Thoughts on Standard Life

Lily1
Lily1 Posts: 190 Forumite
in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning
The more we read the more confusing pensions become. Think we have found a reasonable firm to handle the pension transfer and now must decide who to place our pot with for the drawdown element. We are thinking about using Standard Life and wondered if anyone with more experience could point out any pros and cons? Any input would really be appreciated.
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Comments

  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,338 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    As you have obtained the advice of a Pension Transfer Specialist concerning the transfer out of the British Steel DB pension, surely you have also received advice concerning a new provider?
  • HappyHarry
    HappyHarry Posts: 1,576 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    edited 11 October 2017 at 9:45AM
    Lily1 wrote: »
    The more we read the more confusing pensions become. Think we have found a reasonable firm to handle the pension transfer and now must decide who to place our pot with for the drawdown element. We are thinking about using Standard Life and wondered if anyone with more experience could point out any pros and cons? Any input would really be appreciated.

    Your adviser should give you suitable recommendations on where to invest your transferred pension, taking into account your personal circumstances. That is their key job. What has your adviser recommended?

    ** Edit - crossed with xylophone above.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser. Any comments I make here are intended for information / discussion only. Nothing I post here should be construed as advice. If you are looking for individual financial advice, please contact a local Independent Financial Adviser.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,301 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    We are thinking about using Standard Life

    Which one? Standard Life have 5 different types of pension available IIRC.
    wondered if anyone with more experience could point out any pros and cons?

    Not really possible without knowing which version you are looking at.

    However, as the others have said above, why are you doing this and not your adviser?
    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.
  • Lily1
    Lily1 Posts: 190 Forumite
    Possibly choosing Standard Life Active Retirement.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,301 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    Lily1 wrote: »
    Possibly choosing Standard Life Active Retirement.

    Not one I would use but if you think its the best option then fair enough.

    Is this one you have found or is this what the adviser is recommending? Seems a strange choice for an adviser to recommend (unless they work for Standard Life).

    Its basic. Basic is not necessarily bad if you need something simple but there are better simple options and lower cost simple options.

    This version of a cash cow for Std Life to pick up people who dont know what they are doing and earning money off them. It will do the job and there is nothing wrong with it. But there are plenty of better options.

    Is this what you have looked up on the internet or is this what an adviser has recommended? (if adviser, is it an IFA or a rep of standard life)
    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.
  • Lily1
    Lily1 Posts: 190 Forumite
    Just our research so far. One IFA suggested an investment portfolio, using A J Bell. Fees were over £6k annually. The initial transfer was £10k. Thought we could do some research ourselves but feel it is made more difficult to understand than necessary.
  • sandsy
    sandsy Posts: 1,719 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Lily1 wrote: »
    The more we read the more confusing pensions become. Think we have found a reasonable firm to handle the pension transfer and now must decide who to place our pot with for the drawdown element. We are thinking about using Standard Life and wondered if anyone with more experience could point out any pros and cons? Any input would really be appreciated.

    You should be advised which company to transfer to. And the transfer advice must take into account the details of the scheme and the investments you're being advised to go into, and the charges associated with all of that.
  • bigadaj
    bigadaj Posts: 11,531 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Lily1 wrote: »
    Just our research so far. One IFA suggested an investment portfolio, using A J Bell. Fees were over £6k annually. The initial transfer was £10k. Thought we could do some research ourselves but feel it is made more difficult to understand than necessary.

    There's no reason why you can't transfer into the advisers recommended provider and subsequently transfer again at a later point, to soemthing which might be considered better and or lower cost.

    The numbers look large but you are talking about a relatively huge sum of money that you're transferring, whilst diy isn't difficult, then any errors on sums that large can make the fees look small.

    Ultimately it's your choice to move at the end of the day, not moving might be considered safer but potentially less lucrative.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,338 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    You have actually found a Pension Transfer Specialist?
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,301 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    There's no reason why you can't transfer into the advisers recommended provider and subsequently transfer again at a later point, to soemthing which might be considered better and or lower cost.

    And the found standard life option is not lower cost than what the IFA can arrange.

    Another option is to give the IFA the instruction that you don't care about the investments and want a basic low cost option. Whilst FA's may restrict their choice, IFAs cannot. So, if the instruction is given by the client then the IFA has to follow it as long as its not bad advice. In that scenario, you would expect something like a PPP using insured funds at 0.4% or thereabouts.
    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.
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