Transfer Scottish Widows pension to SIPP?

digannio

A Fidelity-held pot I moved at the same time was done and dusted within a week. The process of switching the funds was painless but me finalising my SIPP investments is taking a bit longer... as I sit and watch the markets climb higher and higher... I'm waiting to take the plunge after Black Thursday this week when everything will be cheaper!!!!!

jamesd

inflationbuster wrote: »

I've been trading stocks successfully over a 7 year period so am confident l can manage the pension myself.

Just be aware that for effectively all of the time that you have been trading stocks you have been in a bull market, which has been around since late 2008 or early 2009.

inflationbuster wrote: »

1. The current pension has a retirement age of 60 so am l right in understanding l could lower this to 55 with a SIPP?

Yo can increase or decrease as you like whether it's where it is now or in a SIPP. it's used for pension projections and also for lifestyling. You'd want to turn off lifestyling if you changed it to 55 and are close to that age, else it'd shift the money into inappropriate investments for those not planning to buy an annuity. A SIPP wouldn't have lifestyling unless you chose something like a "target date" fund.

inflationbuster wrote: »

2. Are there any pitfalls l should be aware of? I do have a company pension separate to do this, which has 12% per annum being paid into it.

Mainly that bull market caution, You can't expect to do as well long term as could be done during a bull market and sometimes this fools people into thinking that returns long term will be higher than reasonable.