Pension money

atush

Have you decided to put all your moeny together and buy an annuity? Get single annuities? If so, an IFA won't really cost you as you will pay commission if you do it yoursdelf or not- the company will jsut keep that comission.

but, if you want to go Drawdown, it might be a different story but you could transfer the amts into a DD that you run yourself.

And so check ech policy as EL to check if there are any valuable guarantees attached.

xylophone

http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/annuities-and-income-drawdown/annuities
See FAQs for GAR.

srcandas

Many many thanks one and all. A wealth of info there.

My problem is that I do not want to buy an annuity at the moment and I'm not sure when I will. It will be when payments from my business dry up and hopefully that will be a few years yet. Thus if I use an IFA there may be no commission for some years. I don't mind spending say £500 or so but I am only interested in the actions I can take and the costs/penalties - the mechanics as I see it.

My main concern is that the booklet they all send out suggests that the pru with profits may suffer if I extend it - i.e. Not take it at the specified retirement date. As you guys have pointed out a mistake could lead to a sad loss of value.

Beyond that I would like to consolidate those funds that I can move without penalty into one. To be honest I'd be happy if that was Scottish Equitable as it always seems to do well.

Perhaps best I document what I want and ask a few IFAs to quote.

:beer:

dunstonh

My problem is that I do not want to buy an annuity at he moment and I'm not sure when I will.

Dont then. There is no compulsion to buy an annuity.

My main concern is that the booklet they all send out suggests that the pru with profits may suffer if I extend it - i.e. Not take it a the specified retirement date. As you guys have pointed out a mistake could lead to a sad loss of value.

There are some rare plans where if you dont take it at the scheme age then you can lose out. Most plans do not. If yours is one of these rare plans then you can transfer it to a more modern one that doesnt have that issue. Although most of these rare plans tend to come with guarantees that can make them highly valuable.

jamesd

It doesn't seem too incredible that you could get the help of an IFA for £500 if you're in a low cost area.

On the more positive side, moving with the help of an IFA may actually end up saving you money in investment charges longer term, so the net cost might end up being zero or profit after a while.

Now is a busy time of year for IFAs so you might want to wait until the new tax year has started before hunting.