Starting an additional pension

2bob....

Good evening,

I'm looking to set up my own private pension outside of the one I currently have at work. I've tried a few pension companies and they want me to transfer my existing pot, to theirs.

Is there anyway or any pension company, which will allow me to start my own private one, outside of work?

The idea came from speaking to a few colleagues who already had their own private pensions, outside of work, one of which wasn't from a previous job.

Any help would be much appreciated.

xylophone

This should not be a problem.

Below might be worth a look.

https://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/pensions/pension-guidance/

https://www.hl.co.uk/partners/search/sipp?theSource=PCHLS&Override=0&adg=G+HLBS+SIP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1aCDjaHt3QIVqrXtCh39Rwi1EAAYASAAEgKbgPD_BwE

http://monevator.com/using-vanguard-lifestrategy-funds-life/

Albermarle

I would be interested to know the reason for you wanting to start a new private pension and why your friends did it ?
I looked into this myself and in the end decided there wasn't any point, and it was easier just to make extra contributions to the workplace pension, which had low charges and a reasonable choice of funds .
Of course everybody's circumstances are different

thickasabrick

I have a SIPP and a workplace pension.

I think it is fairly easy to setup a SIPP now.

Although I had an IFA do it for me some years ago as I was consolidating the remains of my Equitable Life and another workplace pension.

You just need your bank details and your NI number if setting up a monthly payment or a debit card if one off payments on some of the SIPP platforms I've been looking at recently.

There are a couple of things to consider, especially at the early stage when your contributions might be small and the fund total is small as the costs might obliterate any gains or the investments themselves.

1. Cost of the platform holding your SIPP funds

2. Cost of each transaction when purchasing/selling units in funds, ETFs, shares or whatever you want to hold as your investments

Monevator has an interactive tool that will give you some idea of these costs

http://monevator.com/compare-the-brokers/

Example of a very simple portfolio of a single retirement fund such as Vanguard LifeStrategy 60. I have £666 every month which I want to place into it. So I will only be making a single purchase of a single fund with my £666 per month.

Select SIPP
How do you want to invest? : SIPP
Do you want to invest a lump sum?
Initial lump sum - SIPP: £0
How will you invest the lump sum in funds and/or shares/ETFs?
Funds invest Amount lump sum: £0
Funds Trades lump sum: 0
Shares invest Amount lump sum: £0
Share Trades lump sum: 0
Do you want to invest monthly ?
Monthly investment: £666
How will you invest the monthly sum in funds and/or shares/ETFs?
Funds invest Amount per month: £666
Funds Trades per month: 1
Shares invest Amount per month: £0
Share Trades per month: 0
How long do you want to invest for ?
15 years

There will also be another discussion on your risk profile and type of funds that match up to your investment goals.

This will also affect your choice of platform as some platforms might not have your preferred choice available.

If you're in the fortunate position of contributing the full £40,000 annual allowance for pensions remember that this is the total of all your pensions so add up your workplace total contributions for the tax year and subtract this from the £40,000 for the amount you can place into your SIPP.

Quite nice to see £166.50 tax relief added to the £666 when the transaction goes through as £832.

You might also be able to claim back the 20% of the contribution that came from income in the higher rate tax bracket.

I would also consider an ISA tax wrapper depending on your investment timeframe.
http://monevator.com/pensions-versus-isas/

2bob.... wrote: »

Good evening,

I'm looking to set up my own private pension outside of the one I currently have at work. I've tried a few pension companies and they want me to transfer my existing pot, to theirs.

Is there anyway or any pension company, which will allow me to start my own private one, outside of work?

The idea came from speaking to a few colleagues who already had their own private pensions, outside of work, one of which wasn't from a previous job.

Any help would be much appreciated.

atush

What pension providers did you speak to that wanted your other pensions?

Please tell me not St James Place

2bob....

My workplace pension is rubbish to be honest and I'd like to be putting more money away for greater reward in the future.

thickasabrick

What evidence leads you to believe your workplace performance is poor ?

What funds are in your workplace pension and how many units do you have for each one ?

I have a “net worth” spreadsheet which I use to track all my investments. Based on the one from The Escape Artist blog.

https://theescapeartist.me/2017/09/09/what-gets-measured-gets-managed/

I explicitly track all transactions in my workplace pension.
Namely, the date of the investment, the total contribution, number of units purchased and the purchase cost at the time. This can be looked up on your pension portal under transactions. Should be showing each month.

I also have a current or market value list tab in the spreadsheet which either uses the current per unit value from the pension provider or from trustnet or the London stock exchange. Choose one source and stick with it.

Calculate totals using:
Fund unit price * total number of fund units
My other half has a defined benefit pension so her calculation is much simpler 1 * current projection for annual pension at age 55 for contributions to date * 20

More importantly I have an information sheet with a list of urls to the fund information on trustnet, morningstar, London stock exchange etc.

I also use the portfolio on Trustnet and London Stock exchange to keep the same transactions from my net worth spreadsheet to ensure accuracy. Has the advantage of providing accurate and up to date info of the performance of the funds.

I also have the same info tracked in a Yahoo finance portfolio but unfortunately haven’t figured out how to list my workplace pension fund on there.

Prefer the simple view from Yahoo finance interface but both the London Stock Exchange and Trustnet portfolios provide much more detail and analysis of performance.

2bob.... wrote: »

My workplace pension is rubbish to be honest and I'd like to be putting more money away for greater reward in the future.

2bob....

My employer currently contributes 2%, whereas I contribute 3%. From the new tax year, I will be contributing 5%, they will be contributing 3%. I've not asked if I can increase mine yet, although I am able to.

2bob....

atush wrote: »

What pension providers did you speak to that wanted your other pensions?

Please tell me not St James Place

Pension Bee was one of them

thickasabrick

My employer has given me credentials so that I can register and log onto the company group pension plan providers online services website.
This allows me to view plan value summary and more detailed info such as the Fund name, Units held, Unit price (pence),Value (£).



I would ask your employer for access to their pension online services portal so you can see these details.

2bob.... wrote: »

My employer currently contributes 2%, whereas I contribute 3%. From the new tax year, I will be contributing 5%, they will be contributing 3%. I've not asked if I can increase mine yet, although I am able to.

LHW99

My workplace pension is rubbish to be honest

Yes, but you are still getting the employer's free money (contribution).
Whatever you do don't opt out, particularly as its likely IMO that contribution rates may continue to increase slowly over the next number of years.
8% total is low, unless you are very young (and even then maybe), but still better than trying to do it all on your own.