3 Pensions and no idea what to do with them

quiche4

Please help me.

I dont have a clue about pensions but i know i have 3.

I had one from about 6 years ago that is stuck doing nothing (im not paying into it). It with Equitable Life or what used to be them.

The other one is with Scottish Equitable which i am also not paying into anymore so is sat doing nothing. This one was from about 5 years ago.

the one i am paying into is a work one which is i think Government led. I work for Local Government so that is a guess.

Whats the best thing i could do with them??????

Please help i want to get the best i can out of these things hee hee.

Q
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:xmastree: :xmassign: :xmastree:

EdInvestor

Hi quiche4

For a start, the one you've got now is one of the best in the UK, so just sit tight with that one, no worries.

Can you give us a bit more info about the other 2?

About how much in each?
What fund(s) is the money invested in?
Were these both personal pensions, or related to your former company(s)?
How old are you, and when do you plan to retire?

quiche4

The equitable life pension is a with profits personal pension plan. The last statement i have is actually 2002 so will have to chase them for an updated one. The figures on this one are

Notional value of guaranteed benefits as at 31 dec 2002 £2890.14
Transfer value as at 31 dec 2002 £2100.37

It also mentions a Protected rights investment included in figures above
with profits value as at 31 dec 2002 £2629.75
Trf as at 31 dec 2002 £1896.46

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The Scottish equitable one is a stakeholder pension of which i have no figures. I was paying just over £20 a month at the time but stopped due to leaving the company. The pension i think still exists but isnt doing anything. I will contact them to get an up to date statement.

Both were work pensions.

I am 29 turning the dreaded 30 next year and although would love to retire tomorrow will probably realistically be retiring after 60 due to lack of funds.

Let me know if you need any more info.

Q :xmassign:

EdInvestor

Now is definitely a good time to move the Equitable pension, because the MVA exit penalty has gone down to 8%, the first time it's been in single digits for years.So your timing is definitely good.

The obvious thing to do might be to move the money to your Scot Equit stakeholder, but I've just had a look at the fund selection available and frankly it's not very inspiring. So since you have a stakeholder with them there won't be a transfer penalty, so perhaps worth considering moving both to a new one.

To reduce charges, it's best to use a discount IFA to do this and www.cavendishonline.co.uk seems to have a good reputation and is recommended by Martin. Their pensions section has a selection of stakeholders to choose from which might be worth a look.

Two things to look for: low charges, and funds which perform well.I would suggest you avoid With-profits funds from now on BTW, they are no longer good performers.

quiche4

EdInvester

Thank you very much for your input. I may call on you for some more advice in the future if thats ok.

Thanks again

Q
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