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seeking pension advice
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Desperate_Housewife_2-2
Posts: 1,787 Forumite
I wonder if anyone can help?
I worked for the NHS for around 20 years and also contributed towards AVCs for part of the time but no longer work for them so I froze the pension. When I left to have children I recognised that I needed some sort of pension provision so I took out a virgin money stakeholder and paid in what I could. I have paid in approx £6k and it is now worth £12k. I have also started paying into a stocks and shares ISA (£35pm) as part of retirement planning too.
I work for an agency so the work is all or nothing, can't rely on it and so budget to live on hubbys salary. Mortgage is £40k, no other debts. I save for kids (each have about £2k and a bond worth £3k to share) for when they go to higher ed. When I earn money I bung it all on the mortgage to try and get it down.
I get the feeling that the virgin pension is frowned upon and wonder if I should start one up elsewher. I looked on unbiased.com but it all seemed so intimidating and I don't know how the advisors will charge a fee. I don't mind paying for advice but I feel like I am going to get swallowed up by a load of sharks!
I am 42
Please help!
Thank you DH
I worked for the NHS for around 20 years and also contributed towards AVCs for part of the time but no longer work for them so I froze the pension. When I left to have children I recognised that I needed some sort of pension provision so I took out a virgin money stakeholder and paid in what I could. I have paid in approx £6k and it is now worth £12k. I have also started paying into a stocks and shares ISA (£35pm) as part of retirement planning too.
I work for an agency so the work is all or nothing, can't rely on it and so budget to live on hubbys salary. Mortgage is £40k, no other debts. I save for kids (each have about £2k and a bond worth £3k to share) for when they go to higher ed. When I earn money I bung it all on the mortgage to try and get it down.
I get the feeling that the virgin pension is frowned upon and wonder if I should start one up elsewher. I looked on unbiased.com but it all seemed so intimidating and I don't know how the advisors will charge a fee. I don't mind paying for advice but I feel like I am going to get swallowed up by a load of sharks!
I am 42
Please help!
Thank you DH
Save £12k in 2012 no.49 £10,250/£12,000
Save £12k in 2013 no.34 £11,800/£12,000
'How much can you save' thread = £7,050
Total=£29,100
Mfi3 no. 88: Balance Jan '06 = £63,000. :mad:
Balance 23.11.09 = £nil.
Save £12k in 2013 no.34 £11,800/£12,000
'How much can you save' thread = £7,050
Total=£29,100
Mfi3 no. 88: Balance Jan '06 = £63,000. :mad:
Balance 23.11.09 = £nil.
0
Comments
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I get the feeling that the virgin pension is frowned upon and wonder if I should start one up elsewher.
Its rubbish. For what you pay and what you get, it probably has to be one of the worst stakeholder pensions out there.I looked on unbiased.com but it all seemed so intimidating and I don't know how the advisors will charge a fee.
Unless you ask, you wont know.I don't mind paying for advice but I feel like I am going to get swallowed up by a load of sharks!
Most advisers are perfectly fine and will give you quality advice. Over 80% of advisers currently authorised have not had a complaint (source: FOS) and IFAs account for a minority of all complaints received. Just avoid national and regional salesforces (you should never buy from a salesforce. Sales targets and high staff turnover do not mix well with qualify advice).
For reference, your Virgin pension charges the same as an adviser taking commission instead of a fee. So, if you went commission, you would be no worse off than you are currently.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Thanks Dunstonh, now, another question for you if you would be so kind...I have contacted an local IFA via unbiased.co.uk and had a chat over the blower, made an appointment for next week to discuss pensions and do an overall financial review. Could you give me a list of questions (or maybe a link) to ask so I don't miss anything. You have convinced me about the need to look at this virgin pension and sort out a better one so thanks for that, just want to make sure I don't jump out of the frying pan into the fire!
Many thanks in advance DHSave £12k in 2012 no.49 £10,250/£12,000
Save £12k in 2013 no.34 £11,800/£12,000
'How much can you save' thread = £7,050
Total=£29,100
Mfi3 no. 88: Balance Jan '06 = £63,000. :mad:
Balance 23.11.09 = £nil.0 -
i just posted on another thread something similar
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=5202565#post5202565
There isnt a lot to ask at this stage but listen to what is said. Forget stakeholder/personal pension etc. What you have is an investment to fund towards your retirement. The focus should be on how it is invested, what your risk attitude is to investments and what should be used to get you there. After that is when things like stakeholder, personal pension and SIPP get considered. Ask them what sort of investment strategy would they use.
If the inital focus is more on product provider and not the investment content, then I would have concerns. If the recommendation is a standard life SIPP, I would have concerns. Whilst the SL SIPP when used well can be a good product, it also allows for some abuse by building in massive charges which can often be totally unreasonable.
So remember a pension is an investment and should be treated like any other investment. If you had £12k in your bank and investing it you would want to know where and how its invested. However, for some reason with pensions, people seem to ignore the investment side.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0
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