We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

small pots, three accounts... any suggestions?

I'm quite young and, since the nature of my profession (IT) I changed jobs quite frequently. About to start new job next Monday, and I want to make a bit of order in my small pots of pension I've got so far.

Here's my situation

- SIPP with Hargreaves Lansdown - it was the one that I had with the company I was working for before the one I'm quitting now. Has got around £2k
- Company pension with Aviva - the one from the company I'm leaving. Has got around £1.5k
- Pension with Scottish Widows - this is my next company pension provider.

I'm not planning to put any money for the first 3-4 months into my next company pension provider, as I need some extra cash to pay off a 2k credit card balance.

However, I don't like the idea of having too many different pension pots. I read I should get financial advice, but since at this point the money amount is small (I'm 30, and started working here in the UK a couple of years ago), I was simply thinking of:

- Transferring Aviva into HL, I quite like HL website and so far their investments have been good.
- Keep HL as my private pension and SW as the work one.

In general, do you think it's better to keep one or maximum 2 private pensions?

Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 121,292 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    In general, do you think it's better to keep one or maximum 2 private pensions?

    down to personal choice. It makes no difference from a legislation or regulatory point of view.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Some funds have transfer penalties. I've got a small one worth 8K now, but under 6K if I transfer it before I'm 65, so I'll just let it roll over & see what it brings me then (assuming I make it).

    The other thing is that if they are just funds to buy annuities when you retire, you are not limited to taking what the fund providers quote you. You can shop around & merge all the funds into one pot to buy that annuity at the best rate.

    Start here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/annuity-guide
  • ostridge
    ostridge Posts: 14 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 18 March 2013 at 5:08PM

    Start here /savings/annuity-guide

    Thanks for that but the guide is only free if I am prepared to leave my name etc. and then get pestered by god knows who.

    If anyone has a copy to email to my
    email account girl_0ATlive.co.uk (just replace the ATwith @ )
    it would be helpful.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 604K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.4K Life & Family
  • 261.5K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.