Transferring a piddly £1,000 pension

ftbmartin

Hi - I have a question about transferring my pension which hopefully someone might be able to advise me on...

I started paying into my pension just this April and currently have £1,050 in my pot. However, I have just left my job and as I'm becoming a freelancer I don't envisage that payments into my pension (either from myself or from an employer) will resume any time soon.

My concern is that Scottish Widows charge a 1% annual management fee, which I suspect isn't as competitive as it could be. Seeing as my pot is now a static investment I'd much prefer to manage it myself as a SIPP through a provider like Hargreaves Lansdown. HL don't charge an annual management fee and I've been impressed with their other fund services. But they won't let me transfer in a pension below £5,000.

So my question is: can anyone recommend a very reputable SIPP provider like HL who will allow me to transfer in my tiny £1,050 pension? Or am I worrying about nothing, and do you think 1% is a perfectly reasonable annual fee & that there's no point opening a SIPP with such a small amount?

Thanks & best,

M

PS I already have a Share ISA so I am used to picking my own funds etc, hence the appeal of going down the SIPP route.

yelf

the 1.0% amc is a typical charge and you'll struggle to find cheaper. HL may not have a SIPP charge, but the funds themsleves charge an AMC - so if anything you will be worse off by transferring. HL are charlatans too.

dunstonh

My concern is that Scottish Widows charge a 1% annual management fee, which I suspect isn't as competitive as it could be.

1% amc is the benchmark. SW are spot on in matching that.

Seeing as my pot is now a static investment I'd much prefer to manage it myself as a SIPP through a provider like Hargreaves Lansdown.

As you are not adding to it, then £1000 in a SIPP is largely pointless.

HL don't charge an annual management fee

Nor do Scottish Widows. The AMC is on the fund just as it is with HL. Although most of the funds at HL cost 50% more than Scottish Widows.

But they won't let me transfer in a pension below £5,000.

Cant blame them really as a SIPP is not designed for such a small amount.

Until you get the fund value up, you could do a lot worse than the SW pension.