SIPP advice moving from Aegon Retiready

isayhello

Hi,

I have an old workplace pension that has become a SIPP which sits with the Retiready platform, I wanted to change where this money is currently invested but the Retiready platform has a very limited number of fund choices available...also when I read some reviews, Retiready didn't sound like the best platform to be with.

I've tried to investigate some other platforms to transfer out to but am a bit lost and would like some advice please, I have 11k currently invested in this pot and I've been told by Retiready that the charges are 0.44%.

Any advice of other good providers in my current situation, with a wider choice of funds, reasonable/cheaper charges. From what I've seen, other cheap options like AJ Invest charge more at 0.75%.

Thanks

isayhello

Also just to add, I'm assuming that a SIPP is my best option here, am open to other alternative types of pensions.

MallyGirl

There are platform charges plus also charges for each fund you hold within the platform so you need to make sure you are comparing like with like.
With Retiready you may only have a limited set of funds with high charges available to you - moving your SIPP to somewhere like AJBell would give you a much bigger list of choices but you would need to do some reading up in order to make the choice wisely.

isayhello

Thanks @Mallygirl that's what I'd like some help to understand:

1) Am I comparing like with like, I was told by Retiready that there charges for my pension are 0.44% I'm not sure that includes all charges or if they've just quoted a basic figure to me, does anyone know their typical charges?

2) The other platforms I've looked at AJ Bell, Nutmeg etc seem to have higher charges at 0.75%, am I right in this comparison?

3) Where would fellow moneysavers with experience recommend moving this pension pot to?

4) Is a SIPP the best option? I also have another pension in my current place with Prudential but I thought it might be good to keep them separate than consolidating.

Thanks again

dunstonh

I'm assuming that a SIPP is my best option here, am open to other alternative types of pensions.

You may assume that. Personally, I arrange more PPPs than SIPPs and statistically, SIPPs remain the minority option. However, it does depend on distribution. The main DIY channels all use SIPP. The main advice channels mostly use PPP.

2) The other platforms I've looked at AJ Bell, Nutmeg etc seem to have higher charges at 0.75%, am I right in this comparison?

Nutmeg is not a platfrom and if you are considering that sort of thing then you may as well stick with the cheap Aegon option.

) Am I comparing like with like, I was told by Retiready that there charges for my pension are 0.44% I'm not sure that includes all charges or if they've just quoted a basic figure to me, does anyone know their typical charges?

0.44% sounds about right. We get it slightly cheaper than normal retail price at 0.34% on small values (0.29% platform charge and 0.05% fund charge when using workplace funds). So, your 0.44% sounds right as total charge.

4) Is a SIPP the best option? I also have another pension in my current place with Prudential but I thought it might be good to keep them separate than consolidating.

SIPP is the advanced investor option. Basically, any safeguards that are in place with stakeholder, personal or AE schemes are removed with SIPP. You can invest in unregulated, high risk things or regulated UT/OEIC funds. The SIPP will likely be more expensive but there are some cheap examples it you limit yourself to certain investments.

Why would you want your pensions separate?

MallyGirl

I am no expert - just about a year ahead of you in the discovery process. What I did was go back to each of my trail of pensions (7 of them) and look at how much their current value was and what it was invested in. Where possible I looked at the charges but that can be quite difficult to find.
I then did some reading on investing - there are plenty of suggestions for that on here.
I built a big spreadsheet that brought all the info together (including DH’s plans as we work as a team). This showed me where the money was being invested and I could compare that to what I was comfortable with.
For me it made sense to move my smaller pots into a single SIPP - I chose interactive investor as the pricing worked out best for my pot values. There are a few comparison tools to help compare - pricing models vary quite a lot. Some charge fixed fee, some are percentage based, some charge to transfer in, etc.
It doesn’t sound like Retireready is that expensive but the funds may be or the cost of missed opportunity may be if you are forced into a limited set of choices that don’t match your attitude to risks.
I have read things on here that suggest you shouldn’t be thinking about Nutmeg.

isayhello

Thanks @dunston

You may assume that. Personally, I arrange more PPPs than SIPPs and statistically, SIPPs remain the minority option. However, it does depend on distribution. The main DIY channels all use SIPP. The main advice channels mostly use PPP.

Just to clarify, for an independent person trying to figure this out for themselves, a SIPP is the best option? or do you think using an advice channel is best? By best I mean, having a rough idea of which funds to go for and not paying a lot more in charges.

Nutmeg is not a platfrom and if you are considering that sort of thing then you may as well stick with the cheap Aegon option.

Ah good to know thanks, I didn't spot the difference, I figured since they offer pensions through their site, that makes them a platform.

0.44% sounds about right. We get it slightly cheaper than normal retail price at 0.34% on small values (0.29% platform charge and 0.05% fund charge when using workplace funds). So, your 0.44% sounds right as total charge.

In that case, if that's the overall charge then it's not too bad I guess, in my Prudential stakeholder plan, I pay about the same but I have access to about 100 different funds to invest in, so I just felt a bit limited with Aegon Retiready.

The SIPP will likely be more expensive but there are some cheap examples it you limit yourself to certain investments.

Why would you want your pensions separate?

Do you have any recommendations based on the size of my pot?
I decided to keep them separate for the time being based on something I read which made sense but I can't remember now, also so that I could try out different funds/platforms and learn a bit more.

Thanks again

isayhello

It doesn’t sound like Retireready is that expensive but the funds may be or the cost of missed opportunity may be if you are forced into a limited set of choices that don’t match your attitude to risks.
I have read things on here that suggest you shouldn’t be thinking about Nutmeg.

Thanks @Mally I agree, for me the charges don't seem too bad, I just feel limited by the 5 or 6 fund options they offer, saying that, the fund the money is currenlty in has been doing ok, I'd just prefer to go for a riskier fund.

What have you heard about Nutmeg? I've never used them but a friend has and said his investment in a fund has been doing ok.

dunstonh

Just to clarify, for an independent person trying to figure this out for themselves, a SIPP is the best option? or do you think using an advice channel is best? By best I mean, having a rough idea of which funds to go for and not paying a lot more in charges.

If you DIY then you need to DIY well. If you DIY badly it can be a costly mistake. If you were going to pick Nutmeg over Aegon then that is doing it badly.

Advice is unlikely to be suitable unless you are talking £50k+ It may stop you making a mistake but its just as likely to say you should stick with Aegon.

isayhello

If you DIY then you need to DIY well. If you DIY badly it can be a costly mistake. If you were going to pick Nutmeg over Aegon then that is doing it badly.

Thanks @dunston, why is nutmeg a worse option, is it purely because it's a higher charge or am I missing something else?

Any recommendations for better platforms than Aegon for the amount I have?

Thanks again

MallyGirl

Maybe take a read of this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5334164

Post #21 most relevant but lots of discussion on robo.