Standard Life Pension

thriftybabe

Can anyone tell me why he would change us from CM to SL then? If he had to pay back commission to CM then there was not much of an advantage to him. Did he think what was best for us then?

thriftybabe

dunstonh wrote:

The clerical medical property fund is available cheaper in the stakeholder pension than it is in their personal pension. So, if he was going down that route, why did he not recommend a stakeholder. That is a direct breach of FSA rule RU64 which states that stakeholder pensions must be recommended unless a personal pension or SIPP can be justified as a suitable alternative. As this fund is available in a stakeholder, he should have recommended that. That is a mis-sale.

Can we have a stakeholder even though our company pays the pension for us?

dunstonh

So if a third was clawed back from CM he has still made roughly £1500 from CM then an additional £3600 from SL. Is that right.

It would be about right. The SIPP though is a direct charge against your pot. So, unlike CM, that £3600 came out of the pension fund.

In addition what you have mentioned above that the charges are not matching the reduction in yield. This is on the same page. May be I am reading this wrong. Can I email it to you to check out?

Email it and I will take a look. My email address is in my profile on the board. (click on my name to the left and click on view profile)

Can anyone tell me why he would change us from CM to SL then? If he had to pay back commission to CM then there was not much of an advantage to him. Did he think what was best for us then?

CM are a good provider. SL are a good provider. Why go from one to the other and back again? I cant think of any reason. CM would be cheaper but the investment options within SL are better. If he is providing ongoing advice, then the focus should be using funds available in the SIPP and not mucking around with splitting the pension up. The SL SIPP also reduces charges with higher values. So, I would have thought that paying into that speeds up the time taken to get into the next charging band.

I think only he can answer why. It is possible he didnt realise CM clawed back the commission. They never used to and it only started a couple of years back.

Can we have a stakeholder even though our company pays the pension for us?

Yes. Stakeholder pensions will accept employer (or company) contributions.

I'm not saying stakeholder IS right for you but the fund chosen for you would best be placed in a stakeholder.

Paul_Varjak

I must say, dunstonh, that you offer really excellent help and assistance on these forums but, even by your own high standards, you have really excelled yourself on this one!