Should I transfer a private pension into company one

Nickynoo1

Hi.

Having knowing nothing about pensiond i thought I'd try here for some help.

I have an existing private pension with Lincoln and thought about transferring into my new LGPS 9local government pension scheme).

Lincoln have given me a transfer value of £12342.29 which is currently invested in

Bal Man 3 pen @ 236.28 units
European pension @ 981.58 units
North AmericanPen @ 187 units

Not sure if the above means anything to anyone, but I'm assuming this acts like shares, and this is where investment has been since started pension.

The LGPS is a final salary scheme, and they say i would gain an additional 4yrs 130 days service credit by transferring. The additional annual pension would be £782 and Add lump sum £2346.45. ( based on final salary being £14,364, which is current salary)

Now i will probably go part time next year ( expecting baby) and I'm sure I will probably not be working there by the time I retire.

Not really sure which bits i should compare. Initiall thought about transferring to reduce risk, share prices etc. But now worried i could lose out if i do transfer.

I know it's a bit of a long post but if anyone can help i'd be grateful.

Nickynoo1

wattapain

Hi there, i'm surprised that no-one has replied to this, and I'm no expert believe me, but I would have thought that ransferring a private into a company schem ( esp anything to do with local government!!) has to be a very good idea.
yo say you have been quoted another 4+ years - well I would certainly say go for it as final salary schemes are a dying breed and the LG one is one of the best. And it's only gonna get better as your salary increases over the years - how long are you gonna be paying into it?
Go for it
Terri

Nickynoo1

Thanks for your reply.

It's really hard to say how long i will be paying into LG pension. Not really sure how long i wwill be there. With a first baby on the way it's really impossible to say what will hapen in the next 12 months let alone 5 years. I imagine i will go back part time next year but cant reaaly say hpw long for until i'm there.

If i thought i would be there for the next ten years then it could be good to transfer. But on the other hand the current funds haven't been great of late but are now picking up and seem to be doing better. Oh it's so hard to know what to do for the best!!

Nickynoo1

EdInvestor

You might be better to transfer it. Lincoln is not a great provider and has a reputation for high charges. If you think you may be in and out of work for some years year, it's likely to be better looked after in the LGPS scheme.

On the other hand, you will be able to take benefits from this pension at 55 (including 25% tax free cash) and it might be useful to retain that flexibility - the LGPS might not offer it.

If you do decide to stay, may I suggest you ask for a projection of the maturity value of the scheme at your retirement date, from which it ought to be possible to see the level of the charges (what is the "current value" of the scheme, do you know?If it is higher than the transfer value, then they are charging you an exit penalty).

If the charges are high then it would be best to transfer the pension elsewhere and also look for some funds that are more likely to offer better performance.