A stakeholder pension is a low-cost pension which has to meet certain standards and conditions.
Pension providers cannot charge more than 1% of the value of the individuals fund each year for administering the pension.
It will also have to meet the same conditions as other personal pensions.
For some people a stakeholder pension may be a better option than other personal pensions. Stakeholder pensions offer greater flexibility than other personal pensions, for example, you can stop paying into the scheme without having to pay a penalty and restart whenever you wish. You may also be able to vary the timing and amount of your payments to the scheme.
Stakeholder pensions are available from personal pension providers, for example, insurance companies, banks and building societies. Other organisations, for example, trade unions and the Post Office may also offer stakeholder pension schemes to their members. If you are employed, you may be able to get a stakeholder pension through your employer.
You can also choose to join a different stakeholder pension scheme to the one offered by your employer.