Royal London pension charges: a Pension Portfolio personal pension has a 1% basic charge less a tiered discount, so 0.75% to 0.35%. Workplace schemes vary.
There is no single Royal London charge, because the figure belongs to the type of plan. Before you take money out, Pension Wise is "a government service from MoneyHelper that offers free, impartial pensions guidance". An FCA-authorised adviser can read your Royal London paperwork alongside your other pensions; asking is done on our form on this page and costs nothing.
Three documents, three kinds of figure
Royal London's own material puts its charges in different places depending on the plan. A workplace pension has a costs and charges page with a downloadable spreadsheet. A personal pension, which Royal London calls Pension Portfolio, has its charge in guides written for advisers, because Royal London says it chooses "to distribute our personal pension products through financial advisers". Drawdown, which it calls Income Release, has a customer guide, and fund-level charges have their own summary.
Figures below carry a print code or the date read, and Royal London reviews charges regularly. The wider picture is in pension charges and fees; the products themselves are in Royal London pension plans; the cost of leaving is in pension transfer fees. Scottish Widows, Legal & General and Aviva set their charges out differently.
The Pension Portfolio charge, one formula and five tiers
The Pension Portfolio technical guide (print code 65G2034/28, April 2026), like the second guide quoted below, is marked for financial adviser use only, so your plan documents or adviser confirm what applies to you. It says "Every plan has a management charge", covering "the costs of setting up our investment options, ongoing administration and investment management". It then builds that charge from parts:
- the basic charge, "1% a year", which "is built into the fund price and is deducted on a daily basis";
- less a management charge discount that grows with the value held;
- plus an additional investment charge, where it applies;
- plus or minus an adviser adjustment, where one applies.
The discount is tiered "so the overall charge reduces as the value of investments in all associated products (such as Pension Portfolio and Royal London Stocks and Shares ISA) grows". The guide's table reads:
| Value of investments | Basic charge | Discount | Annual management charge, including discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 - £48,300 | 1.00% | 0.25% | 0.75% |
| £48,301 - £96,700 | 1.00% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| £96,701 - £290,000 | 1.00% | 0.55% | 0.45% |
| £290,001 - £967,000 | 1.00% | 0.60% | 0.40% |
| £967,001+ | 1.00% | 0.65% | 0.35% |
Two conditions come with it. Band edges are not fixed: "Discount levels increase every year on 6 April in line with RPI and will apply on the first plan anniversary after that date." And the guide does not say whether a band's rate applies to the whole pot or only to the slice inside the band, so that question goes to Royal London or to your adviser.
Our own arithmetic, not a Royal London figure: a £40,000 pot sits wholly in the first band, so either way 0.75% comes to £300 a year, assuming it is all in Royal London's own funds, with no adviser charge or adjustment and unchanged value and rates. Above £48,300 the pounds depend on how the bands are applied, which Royal London can confirm, or an adviser can explain free if you fill in the form.
A second adviser guide (GPPPD0001/20, April 2026) adds that when a new Pension Portfolio and a Stocks and Shares ISA are taken out together, "the combined value of your clients' pension and ISA will be used to calculate the management charge discount". That applies to a Pension Portfolio started on or after 2 December 2024; for one started between 6 April 2009 and 1 December 2024 the combined value sets the ISA's discount, but "the Pension Portfolio AMC will be unchanged". On the adviser adjustment, the technical guide says terms agreed with an adviser "can reduce or increase the management charge".
What an external fund can add
The fund range summary (L5PD0005/02, fund information correct as at April 2026) says "The basic management charge for our external funds is 1% a year. An additional management charge applies to the majority of the external funds." It adds that these extra charges "are added to the annual management charge for your plan". Three rows, as printed:
| Fund | Additional fund management charge | Investment expenses | Total expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| RLS/BlackRock Long Gilt Index | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1.00% |
| RLS/Fidelity Strategic Bond | 0.35% | 0.12% | 1.47% |
| RLS UK Equity Specialist (Baillie Gifford UK Equity Alpha) | 0.50% | 0.00% | 1.50% |
The summary describes investment expenses as "the typical costs incurred by the investment management company", outside Royal London's control and able to "vary from year to year". Each total expense ratio is the 1% basic charge plus the other two columns and leaves out the cost of the fund buying and selling its holdings. On the same assumptions as above, £40,000 wholly in the Fidelity fund would pay (0.75% + 0.35%) x £40,000 = £440 a year, plus £48 of investment expenses (0.12%). Switching funds is covered in changing your Royal London pension fund; the technical guide says Pension Portfolio clients can "switch between the funds without charge".
