AXA Elevate Pension Investment Account

Morxx

My IFA wants me to transfer my 3 separate pension funds into Elevate. Does anyone know anything about Elevate and if this is good advice as I assume there will be charges for moving?

I will be 65 next year and haven't decided whether to buy an annuity or live off the tax free amount for a few years.

whiteflag_3

It's axas wrap platform which will give you plenty of options and ease your IFA's admin . Whether you need it is another matter! If you want to know the charges to move why haven't you asked your ifa?

dunstonh

haven't decided whether to buy an annuity or live off the tax free amount for a few years.

That decision really needs to be made before you start mucking around with the pension itself. If you are looking at drawdown then there is potential to consolidate onto a new plan. However, if you end up taking an annuity next year then it seems pointless to be honest.

I assume there will be charges for moving?

Elevate is a wrap. I am not at all keen on these as I just think they add an extra layer of charges which most people will never benefit from. Its a nice theory and some people will love the functionality and options but for IFAs with back office software there is no benefit and for clients who dont look up their investments all the time and want everything in one place then its a cost without benefit.

All I ever seem to do is take people off wraps. I know some advisers love them though.

I suggest you ask for a breakdown of how you will benefit and how you will lose out. In fact, that has to happen from a regulatory point of view. So, let the IFA show you the pros and cons. This should show you the costs. They should also be benchmarked against a stakeholder. If that isnt happening or the adviser inst willing to show it then dont do it.

Morxx

whiteflag wrote: »

If you want to know the charges to move why haven't you asked your ifa?

We discussed lots of different things at the meeting and I am now going through all the various brochures he has given me.

I have a list of questions but just wondered if anyone knew about Elevate and in general if it is a good thing to amalgamate pensions.

I am not looking for advice, just personal opinions

EdInvestor

Presumably there are no valuable guarantees attached to the pension funds?

dunstonh

I have a list of questions but just wondered if anyone knew about Elevate and in general if it is a good thing to amalgamate pensions.

These are two different things.

1 - consolidation of pensions
2 - use of a wrap as the product provider (vs stakeholder, personal pension, SIPP or potentially an income drawdown plan)

Consolidation is great if it benefits you and not if it doesnt. There is no one size fits all answer to that though. Some legacy pensions are worth a fortune to you (although not always obvious as they often have poor returns. The value is in the guarantees) whilst others are obsolete on both investment options and charges when compared to modern options

whiteflag_3

Morxx wrote: »

Because he is on holiday until the 17th October. We discussed lots of different things at the meeting and I am now going through all the various brochures he has given me.

I have a list of questions but just wondered if anyone knew about Elevate and in general if it is a good thing to amalgamate pensions.

I am not looking for advice, just personal opinions

Sorry if my last question re charges was a bit forward. I just find the way some IFAs operate slightly confusing . You say you discussed lots things so I cant understand why during your discussions the reasons why your IFA was recommending you to move and the costs involved were not part of the conversation.

Thats maybe where I go wrong with my clients- our discussions tend to revolve around the course of action im recommending, the justification and any costs involved. What do other IFAs discuss?

Btw I agree with Dunstonh's earlier point that wraps (which elevate is) just adds extra costs for the client while the only benefit is reduced admin for the adviser.

lolly5648

dunstonh wrote: »

These are two different things.
1 - consolidation of pensions
2 - use of a wrap as the product provider (vs stakeholder, personal pension, SIPP or potentially an income drawdown plan)

I have been following this thread with interest. I have two personal pensions, a S32 buyout and a stakeholder (I think) and my husband has one stakeholder. No guarantees are attached to any of them

I thought that if we could transfer all three into a wrap this would keep everything in one place and make it easier to see what is happening.

Dunstonh: I would like consolidation for reasons stated above although there may be other ways to do this.

I am only paying in £2880 net a year to my pension and my husband is doing the same. He will be 65 in 18 months and that's when we will be thinking about drawdown/annuities but I thought it would be easier if everything is together.

You obviously don't.

dunstonh

No guarantees are attached to any of them

That would be unsual in the case of a Section 32 buy out bond.

You obviously don't.

Consolidation is fine. Indeed, I do it a lot. However, the use of a platform/wrap to do it is usually one of the more expensive ways to do it. A modern stakeholder or personal pension is usually the cheapest way.

lolly5648

Thanks Dunstonh for your quick reply. I will check my Section 32 bond more carefully (or get my IFA to).

We are overdue a mtg with our financial advisor and I am now clearer about what I want and what to ask without looking silly.

progers885

I was wondering how morexx got on with the AXA Elevate Platform as my IFA is reccomending this for a phased income drawdown,

My IFA has reccomended transferring my various Money pot based pension Plans (4) of which 90% of which are in cash, with the cash ones gradually going down in value because of admin charges being more than the interest.

The intention is to supply me with a small income until my final salary pension kicks in when I am 65. (I am 58 and not employed); however when I look at the IFA/Elevate charges for the first year I would need a return of at least 3% on the investments just to cover these charges...:( and thats not counting what the various Elevate Fund Managers will charge. When I asked my IFA what return I could expect in todays market at our initial meeting he told me he could not say, giving me the impression that he may be open to miss selling if he told me and for some reason I did not get this; hopefully there will be more information made available at our next meeting.



I have been trying to find out how current users of the elevate platform rate the product and if they have any reservations/reccomendations?

Thanks in advance