Pension Planning

Tiny_Tim_2

Hi,


In the year 2000 I started a personal pension with Legal & General, the employer put in and so did I. I put in a modest sum of £30 PM and my employer was contributing about £210 PM.


This went on for about 7 years with Legal & General and then I was introduced to Friends Provident who told me to move it to them as there charges were cheaper and they did better as well.


Not knowing a lot about pensions I moved the £20k I had with legal and general to Friends Provident.


Hold up £20k!


After picking my self off the floor that it has gained that much I was assured that Friends Provident could improve on that.


In 2010 I transferred out of Friends Provident as they had increased the fund by 2k in 3 years and that was mainly my payments.


I moved from Friends Provident to Scandia fund which is managed by my current IFA. They are in the process of moving
to Aviva now.


Since moving the money in 2010 to them they claim the fund has grown 13.67% from the initial £35 invested to the current
value of £44k.


Now I have put in with my employer 7k and there total charges over 4 years have been nearly 3k in total (including setup and transfer fee).


Now I look at this at £44-£7-£3 = £34k so I am down 1k in real terms. Its true the fund might of grown by 13.67% but that not money that they have actually moved around and made.


Now I know there was the bit city property crash, global stuff and Greece as well.


They feel they have done well as its 13.67% growth but I am looking at the 1k loss, even while the stock exchange is high.


I am worrying I have been charged 3k for twice annual visits
with big power full Mercedes. I would not mind if they had made 3k by moving the shares around.


So I am thinking of moving back to mainstream pension firms like Legal & General and Friends Provident but I am worried about transfer fees and annual charges.


I have called Legal & General and they seem to want me to get an IFA again.


All I can afford is about 1k per year from me and about 1.5k from the employer. I know its not much but its better than nothing.


Is there a recommended company that I can put he money with and does not charge a fortune and actually is making reasonable money.


David

kidmugsy

To predict what'll make reasonable money would need a crystal ball. For current charges for personal pensions and SIPPs, visit two websites

(i) Monevator
(ii) The Lang Cat.

TH1878

David,

To be honest, without knowing the exact investments and your circumstances, I'd be disappointed with 13.67% since 2010 but you've got your maths wrong.

The current value is £44k. Take off the £7k that you put in and the resulting value is £37k AFTER charges. By deducting the charges again, you're accounting for them twice.

It's not the pension company that makes you money, it's the investments that you or your adviser pick. The Skandia contracts have a large range of funds to choose from so you could easily choose an alternative without moving your pension.

Go and have a chat with a few local IFAs and see what they say.

atush

You seem to be confusing your pension platform with your investments.

FP didn't do anything wrong in your pension not growing, surely it is the investments in your FP which didn't perform as you would like?