Contractor "experts" in providing Pensions

Murtle

Hello

I have decided it is time to get myself in order and get a pension.

I was wondering if anyone had any views / opinions on companies that offer to sort out pensions (and many other things) for contractors.

Two that I have looked at are

Contractor Financials
http://www.contractorfinancials.com/

and

SJD Accountancy
http://www.sjdaccountancy.com/

and was wondering peoples thoughts on them or if they could suggest any others for pensions.

Thanks

dunstonh

I was wondering if anyone had any views / opinions on companies that offer to sort out pensions (and many other things) for contractors.

Pensions are pensions. Whilst the way people contribute into them will vary, the legislation is the same.

Are you looking at this from you being a contract worker or you being a company that uses contract workers?

Murtle

Thanks dunstonh

I am a contract worker looking to see if I need to use a specialist contract market pension company or a standard FA or something totally different!!

One of them just told me they'd charge £350 for setting up an ISA which struck me as rather high...unless I misunderstood them...

dunstonh

I am a contract worker looking to see if I need to use a specialist contract market pension company or a standard FA or something totally different!!

No you dont need a specialist in your case.

One of them just told me they'd charge £350 for setting up an ISA which struck me as rather high...unless I misunderstood them...

Actually, it seems quite cheap.

Murtle

dunstonh wrote: »

No you dont need a specialist in your case.



Actually, it seems quite cheap.

Cheap for a personal ISA?

Is it, would they do something different to me when I set up a personal ISA?

I am happy to know if that is quite cheap though, as it lessens the :eek:feeling I had when they said it!!

dunstonh

Cheap for a personal ISA?

Yes. I charge more than that and I know many that charge more than me.

Is it, would they do something different to me when I set up a personal ISA?

Yes. You would set up an ISA. They are charging for advice which will include the cost of setting up the ISA. The actual work in setting up an ISA is not expensive. However, the cost of knowledge, advice and liability is.

Do not mistake what you are buying from an adviser. you are buying advice. Not a product.

greenglide

A stocks and shares ISA including what funds to invest in? The advisor has to cover the risk.

A cash ISA would be a tad expensive as well as pointless!

Murtle

dunstonh wrote: »

Yes. I charge more than that and I know many that charge more than me.


Yes. You would set up an ISA. They are charging for advice which will include the cost of setting up the ISA. The actually work in setting up an ISA is not expensive. However, the cost of knowledge, advice and liability is.

Do not mistake what you are buying from an adviser. you are buying advice. Not a product.

Thank you - ok I hadn't considered the stocks and shares side :rotfl:

Interestingly they provide all the advice up front and you don't have to pay unless you want to take the product. They can manage it for you and would charge you monthly / yearly to make sure it is still doing what it should be doing.

Thank you for your help. I am happy to pay for things, just not really sure about charlatans and what I am really paying for.

Maybe my initial question was wrong and I should have been asking...I am a contract worker, and need a pension...what should I be paying for!!

:j

grey_gym_sock

you can either pay an IFA to advise on setting up a personal pension, or do a bit of research and do it yourself.

if you pay an IFA to set it up, you could ask for just set-up, not annual reviews, because reviews will be disproportionately expensive until you have a decent size pension pot built up.

for DIY, there are some good value personal pensions available via cavendish online - http://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/pensions/personal-pensions/ ... you'd need to choose what kinds of funds to invest in - for some ideas of how to go about that, you could have a look at http://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/

dunstonh

Interestingly they provide all the advice up front and you don't have to pay unless you want to take the product.

That doesnt fit with the RDR rule changes that came in Jan 2013. The fee should not be dependent on a product sale. That suggests a company working to a sales environment rather than advice.

Murtle

dunstonh wrote: »

That doesnt fit with the RDR rule changes that came in Jan 2013. The fee should not be dependent on a product sale. That suggests a company working to a sales environment rather than advice.

Do you think this suggests they will alter the fee based on the product chosen? or am I misunderstanding.

They also quoted £780 to set up the pension - does that sound reasonable?

Thank you so much for your help - it is nice to see you are still here :T