Am I skating on thin ice?

JA1000

Why not transfer 50% to a cash fund as you are taking appropriate action and probably in a position to manage this more proactively, if you get cold feet on the remaining 50% then Switch it

Why not move 10% per month across over next 10 months but move more if you are tracking the funds, set a limit that you will accept a drop and bail out into cash funds.

If you go to cash funds now, start planning the £27,250 and what the £80k in annuity will get you.

steve638821

dunstonh wrote: »

Is there any GMP on the pension? If there is, this may prevent you from having a 25% available on the whole fund if you take the pension with them. You can transfer on the open market option (full fund transfer version) but you may lose more than you gain (ie.. you would get your 25% on the full amount but the income may be significantly lower and not cost effective to do it).

No, I don't think this applies to me regarding the GMP. I will just have to use my judgement as to what annuity to choose I suppose. I would be tempted to leave the situation as it is if the transfer could be done within days as the prospects for continued growth seem just as likely as a sudden dip and I could perhaps accept some loss from current position. Risky I know but I do need to maximise what remains of the situation from the last few years. I bekieve there is a 2% bonus on completion and this could quite easily be lost with IFA costs and account transfers so the free transfer has to be the last one I think.

steve638821

JA1000 wrote: »

Why not transfer 50% to a cash fund as you are taking appropriate action and probably in a position to manage this more proactively, if you get cold feet on the remaining 50% then Switch it

Why not move 10% per month across over next 10 months but move more if you are tracking the funds, set a limit that you will accept a drop and bail out into cash funds.

If you go to cash funds now, start planning the £27,250 and what the £80k in annuity will get you.

I could do the transfer as you suggest but as there is only one free transfer per year then costs might make this less attractive. The lump sum will be gone before I have a chance to enjoy it I fear as more than half will go on debts and the rest will quickly vanish on much needed items. I've been living on a knife edge financially for years so that probably along with other things stopped me from using an IFA which probably was rather foolish but I have to live with that. If the Internet had been around a bit earlier I might have been in a better position perhaps.

I'm planning on a level annuity as I think a higher income now whilst I do have good health is more important than later and I will just have to cope with the effectively lower income later on in life and plan for this accordingly.

jamesd

Have you considered using income drawdown (unsecured pension) to just leave the money invested instead of buying an annuity with all of it?

JA1000

Only one free switch I find this very unusual

Interestedparty

JA1000 wrote: »

Only one free switch I find this very unusual

fairly common on old style pensions I would have said

steve638821

JA1000 wrote: »

Only one free switch I find this very unusual

Like IP said it is quite an old policy but from a telephone query I have found out that this is now four per year so more leeway for changes.

steve638821

jamesd wrote: »

Have you considered using income drawdown (unsecured pension) to just leave the money invested instead of buying an annuity with all of it?

I have considered other options but the level annuity seems favourite for the moment and I do own my home which I propose to move out of and find something smaller in the future which should provide additional money later on. I'm probably a bit unusual in that it won't bother me too much if I don't get the very best deal moneywise and I will accept the decisions I make and just deal with the situation that comes from those decisions.

Interestedparty

I'm not sure whether you're unusual or not many people have different priorities.

Until you've been an IFA I don't think you realise how different people are and their attitudes to life and money. The skill is being able to put yourself into the clients shoes and giving advice that suits them and their particular lifestyle and priorities, inding out what motivates them.

steve638821

Thanks to all who commented on this thread and as the Iceland incident is showing life can be full of surprises so be careful with your investments.