Charges.....

onceuponatime_2

I have recently got information about charges on three separate pensions that I have with the same company.
I have no idea if these are dear, cheap or in different.

First one:- annual management charge 0.20%

Second one:- Admin Fee £2.73 per month
:- Bid Offer spread 5%

Third one:- Admin fee £1.00 per month
:- Bid Offer spread 5%

I assume it must depend on what type of policy it is regarding charges and what they charge to manage it. What is a bid offer spread?

Note: These are long standing policies and no new monies is being paid in.
Basically one would assume they are frozen till retirement date.

Any help or advice would be greatly received.

dunstonh

I assume it must depend on what type of policy it is regarding charges and what they charge to manage it.

No. Its more to do with the era it was set up and fashions, economy type and the whim or the regulator at that time.

What is a bid offer spread?

The difference between the buying price and selling price of the units.

Note: These are long standing policies and no new monies is being paid in.

So, bid/offer spread is not an issue.

Basically one would assume they are frozen till retirement date.

No. Money purchase schemes cannot become frozen.

jamesd

As old plans you may find that they have guaranteed annuity rates, bonuses at retirement or other desirable features not available in the market today. A guaranteed annuity rate could be several times the current open market rate. That in turn could be enough to make it worth keeping even low-performing investments.

The possibility of saving money by combining the pensions into one may exist, depending on the exact nature of the pensions and the features they have.

onceuponatime_2

So should I leave them with the company that are managing them and hope I get some sort of return before they get eaten away by charges etc.

dunstonh

onceuponatime wrote: »

So should I leave them with the company that are managing them and hope I get some sort of return before they get eaten away by charges etc.

That would require an analysis of your pensions, terms and conditions to compare to alternatives. Something we cant do for you as it needs specific policy information.

kidmugsy

onceuponatime wrote: »

So should I leave them with the company that are managing them and hope I get some sort of return before they get eaten away by charges etc.

No: check for "guaranteed annuity rates, bonuses at retirement or other desirable features". If there are none, consider transferring: so check whether there are charges for that. At the least, consider transferring numbers 2 & 3 into number 1.

In addition, you ought to check what they are invested in, and whether that suits your age, circumstances, and outlook.