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Scottish Widows are closing my pension fund - Options?
TheDoc1974
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hi,
I have a Stakeholder Pension fund with Scottish Widows who have informed me recently that they are closing all such funds on November 15th 2017.
The information that they have given me tells me that they will automatically move my investment into what they openly admit is a poor choice unless I go for one of their other options, none of which appear to be a viable, good option.
There is no detail on charges for moving to another provider, which I am sure they are trying to avoid mention of. Nor is there any detail of my legal rights concerning this fund closure. I was under the impression when I was sold the product that it was a lifelong investment into this "Safety Plus Fund". It appears not, as they are changing the contract I had with them, or so it seems.
Any ideas from legal beagles or financial experts on what my rights are in this kind of situation, please? I certainly feel like Scottish Widows are pulling down my pants here.
I would like to move my pension to a provider that won't treat their customers like this, or even better, as my contract is being changed without my permission, can I access the funds before the age of 55? (I am 43 at present).
Thanks in advance.
Doc
I have a Stakeholder Pension fund with Scottish Widows who have informed me recently that they are closing all such funds on November 15th 2017.
The information that they have given me tells me that they will automatically move my investment into what they openly admit is a poor choice unless I go for one of their other options, none of which appear to be a viable, good option.
There is no detail on charges for moving to another provider, which I am sure they are trying to avoid mention of. Nor is there any detail of my legal rights concerning this fund closure. I was under the impression when I was sold the product that it was a lifelong investment into this "Safety Plus Fund". It appears not, as they are changing the contract I had with them, or so it seems.
Any ideas from legal beagles or financial experts on what my rights are in this kind of situation, please? I certainly feel like Scottish Widows are pulling down my pants here.
I would like to move my pension to a provider that won't treat their customers like this, or even better, as my contract is being changed without my permission, can I access the funds before the age of 55? (I am 43 at present).
Thanks in advance.
Doc
0
Comments
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Hi
Your contract isn't being changed, the contract you signed allows this change, so there is absolutely no prospect of you being allowed to access the funds.
If you were under the impression that your were invested 'for life' in Safety Plus, or any fund, you were mistaken. All stakeholder pensions expected investors to switch between funds (or select a pre-defined Lifestyling fund/portfolio, which Safety Plus isn't), so you will have been told about the ability to switch; the ability for Funds to be terminated probably won't have been explained you to you, but it exists. See http://reference.scottishwidows.co.uk/literature/doc/oeic-uk-pr
You can move to another provider, but you will have to pay any fees that the contract allows Scottish Widows to charge.
The Safety Plus fund has performed poorly; virtually every other Scottish Widows fund has performed better than Safety Plus. What fund are they proposing to move you to?The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.0 -
The information that they have given me tells me that they will automatically move my investment into what they openly admit is a poor choice unless I go for one of their other options, none of which appear to be a viable, good option.
You dont invest in a stakeholder pension to get variety of choice. They are a simple option with a handful of simple funds. The alternatives are no worse than the fund that is closing.
They wouldnt know what other providers may or may not charge. Only what they charge. And as its a stakeholder, there wont be any charge. Any choice you make to change provider is yours and has nothing to do with SWThere is no detail on charges for moving to another provider, which I am sure they are trying to avoid mention of.Nor is there any detail of my legal rights concerning this fund closure.
My undestanding its a closure of an old Lloyds Bank fund that was useless when it was launched and has remained useless most of its life. Providers are allowed to close funds.I certainly feel like Scottish Widows are pulling down my pants here.
As this is a good thing, I guess you like having your pants pulled down
I would like to move my pension to a provider that won't treat their customers like this
This action is possible with every provider from the ones that offer a small number of funds to those that offer whole of market funds.or even better, as my contract is being changed without my permission, can I access the funds before the age of 55? (I am 43 at present).
The contract is not changing. All that is changing is a particularly naff fund is being pulled. Over the years, providers pull funds and they add new funds. All quite normal and nothing to get melodramatic over.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 -
There are other stakeholder pensions.http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1583864/Best-savings-rates-Isas-Cash-Isa-accounts-fixed-rate-Isas.html
https://www.legalandgeneral.com/pensions-retirement/stakeholder-pensions/
https://www.standardlife.co.uk/c1/accounts-and-services/pensions/stakeholder-pension-features.page
Does your employer offer a pension? A transfer in might be possible.0
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