Regarding Pension Fund Review

JoeCrystal

Hi all,

After five long years since I set up a private pension scheme with a local IFA, I managed to amass a pension fund of £34,000.

However, as it was five years ago since the funds was chosen by an IFA, is it a good time to go back to an IFA and ask them to review the pension fund again? Or £34,000 is not really big enough to warrant it?

How often should its happen? I still got three more decades to go.

Thank you for your help.

Warm Regards

dunstonh

However, as it was five years ago since the funds was chosen by an IFA, is it a good time to go back to an IFA and ask them to review the pension fund again?

Possibly.

Or £34,000 is not really big enough to warrant it?

Whilst some IFAs focus on higher amounts, a transactional review on £34k is something many IFAs would not have a problem with.

How often should its happen? I still got three more decades to go.

Have you topped it up in that time? (i.e. is it due an increase)
Your pension is pre-RDR. Is a post RDR version better?
How is it invested? does it need rebalancing?

Al.

JoeCrystal wrote: »

Hi all,

After five long years since I set up a private pension scheme with a local IFA, I managed to amass a pension fund of £34,000.

However, as it was five years ago since the funds was chosen by an IFA, is it a good time to go back to an IFA and ask them to review the pension fund again? Or £34,000 is not really big enough to warrant it?

How often should its happen? I still got three more decades to go.

Thank you for your help.

Warm Regards

Well done, £34,000 is above the average that people accrue by 60. Out of interest, have management fees been deducted along the way?

£34,000 is certainly worth a review.

JoeCrystal

dunstonh wrote: »

Possibly. Whilst some IFAs focus on higher amounts, a transactional review on £34k is something many IFAs would not have a problem with.

Al. wrote: »

Well done, £34,000 is above the average that people accrue by 60.?£34,000 is certainly worth a review.

That is good to know then.

dunstonh wrote: »

Have you topped it up in that time? (i.e. is it due an increase)
Your pension is pre-RDR. Is a post RDR version better?
How is it invested? does it need rebalancing?

Al. wrote: »

Out of interest, have management fees been deducted along the way?

It is a pension fund that I contributed a fair fixed percentage of my salary monthly since then so it will get an increase when a pay-rise occurs. To be honest, I am not sure what impacts RDR have on the pension fund or pension plan. If it means anything, the IFA still get 1% commission on my regular contributions and AMC is 0.7%.

The pension fund is invested in nine pension funds which can be found below. The figures in 2010 is the current percentage of the contribution invested over the last five years. The figures in 2015 is the percentage of the pension value at the moment. Looking at them right now, I am hazarding a guess that it need rebalancing between SW JPM Natural Res (Although it is all downhill from 2010!) / SW JPM Emerging Mkts and SW InvP High Income / SW SSgA Nth Amer Eq? I will be checking with the SW to switch the funds in a way that it return to original percentage.

FUNDS 2010 = 2015
Fixed Interest: 10% = 10%
SW Fid SE Asia: 8% = 7%
SW BlackRock UK: 15% = 15%
SW InvP High Income: 15% = 18%
SW Sch Tokyo: 6% = 6%
SW JPM Emerging Mkts: 8% = 6%
SW JPM Natural Res: 8% = 3%
SW SSgA Europe ex UK: 15% = 15%
SW SSgA Nth Amer Eq: 15% = 18%

Thank you for your help.

JoeCrystal

After getting a review of the pension plan with an IFA done, by moving to proposed pension, the AMC charge fell by two third and the one off fee for the advice taken from the pension pot with no more commission paid. I am pleased with the result of the review.

maximumgardener

yep...shows regular reviews are worthwhile to have done. well done
did your IFA also report your overall "gain" over the 5 year period ?

Al.

JoeCrystal wrote: »

After getting a review of the pension plan with an IFA done, by moving to proposed pension, the AMC charge fell by two third and the one off fee for the advice taken from the pension pot with no more commission paid. I am pleased with the result of the review.

Good stuff. Just don't wait five years for the next review! :beer: