Allied Dunbar Charges

purple52

Hi all,

I am in the process of sorting out a few PPPs that I don't contribute much to any more. I hope to consolidate them into a SIPP or stakeholder plan so that I can make them work a bit harder.

Unfortunately, one of them is an Allied Dunbar plan from 1998 which I still make regular contributions to, but will probably stop soon having swept the whole thing under the carpet for far too long. The front-loaded charges were 65% for the first 30 months, thus my transfer value is much lower than it should be.

However, I recently read this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=355374

My contract makes no mention of capital or accumulation units, so I'm guessing it is a different charging structure. Also, my contract makes no mention of what percentage of lump sum contributions would have been used to purchase units. But the idea that in other AD plans lump sums might have attracted lower up-front charges raised a glimmer of hope that there might be grounds for a complaint that would claw back some of my money.

So, my question is:

Does anyone know what percentage of lump sum contributions would have been used to purchase units in my plan?

Thanks,

David

dunstonh

Unfortunately, one of them is an Allied Dunbar plan from 1998 which I still make regular contributions to, but will probably stop soon having swept the whole thing under the carpet for far too long. The front-loaded charges were 65% for the first 30 months, thus my transfer value is much lower than it should be.

The reason the transfer value is lower is that there is a transfer penalty. However, you should check the annual management charges and verify the projections against the alternatives as some of the AD pensions have low annual management charges. As they have a fairly wide unit linked fund range, fund switching to a better spread may be the best option.

My contract makes no mention of capital or accumulation units, so I'm guessing it is a different charging structure.

Like most providers, they had different versions over the years.

I hope to consolidate them into a SIPP or stakeholder plan so that I can make them work a bit harder.

Dont forget personal pension. You highlighted the two extremes but not the middle ground. That can often be the cheapest and best option.

Does anyone know what percentage of lump sum contributions would have been used to purchase units in my plan?

Ask AD. There are number of things you need from them when considering a transfer and you can ask this at the same time.

purple52

Thanks, dunstonh. Time for me to start writing some letters!