pension/savings confusion-help!

clarew

Hi, i am trying to help my mum plan for retiring, she is 59 and presently working. My father died 7 years ago and she is in receipt of some pensions/benefits from his death.

Looking through her savings/plans (with her permission of course!) we are very confused...she has numerous things set up (by a financial advisor 7 years ago), including bonds, isa (shares type) a pension (which she put £5k into as lump sum, and pays £100 a month into), and has savings of around £24k sitting in bank.

The isa has only had money put into it when it was started, (value £5k) should we be adding more into it, or are we better transferring it to a cash isa (can you do this?), as she is hoping to retire or go part time at work within the next 2 years.

Also we are unsure as to the bonds and whether again, it would be better to transfer these into a low risk account.

Is the best thing to do, to consult another financial advisor for advice?- does anyone have any idea how much this would cost roughly-as i believe now you have to pay for their services?

Thanks for your help.

margaretclare

Hi Clare (again)

I'd be inclined to leave the bonds where they are. I've got a bond, and as of this moment (FTSE is very jittery) the bond is the only thing that isn't losing money!!

Depending on who she's got the shares ISA with, they'll have a website and she or you should be able to set up access so that she or you can look at it online. Me, I'm no expert, and certainly not any kind of an adviser, but I wouldn't start tinkering with the shares ISA at the moment because all you'd do would be to sell at a low price - better wait a while! A shares ISA and a cash ISA are both good things to have.

What type of a pension scheme has she got - is it a stakeholder? If it's any kind of a pension scheme don't forget that the nice taxman adds 22% basic rate tax. I used to pay in £78 a month and the taxman made that up to £100, meaning £100 was available to be invested.

If your mum has spare money, many people would argue that this is a good time to buy while prices are low, rather than sell at a cheap price because you'll lose!

A shares ISA, cash ISA and some kind of a pension plan sound to be just the right things to have. I'd say hang on to them, don't muck about with them at the moment! The only thing I would add is - find out who the providers are and arrange to access these funds online so that you can keep an eye on them. Oh, and find out what *kind* of a pension plan it is.

I'm a great believer in 'doing your own research' as they say on here, and 'no one looks after your money like you do!'

Best wishes

Margaret Clare

dunstonh

A bond, ISA and pension are just tax wrappers which contain investments. These could be good, bad or indifferent. The fact they were done 7 years ago suggests that they are well overdue for a review. The information and quality of products/funds today is vastly superior to seven years ago and some tweaking may be needed.

Is the best thing to do, to consult another financial advisor for advice?- does anyone have any idea how much this would cost roughly-as i believe now you have to pay for their services?

You have always paid for the advice one way or another. The only difference today is that you can negotiate how much commission or fees are paid when seeing an independent financial adviser. A tied agent doesnt though and you wouldnt want to see one of them anyway.

EdInvestor

Helloi Clare

You really need to post a specific list of the investments with their details, product provider, fund or account, value, annual interest, etc before any useful comment could be made.

The term "bond" for instance covers a very wide range of different savings and investment products.