Choosing a Pension

danni_lou

I am just starting to think about a new pension. I have seen a financial adviser from Wesleyan but just wondered if anyone has any advice about whether this is the best move (im just a bit worried about how independent they are). Should i get advice from other financial advisers or just sort a pension out myself?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

opinions4u

What pension options does your employer offer.

atush

A FA from Wesleyan is not independant and can only sell a Wesleyan pension. If not joining an employers scheme (which is always the best as they add money too which we here like to call 'free money;) then I would look for independant advice or go DIY with someone like Cavendishonline.

dunstonh

I have seen a financial adviser from Wesleyan

I am surprised they are still going.

im just a bit worried about how independent they are

They are not independent and you should have told that as one of the very first things said to you and a document issued verifying that. It is a mandatory requirement for you to be told the status of the adviser. There are two levels. Independent and Restricted. Wesleyan are restricted.

Restricted is not bad. Indeed, it appears increasingly likely that more IFAs will be moving to restricted basis in the next couple of years. Effectively what it means is that if you restrict your options in any way in any area then you cannot call yourself independent.

So, you could have an adviser that is restricted that chooses to represent the market in all areas equivalent to a pre RDR IFA but not transact in a few very high risk areas (e.g. the stuff that only 1% of the market is suitable for and has a high risk of failure or loss and would never be used by a normal retail consumer). They would be called restricted. Yet they would have exactly the same options available to you as an IFA in this area.

At the other end of the scale, you have single company tied. These are the old insurance company agents. They only have their own in house product range. This is the worst option to have. It is also called restricted but is very different to the one above. This is where Wesleyan are.

So, if you are going to seek advice, you should use an independent or a restricted adviser that is representative of the whole market.

Should i get advice from other financial advisers or just sort a pension out myself?

If you know what you are doing then you can DIY. If you dont then you should seek advice but from the right place.

danni_lou

My employer will be offering a NEST pension in 2017 but i know this won't be sufficient on it's on and i don't want to wait that long before starting one.

The Wesleyan financial advisor has recommended a with profits pension which does sound quite good. There are annual fees totalling 4.5%, how does this compare with other fees as i have no idea what to compare it to?

Does anyone else have experience of Wesleyan? Why is it a surprise they are still going?

Any further help is greatly appreciated.

Loughton_Monkey

danni_lou wrote: »

.....Does anyone else have experience of Wesleyan? Why is it a surprise they are still going?....

They are an old company, governed by an Act of Parliament. A bit like a Mutual. A bit like a Friendly Society. But is technically neither of these.

Being owned by its 'members', by a long standing general prudence and non-participating policies, they built up the most massive financial reserves (in relation to trading size), which at one time - for many years - had them heading the industry solvency tables.

Their old With Profits funds turned out to be very lucrative. I had two - maturing during a time when the vast bulk of similar endowment policies were on track for serious shortfalls against the mortgage. Wesleyan gave a "guarantee", which was hardly necessary since they (in my case) gave a 40% and 23% respectively 'surplus' over and above the amount of mortgage they 'covered'.

I have a small pension into which I have not contributed for years. Wesleyan Managed Fund - Pension. It's charges are miniscule - and it tends to perform around the top of 2nd quartile - but that doesn't take into account a 'maturity bonus'. As such I have never felt any need to move it. Their fund choices have always been rather uninspiring, but I am personally happy to remain a 'lazy investor' on this tiny pension pot.

Over the last 15 to 20 years or so, the company has changed management a bit, and also taken over a few specialist companies. It positions itself to particular occupations such as doctors, dentists, teachers and lawyers.

I believe they remain a solid performer in the dwindling "With Profits" market, but cannot comment at all on its recent performance, its products, or its charges. I can back up the comments that the FA will not be an Independent Financial Advisor and therefore will be trying to sell you a Wesleyan policy, without reference to the other thousands of options.

You have a choice of paying an IFA to give you advice from a much wider range of companies and products. Or you can shop directly with a company such as Wesleyan [or quite a few others]. The likelihood is that you could recoup IFA charges in the form of better/cheaper products, but only you can decide that.

atush

Y
ou are right to think ath NEST won't be enough for retiremtn, so good going.

But With profits in general, plus a 4.5% annual fee mena the wesleyan pension is expensive, you can do much better with a personal pension. Go over to cavendish online and have a look at fees there.