New company pension decisions

Spinflight

Hello all,

I recently started a new job and am doing some research into which pension scheme to join.

The company will match my contributions up to 5% however despite stating in the literature they sent out along with my contract that they would be happy to pay into an existing pension scheme the HR dept refuses to honour this. Only pensions from their favoured provider (Scottish Widows) are allowed.

This is bitterly disappointing as I have been successfully trading small cap shares for a number of years. The prospect of using a low cost SIPP formed part of my decision in joining the company.

My fears as to the charges levied upon a non-SIPP (or pseudo-SIPP!) pension appear to be correctly founded according to the moneymadeclear website..


The best that Scottish Widows offers is over £70,000 (more likely £90,000) in charges without even factoring in rising contributions due to pay rises.

I'm not particularly interested in helping to keep city fat cats in Ferraris or paying for 'advice' that I don't need.

Is there any way to force them to honour contributions to my choice of pension? If not I think I'd rather forego the 5% company contribution and make my own arrangements.

Shimrod

Why not pay the minimum 5% into the company pension scheme to get the company contribution, and open a separate SIPP and fund that to trade small-cap shares?

What level of charges are being levied by Scottish Widows - and is that the same level for the company scheme - many larger companies negotiate discounts on admin fees for pension members. As an example, L&G group pension scheme charges anywhere between 0.3% and 1%

dunstonh

My fears as to the charges levied upon a non-SIPP (or pseudo-SIPP!) pension appear to be correctly founded according to the moneymadeclear website..

I would be surprised if any group personal pension scheme appears on the moneymadeclear website given how each scheme is set up on agreed terms whereas the moneymadeclear website assumes standard retail plans at standard retail prices.

If not I think I'd rather forego the 5% company contribution and make my own arrangements.

That would just be silly. You should at least take the 5%. Anything you want to do beyond that can be done DIY. free money cannot be matched by anything else you DIY.

Loughton_Monkey

Well firstly, your 'main' issue appears to be an 'employment' issue. Not sure how you stand and whether what you heard about contributions to SIPP is really part of your contract.

That aside, as has been said, it's a bit silly to come on here beefing about Scottish Widows retail charges. Find out what they are charging for your scheme before you draw any conclusions.

You final sentence "If not I think I'd rather forego the 5% company contribution and make my own arrangements." is extremely 'telling'. It either implies a complete non-understanding of basic mathematics, or implies one of the most expensive forms of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face" I have ever seen. Which of the two is it?