What to do with unfunded pension

Mk14:37

In previous employment, over the course of only a year, I accumulated an Aviva pension of about £2,500.

I am now permanently employed in the Civil Service and have Nuvos pension, so I don't know if there is anything I could or should do with the funds in the Aviva. I'm 31 years old.

Any bright ideas please?

kidmugsy

Your choice is likely to be to leave it there or to move it to some other provider. Your decision might well depend on (i) the charges, and (ii) the investment options.

For instance, If Aviva offers (to invent an example) an international equity fund charging 0.35% p.a. and you are happy with that, you could leave it be.
But if you are charged 1.5% p.a. you might want to move. Or if you want to invest in, say, Gold ETFs and Aviva doesn't offer that, then again you might want to move.

You might even enquire whether you could transfer the fund to buy extra entitlements in your new pension.

bigfreddiel

when i joined the cs 13 yrs ago i transfrred 3 pension pots into the the classic scheme - best thing i ever did - in fact the scheme refused one of my pensions because they couldn't agree value - again best thing ever it was a final salary scheme (1/60ths) which was left and has been gaining 9% a year since 1985

all in all when i retire next year i'll have a 35/80ths fs index linked 50% to spouse for the paltry sum of £35/month for the last 13 yrs - okay now its about £60/month - still peanuts.

you only have a one year window tho' to transfer so don't delay if you're going for it

Mk14:37

That last point is telling... I joined the CS over the years ago, so I guess that means that transfer is not an option.

Mary look at alternatives as kidmugsy advises. Is it worth paying in extra money to the Aviva pot? I don't realistically have money to spare though.

kidmugsy

If you find money tight, it may not be worth contributing to the Aviva pension unless it allows you to avoid higher rate income tax.

It depends partly on why you find money tight.