Transfer dormant pensions?

walesrob

Grateful for any advice here.

I have 2 dormant pension plans that have sat doing nothing for many years, and every year, the value of them slips as the pension provider is taking out fees. One pension has £700, the other £16,000.

I have an active ex-workplace pension plan which I have started paying into again after a break of a few years. Now paying £50 a month, and additional contributions whenever possible.

My question is this: would it be a good idea to transfer the 2 dormant pensions to the active one and have the whole lot in one basket, thereby building up at least something half decent for retirement.

I'm 51, pension forecasts sees me retiring at age 66. Not much time I know. I do qualify for full state pension, but as we all know, that wont be enough to live on alone.

dunstonh

I have 2 dormant pension plans that have sat doing nothing for many years, and every year, the value of them slips as the pension provider is taking out fees. One pension has £700, the other £16,000.

Pensions do not go dormant.
And what you describe about the values falling due to fees does not sound right either. Are you sure about that? You would expect a fall over October to December last year but you would have to go back to 2015/16 to see another large fall. The rest has been growth.

Are you reading the figures correctly?

would it be a good idea to transfer the 2 dormant pensions to the active one and have the whole lot in one basket, thereby building up at least something half decent for retirement.

Possibly yes. Possibly no. There are other variations too. Such as having a standalone personal plan which may be better than your workplace pension. Without analysis of the existing plans and the workplace plan, there is no way to give you an answer.

I'm 51, pension forecasts sees me retiring at age 66

What forecasts? Is this your own measure or are you using some alternative measure?

Can you afford to retire earlier than state pension age? (your pension values are very low for someone your age. So, unless you have other savings/investments, it seems unlikely you could afford to retire earlier than state pension age).

Albermarle

I have 2 dormant pension plans that have sat doing nothing for many years,

Normally pensions ( including old ones that you do not contribute anymore ) are invested in some kind of investment fund (s) . Over a long period these should show some growth ( although in the short terms can go up and down ) and should at least pay for the charges and usually some growth on top. So as Dunston says you probably need to have a closer look at the paperwork going back over the years.

My question is this: would it be a good idea to transfer the 2 dormant pensions to the active one

Do not assume the active one is better than the other ones . You need to check charges etc . Otherwise some consolidation is probably a good idea.