Zurich to Scottish Equitable

g999

My advisor wants to move my personal pension fund from Zurich (which I been paying into since 1998) to Scottish Equitable as he says that the lower charges they have will result in a bigger retirement fund.

Is this likely to be the case or is he just looking for a new commsion?

dunstonh

If the charges are lower then that is great justification as he is saving you money.

You cant just transfer pensions willy nilly. You have to have evidence that justifies it. Your adviser would have done a transfer analysis and this will show that the difference in charges. You should be made aware of this difference. usually its in the form of comparing the projections on the old pension against the new one using the same growth rates. The difference is effectively the saving in charges.

You should ask to see that or read the report he has issued (or will issue) that explains the justifications.

That said, many Zurich plans have no annual managment charges so in those cases they cannot be justified. Although they tend to have high contribution charges. So, its usually better to stop paying into them (if you still are) and redirect the premiums to a new plan. However, the transfer analysis should cover all this.

Basically, if no figures are available to you then dont do it, and be sceptical. If the figures are available and show a saving then go for it.

If you are cynical over commission then dont work on commission basis. Pay a fee instead.