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Cash interest explained |
You will receive interest on balances in your platform cash account at the prevailing rate.
Embark Investment Services Limited acts as the custodian for investments on the Willis Owen platform and is one of our strategic partners that provides our Willis Owen ISA, GIA, Junior ISA and SIPP.
Embark places cash with a number of banking partners for safekeeping and to provide the potential for you to earn interest on money in your platform cash account. By managing cash in this way, it aims to provide better protection and a higher overall level of interest than if all funds were placed with a single bank.
The rates of interest paid by banks will vary. Embark retains a portion of the interest earned to cover its costs in managing platform cash.
Current Interest Rate
The table below shows the current customer interest rate payable on cash balances along with the amount of interest retained by Embark. The customer interest rate shown is that after accounting for interest retained by Embark:
| Date From | Customer Interest Rate | Interest retained by Embark |
|---|---|---|
| 25th March 2024 | 2.46% | 1.75% - 2.00% |
Embark can change the rate of interest at any time and it reviews the position at least quarterly. Interest is calculated and accrued daily and is credited to your account on the first of each month. If you transfer out, accrued interest is applied at the point of transfer. We will inform you if and when the interest rate changes as soon as is practicable.
Interest retained
The table below shows the yearly equivalent rates of interest Embark expects to pay based on a range of possible yearly interest rates it may earn.
| Interest Embark expects to earn | Customer Interest Rate | Interest retained by Embark |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1% | 0 – 0.46% | 0 – 0.54% |
| 1-2% | 0.46% – 0.94% | 0.54% – 1.06% |
| 2-3% | 0.94% – 1.46% | 1.06% – 1.54% |
| 3-4% | 1.46% – 2.02% | 1.54% – 1.98% |
| 4-5% | 2.02% – 2.61% | 1.98% – 2.39% |
| 5%+ | 2.61%+ | 2.39%+ |
Historic Interest Rates
To see details of historic customer interest rates, along with the amount of interest retained by Embark, click here.
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A tax efficient way to save for retirement |
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Get started with as little as a £25 contribution |
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View your portfolio 24/7 on our easy to use and secure platform |
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A wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and ETFs |
The customer service provided was fabulous. Very professional, helpful and polite.
| | You want to build your pension pot tax-efficiently. |
| | You’re comfortable with the risk involved. |
| | You want the flexibility to choose between a wide range of investment options. |
| | You want to transfer-in monies from a defined benefit pension scheme. |
| | You want your employer to make contributions into your SIPP. |
| | You know you’ll want to be able to access your money before age 55 (currently). |
A SIPP, or Self Invested Personal Pension, is a tax-efficient pension scheme designed to help you grow your retirement pot, with the aim of providing you with an income in retirement. You can choose from a wide range of funds, investment trusts, shares and exchanged traded funds (ETFs). We also offer a standard pension investment option for those who either aren't confident or who don't wish to search for and choose their own investment option.
One of its main features is that you can get tax relief on your contributions. How much you get will depend on the level of your income. We reclaim basic rate tax relief (currently 20%) on your contributions and automatically add this to your SIPP. If you pay tax at higher than the UK basic rate, you can claim additional tax relief from HM Revenue & Customs, reducing your tax bill for the year.
The investments in your SIPP grow free of income and capital gains taxes. When you come to take your money out you can usually take out 25% of your pension pot tax-free, with anything else you take out being taxed at your marginal rate of income tax. When you come to take benefits, you can take one-off or regular payments directly from your SIPP or you can use all or part of it to buy an income for life (an annuity). The minimum age at which you can access the money in your SIPP is currently 55 and is expected to increase to 57 in 2028.
You can start investing from as little as £25, either as a lump sum or regularly. You can also transfer-in funds from your other pensions. There are limits to the amount that you can pay into pensions each year, while still benefitting from tax breaks. Most can put up to £60,000 into a pension in each tax year providing your contributions don’t exceed your earned income. The annual allowance of £60,000 can be lower for those with very high levels of income or if you’ve already taken money out of one or more of your pension pots. In some cases, you can carry forward unused allowances from previous years. The Willis Owen SIPP does not currently accept contributions from employers.
Up until 6th April 2023 there were limits on the amount you could build up in pensions overall without suffering an extra charge. This is called the lifetime allowance and it’s currently £1.073 million. The government has however confirmed that, from 6th April 2023 the tax charges for breaching the lifetime allowance are being removed and that, in due course, the allowance will be scrapped completely.
When investing you will pay a Willis Owen service fee as well as investment charges. If you invest in more specialist things like shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds, you may also pay trade fees and government levies. Further details of all costs and charges can be found below and include VAT where applicable. When looking at the fees that other firms charge, you may notice that some don’t appear in our tariff. This means we don’t charge you these fees.
You can get an idea of how much you might pay in fees by using the ‘Charges estimator’.
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A tax efficient way to save for retirement |
|
|
Get started with as little as a £25 contribution |
|
|
View your portfolio 24/7 on our easy to use and secure platform |
|
|
A wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and ETFs |
The customer service provided was fabulous. Very professional, helpful and polite.
|
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