SIPP Allocation

ian9999

Hi all

Just to provide you with a bit of background information I am a 41 year old male, who is looking to retire earlier than the state pension age of 67, somewhere around the age of 62/63

I currently contribute 5% of my salary to the company stakeholder pension scheme, and the company contributes a further 10%. All of these investments are with Legal and General, no option to pick a different provider. Not the best funds but they do have a low AMC

2 years ago after taking for advise for a IFA I combined my 3 previous pensions into a Scottish Equitable SIPP where I also contribute a further 11% of my net salary

Below I have listed the funds that have been chosen along with their contribution percentages

What are your thoughts on how this is structured?

SE First St Asia PL - 6.0%
SE JPM Natural Res - 8.0%
SE SCHROD US MID CAP - 10.0%
SE THREAD UK EQ INC - 6.5%
SE M&G STRAT CORP BD - 23.5%
SE ABERDEEN EMG MKTS - 6.0%
SE M&G RECOVERY - 6.5%
SE M&G OPT INCOME - 23.5%
SE NEPTUNE EURO OPPS - 10.0%

Any advice is welcome :T

Ian

dunstonh

I combined my 3 previous pensions into a Scottish Equitable SIPP where I also contribute a further 11% of my net salary

It doesnt look like a SIPP as it is using insured pension funds. Is it perhaps the Scot Eq flexible pension plan? (personal pension with bolted on SIPP funcationality for those that may want it but until then its just a personal pension).

What are your thoughts on how this is structured?

seems fine as each sector is covered except Japan and property. Some people prefer to leave those two out.

ian9999

Thank you dunstonh for your comments

I originally had the Schroder Tokyo fund, but this wasn't performing as expected so I meet with the IFA and he suggested swapping to the Aberdeen Emerging Markets

You are correct it is Flexible Pension Plan, with the SIPP functionality this is because the fund at the moment is still a low level just over 33K

I am looking to start a S&S ISA to plan for early retirement, the above pension is supposed to be a balanced portfolio

How adventuress should I be with the ISA, considering the pension already in place

Ian

gadgetmind

ian9999 wrote: »

How adventuress should I be with the ISA, considering the pension already in place

It depends on whether you're likely to want to draw on it before retirement, and on whether you have the mental strength to cope wirth high volatility. If you hold fewer bonds, you can get better growth, but at the expense of higher volatility.

A couple of other questions. 1) Are your company pension contributions via salary sacrifice? 2) Does you have any kind of company share options or Save As You Earn scheme?

ian9999

Hi Gadgetmind

I will need to withdraw funds from the ISA from the age of 62/63, thus keeping the SIPP pension until I'm 65 and finally the works pension at 67 along with the state pension

With the company pension I contribute 5% via salary sacrifice and they contribute a further 10%

We have just done a share option scheme, which brought the shares in April. and I am unable to sell the shares for the 5 years

Ian

gadgetmind

ian9999 wrote: »

I will need to withdraw funds from the ISA from the age of 62/63

In that case, you can afford to take a few more risks and you'll be invested for a long time and then drawing down progressively.

With the company pension I contribute 5% via salary sacrifice and they contribute a further 10%

Does the company refund any employer's NI so as to boost your contribution? If so, increasing your pension can be better than going the S&S ISA route.

We have just done a share option scheme, which brought the shares in April. and I am unable to sell the shares for the 5 years

OK, in five years time, unless rules change, you may want to use your S&S ISA to get these shares out to give you tax free exit options over and above your CGT allowances, but in the mean time, ignore it,

BTW, what is your spouse's (if any!) pension situation? Balancing between spouses is important for future tax planning.

ian9999

Thank you for taking the time to respond

Unfortunately the company doesn't refund any NI

I don't have a spouse/partner so I need to fund everything myself

gadgetmind

ian9999 wrote: »

I don't have a spouse/partner so I need to fund everything myself

I have a spouse, but she claims to be too busy to get a job, so I also fund everything myself.