Consolidating pensions - advice needed

marello

Hi,

I've been trying to help my step-dad with his pensions. He has 4 (we think) in various places. We want to consolidate them for ease of management and to minimise fees. I'm come unstuck because two of his pensions were taken out a while ago and have features which I've never encountered as someone in their early 30's.

He appears to have two pensions with Royal London. One is worth approx £8k, the other £67k. They are both invested in the same fund (RL (CIS) OB & IB fund), and he believes they erroneously opened the smaller pot. He is still paying into the larger pot. They have a GAR attached to them. I understand that this could be better for him and is safeguarded.

His annual statements don't even detail the fees for these pensions so it's hard to calculate potential gains/losses. I'm struggling to understand whether we should leave things alone or continue to try and consolidate.

Can anyone help me with where I should be looking for further information? He's being sent letters by Royal London saying that advice is mandatory, is this true or the company just covering themselves?

For reference, we're trying to consolidate into PensionBee.

xylophone

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495377/pension-benefits-with-a-guarantee-factsheet-jan-2016.pdf

marello

Thanks Xylophone, I see now that he has to speak to an IFA if he wants to do anything with the bigger pension.

I am still confused by why the company is not giving any information on the fees they're charging. Where can he go to discover this if it's not being stated in his paperwork?

I'm also curious if GARs are even worthwhile?

dunstonh

I am still confused by why the company is not giving any information on the fees they're charging. Where can he go to discover this if it's not being stated in his paperwork?

The old CIS plans were not explicitly charged. It was within the with profits fund. Think of it in a similar way to how you are charged on your savings account with the bank. i.e. you cant see the charge. You just see the return.

To actually work out the charges requires software and any IFA will have that. Whilst they dont have explicit charges like modern plans, the projections do incorporate the charges and that allows the charges to be worked out and compared to modern plans.

I'm also curious if GARs are even worthwhile?

most CIS ones are not. However, some are. It all depends on how far back they were taken out and whether it was ordinary rights or protected rights.

and he believes they erroneously opened the smaller pot.

IB means industrial branch. OB means ordinary branch. IB policies were typically put in place by the old insurance agent who collected the premiums in cash on a weekly/monthly basis. OB policies were typically for the slightly larger premium cases or policies set up after a certain date. Normally paid by direct debit. IB policies were abolished in the early 90s. So, this could explain why there is two. (another example is if one is before 1988 and the other was an increment in contribution but after 1988. he wouldn't be able to top up the earlier plan due to legislation. So, it would have needed another one)

marello

Thanks Dunstonh,


It seems like I need to get him an IFA. He's very reluctant to do this as he's got a small pot for someone of his age and of course begrudges handing over a sizable chunk of it for help. My mum is currently almost pensionless (due to being ripped off by an "IFA") and so I want to nurture his enthusiasm for retirement saving rather than put him off.

How do I go about finding someone? What kind of charges would I be looking at to sort him out? I imagine it's not a particularly juicy piece of work given his low value.

dunstonh

He's very reluctant to do this as he's got a small pot for someone of his age and of course begrudges handing over a sizable chunk of it for help.

He shouldnt be too concerned. The last ex CIS one I did more than halved the charges and the new plan broken even with the advice charge within 4 years.

How do I go about finding someone?

Any local firm should be fine.

I imagine it's not a particularly juicy piece of work given his low value.

There are certainly some that would not be interested. Some firms are only interested in the quarter or half million or even 1m mark. However, a general practitioner firm would likely consider it.