Royal Assurance Personal Pension

Al_Ross

Hi,

Took out a Personal Pension with The Royal Assurance (The Royal Bank Of Scotland) many years ago.Not paid anything in for years.They only ever sent a statement after asking several times.

Got a letter from Aviva last year saying they had taken it over from Royal Assurance,again no statement.

Recently asked Aviva for a statement as my retirement is getting closer.

The fund was worth £53,500 this time last year,now worth £52,000 and the transfer charge was £704.00.

Was curious as to what the transfer charge was about,is it a charge for transferring to Aviva ?

dunstonh

The Royal Assurance (The Royal Bank Of Scotland)

Do you mean Royal Scottish Assurance rather than Royal Assurance?

Was curious as to what the transfer charge was about,is it a charge for transferring to Aviva ?

Have you asked Aviva?

The fund was worth £53,500 this time last year,now worth £52,000

which is expected given last year's performance (FTSE100 was down 5.6% over the calendar year). Whilst we dont know where you invested, its likely your fund contains some equities.

Al_Ross

Yes Royal Scottish,Aviva say Transfer charge would be the charge if I transferred the fund out.

soperman

Al_Ross wrote: »

Yes Royal Scottish,Aviva say Transfer charge would be the charge if I transferred the fund out.

There are two possible reasons for the transfer out charge:

1. Your old Royal Scottish Assurance policy probably contained initial units that accumulated for 1 or 2 years after you first took out the policy. These initial units may be subject to a transfer penalty if you transfer the plan before retirement age.

2. You may have invested in a With Profits Fund and this type of fund commanly has a transfer charge called a Market Value Adjuster where the fund is transferred out before retirement age.


You can go back to AVIVA and request a full explanation as to how the transfer charge is calculated.

You should also determine the level of ongoing charges that your AVIVA fund is exposed to before considering any transfer out.

dunstonh

Aviva say Transfer charge would be the charge if I transferred the fund out.

It has nothing to do with the sale of the business to Aviva then. I read your original post as you having been charged. Not that there would be a charge if you transferred out. Older plans often have transfer penalties if you move them to other providers.