1988 personnal pension what to do

dogbar

Hi everyone i am a newbie but have been watching for some time, i would be grateful for your opions please.
I have a personnel pension that was taken out with the Pru in 1988 with a monthly payment of £75, which i am still paying, now i know this amount isn't enough to give me a decent pension (48 now).but its all i can afford. Now i know i should have done something about this before hand and have foolishly over looked it.
But what should i know, would a stakeholder be the best bet? any comments would be grateful.
thanks Bill

McKneff

does the company you work for have a pension scheme, these are always the best.

dogbar

Hi Yes they do have a pension but i'm not in it, :eek:
as a further note i have been fully enployed throughout the time i have had my personnal pension, including a 9 year period of self employment.
thanks

jem16

dogbar wrote: »

Hi Yes they do have a pension but i'm not in it, :eek:

Why not? Does your company contribute to the pension?

as a further note i have been fully enployed throughout the time i have had my personnal pension, including a 9 year period of self employment.

Your employed time will have been earning some entitlement to the state second pension (assuming you haven't contracted out) but your period of self-employment won't.

dogbar

Yes they do, but no one could give me any info as to how or if it would affect my personnal pension, so i left it.

My self employment ended in 2000 and i contracted out in 2007 as it was advised by the Pru.

McKneff

It wouldnt affect your personal pension at all. You freeze that one or
take advice about adding it to your company pension scheme.

Ask again if you can join the company pension scheme. Normally the company contributes to your pension too. Its free money and as good as a pay rise with no tax to pay.
I pay 4% into mine and the company put in 10%, thats worth a lot of money over a year.

jem16

dogbar wrote: »

My self employment ended in 2000 and i contracted out in 2007 as it was advised by the Pru.

That doesn't sound like good advice from the pru. For a female over 40 it's best to be contracted in.

What kind of company pension is it?

dunstonh

That doesn't sound like good advice from the pru. For a female over 40 it's best to be contracted in.

I doubt that is correct. Pru haven't operated a salesforce for over 5 years now so it wouldnt have been possible for them to give advice in 2007. Its possibly a misunderstanding by the OP.

no one could give me any info as to how or if it would affect my personnal pen

Pru couldnt as they wouldnt be allowed to as that is an advice question and they have no advisers. Your employer wouldnt for much the same reason unless it was a proper occupational scheme where generic advice is possible (although some pension administrators avoid it due to fears of being sued).

dogbar

dunstonh wrote: »

I doubt that is correct. Pru haven't operated a salesforce for over 5 years now so it wouldnt have been possible for them to give advice in 2007. Its possibly a misunderstanding by the OP.


thats right but they still recommended to opt out in their corresponence.

Thanks for the tips on work pension i will look into this further, at the moment i'm more concerned with what to do with my personnal pension and the fact that charges are probably eating away at it
thanks

EdInvestor

Is the PP invested in the With Profits fund?If so does it have a guaranteed annuity rate attached? If you moved it now would it attract an MVA transfer penalty?

dunstonh

thats right but they still recommended to opt out in their corresponence.

I very much doubt it as their correspondance is neutral and they make no recommendations of any sort.

They would be getting into trouble if they were giving recommendations that way. You must have misread it as they have no licence to make recommendations whether its over the phone, face to face or in writing. In the case of contracting out, you tend to find the insurance companies go out of their way to distance themselves from any decision making on that front and I cannot think of any neutral text that they would print which would have seen you told to contract out at age 47. (typically 40-45 is the last point and the FSA really consider anyone contracting out over those ages as a mis-sale unless good reason or they DIY).

i'm more concerned with what to do with my personnal pension and the fact that charges are probably eating away at it

Cant see that been an issue with most Pru plans.