A real thickie when it comes to Pensions...help!

Petal_3

Hi all

I've taken the day off work to sort out various things...one of which is my pension.

I contracted out in the late 80's via my sis in law who worked for Allied Dunbar (now Zurich). Had a letter from Zurich this morning to say that I'm currently contracted out and advising me to reconsider. I called them this morning and the current value is £33,678.

Some years ago (late 80's- early 90's), an employer started a pension scheme with Abbey Life and made contributions for me (I made none) - I've completely lost track of this pension (have moved several times since etc).

I also have a personal pension with Std Life (but haven't made any contributions for a few years now and can't afford to make any in the near future either) - Value at March 2005 £6541

I'm 43 - didn't even think about pensions until mid-30's and not currently contributing to any pension.

How do I start to sort all this out? Is there anything I should be doing? Can I transfer funds? I guess I should call Abbey Life and see what they have?

I've been reading this forum this morning and, try as I might, all the pension speak sounds like another language and I just can't get my head round it!

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated....be gentle!

Thanks
x

dunstonh

You have a choice. If you know what you are doing, you could attempt it yourself. Alternatively you can get an IFA to sort it out for you.

If you are finding it hard to understand, then an IFA is probably the best option. Especially where transfers are concerned.

Petal_3

:rotfl: I think it's obvious I don't know what I'm doing :rotfl: Have just got in touch with Abbey Life and have to write to them as the details they hold are years old - then they'll write and let me know what's what.

What's the best way to find an IFA?

EdInvestor

Petal wrote:

Hi all
How do I start to sort all this out? Is there anything I should be doing?

Exactly what you're doing now.For someone who doesn't understand pensions, this is a very coherent post:) You've grasped a lot of the lingo already, well done.

Can I transfer funds?

Indeed so and this is probably what you will find it's best to do with the two old Zurich and Abbey pensions.

I guess I should call Abbey Life and see what they have?

Yes.Ask them to send you a full statement and also a transfer value. Also call Zurich and ask for a transfer value (I fear you might get a bit of a shock here, hope not, but be prepared.) In both cases ask what fund the money is invested in.

Regarding the Standard Life pension, what fund is this one invested in, do you know?Is it in the With-profits fund?

It will probably be sensible to transfer the other two into the Standard life one, which should be able to offer low charges and a good choice of funds.

Come back with some more info and then we'll run through the contracting out or in thing which is a separate issue.

Petal_3

Thanks! Well, I'm not really a thickie it's just when people talk pensions - I can see their lips moving but all I hear is blah blah blah - :rotfl:

Zurich = Managed AP 60%, Equity AP 10%, European AP 10%, Property AP 10% and US Equity AP 10% and is Protected Rights Benefits only - what does that mean in English?

Std Life = under "your investments" shows "Pension Managed One Fund" - I can't see any mention of "with profits" on any of the paperwork. I guess I need to call them.

x

dunstonh

It will probably be sensible to transfer the other two into the Standard life one, which should be able to offer low charges and a good choice of funds.

Some of the dunbar plans had heavy upfront charges but cheap annual managment charges. That could result in moving it from a cheap plan "ongoing" into a more expensive plan.

Standard Life are not the cheapest provider out there and lack fund based discounts present on other plans. The fund range of their personal pension is far better than the range on their stakeholder pension. If the fund is large enough, the SIPP could be better than both of these.

With respect to Ed, she has over simplified some of information. Yes, you can transfer easily enough. However, what if the retained benefits and/or charges are better on the old plans compared with the new.

The FSA issued guidence to advisors on this called OP18. Its a mini book on personal pension transfers on how and when to transfer. It cannot be summarised in a short post on this forum.

Petal_3

I knew it! I'm already

dunstonh

I dont want to make it sound over complicated as its not. Especially when you know what you are doing. However, you cannot assume that the old pensions are better or worse than modern plans without knowing any of the facts. None of us here know the facts.

Your zurich fund spread is very good for a tied agent sale. Apart from the managed fund, it isnt far off what you would be looking for on a normal portfolio. The SL managed fund is a single fund solution and we talked about that on another thread a few days ago. It isnt the ideal way to invest. Think of it as the lazy way to invest. Plonk your money there and be done with it.

A list of IFAs can be found at www.unbiased.co.uk . You can post code search to find local ones. It doesnt include any tied agents or multi-tied agents so you dont have to worry there. However, you should also avoid the regional/national salesforces (often spotted by having an 0800/0845 tel number or a national address instead of local). A local practice should be your aim as they rely on reputation and word of mouth to get business.

Petal_3

An IFA set up the SL pension for me and is quoted on all correspondence. He was the IFA of an ex and I never really "took" to him. Do I need to notify him of anything or will a new IFA take care of this?

dunstonh

Petal wrote:

An IFA set up the SL pension for me and is quoted on all correspondence. He was the IFA of an ex and I never really "took" to him. Do I need to notify him of anything or will a new IFA take care of this?

His fund recommendation is lazy and leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn't use him again. The new IFA can handle everything.

EdInvestor

Hi petal

When I said you could transfer the other pensions into the SL one, I didn't mean into the same fund (because at that point you hadn't mentioned what fund(s) the money was invested in anyway).

Rather unfortunately, it's in the managed fund, not the WP fund, and thus no windfall for you when Standard Life demutualises in the summer, pity.I was hoping there might be a pleasant surprise lurking in there for you.:(

I agree with DH that managed funds are in general not optimal.

But let's just get some info on the other pensions first, before making any decisions about IFAs or anything else, as it's easy (and free) to do this yourself.

The bottom line is you need to see how much you've actually accumulated in actual money here.

The way forward can vary depending on how much is in the kitty