbroker accounts, funds held on our Investment Centre platform and assets held directly.

Please read the Permitted Investments List for your product, found on our Literature pages, for full details of your investment options.

The GIA and Investment Portfolio are not tax-privileged products. Therefore the tax you pay, such as Capital Gains Tax (CGT), will depend on the type of investments that you hold and your personal circumstances.

At the end of each tax year, we will provide you with a consolidated tax certificate for you to use when doing your self-assessment tax return. To fully understand your personal tax situation, please speak to your financial adviser.

You can make withdrawals from your product at any time.

Single requests can be made by Secure Message sent through James Hay Online. You can also make regular withdrawals by completing a 'Regular Withdrawals Request Form' from the Literature pages of our website.