Workplace schemes: find your row in the spreadsheet
The workplace costs and charges page says it shows what "applied to all of Royal London's workplace pension schemes in 2025", for "the default investment(s) for representative members". It separates administration charges, which "are decided by Royal London", from transaction costs, which "are not directly within Royal London's control". The charges sit in a spreadsheet, searched by employer name or scheme number. Royal London's workplace page names three scheme types: a Group Personal Pension (GPP), a Group Stakeholder Pension (SHR) and a trust-run Company Pension Plan, and says "your employer will be able to tell you which type you have".
Rows differ by scheme. These four, read from the spreadsheet's cells, are our picks, not an average.
| Tab and scheme number | Default investment | Charge on regular contributions | Transaction costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| RS GPP, 43586 cat 0 | RLP Adventurous Managed 100% | 0.75% | 0.09% |
| RS GPP, 40971 cat 0 | a six-fund mix, including RLP American 20% and RLP Property 20% | 1.00% | 0.16% |
| RS SHR, 50003 cat 0 | Balanced Lifestyle Strategy (Drawdown) | 0.75% | 0.05% to 0.09% |
| RS SHR, 50006 cat 0 | RLP Managed 100% | 1.00% | 0.09% |
Royal London's own pages say that charges "can vary depending on your scheme and investments" and that figures personal to you are in "your yearly statement". Whatever your row shows, an FCA-authorised adviser can set it beside your other pensions; give the scheme's name where our form on this page asks about your pensions.
The 0.75% cap on automatic-enrolment default funds sits in SI 2015/879 regulation 6 for trust-based schemes and, for a qualifying workplace personal pension using only an accrued rights charge, in the FCA's COBS 19.6.6R. Whether your scheme is a qualifying one, and so held to the cap, is not shown in the spreadsheet; your employer can tell you. See auto-enrolment explained.
Income Release: charges before and during drawdown
The Income Release guide (65B11/26, January 2026) says "no additional charges apply for using this functionality". The plan still carries a management charge "for setting up and servicing your plan", which "includes money in both the Savings Account and Income Release Account". The retirement options guide (BRPP10001/8, September 2025) says that for money left invested, "Charges will continue to be deducted and could reduce your fund value". The value of investments can fall as well as rise, so a drawdown pot may be worth less than was paid in. The guide says a Charges summary is "available on request", your Plan certificate gives the breakdown, and an agreed adviser charge can be deducted from the plan if you ask. How drawdown works is in the drawdown guide.
ProfitShare as Royal London describes it
Royal London says it will "aim to boost your pension and Stocks and Shares ISA by adding a share of our profits to your plan each year", though it "can't guarantee" an award every year. The award is "based on the value of the pension and stocks and shares ISA you've got invested with us on the date it's awarded", applied as at 1 April, for pension plans taken out since 1 July 2001. For an occupational scheme, eligibility "is based on the date your scheme began". Some contracts are excluded.
Royal London pension charges: questions people ask
What is the Royal London annual management charge?
For Pension Portfolio, the April 2026 technical guide prints 0.75% to 0.35% by value held, before any additional fund charge. For workplace schemes it is set scheme by scheme, so the spreadsheet row or your statement is the answer.
Is there a Royal London large fund discount?
The Pension Portfolio guide describes a tiered discount that grows with the value held, with pension and Stocks and Shares ISA values counted together for newer plans. For a workplace or older plan, your statement or Royal London can say.
Where do I see the charges on my own plan?
Royal London points to your yearly statement for workplace plans and to your Plan certificate on Income Release.
Does Royal London have a pension fees calculator?
Royal London describes its pension calculators as showing "how much you could get when you retire". For charges, the tier table above and your own statement are the places to look.
Your next step
Charges are one part of whether a pension fits, beside funds, guarantees and tax. An FCA-authorised adviser will phone to talk it through, free, once you note on the form on this page which Royal London plan you hold.
Sources, read 19 October 2026: Royal London workplace pensions, personal pensions, costs and charges, ProfitShare and manage-your-pension web pages; workplace costs and charges spreadsheet; Pension Portfolio technical guide (65G2034/28); A closer look at Pension Portfolio (GPPPD0001/20); fund range summary (L5PD0005/02); Income Release guide (65B11/26); retirement options guide (BRPP10001/8); SI 2015/879 regulation 6; FCA Handbook COBS 19.6. Royal London's figures can change.