I need a pension advisor soon.

gord115

In a few months I am 55.

Due to a few job changes over the last 39 years I have 5 pensions (4 frozen.)

To be honest I haven't a clue what they are all worth.

I need a good pension impartial advisor that will give me good advice that will be in my interests not their own..

I don't want one that will cost me an arm and a leg.

Where should I look for a good one.

Thanks in advance.

crv1963

I'd first contact each pension fund provider, establish what type of pension they are, DB or DC, what they are worth and how you can access them.

Have a read of a few threads there are services you can access for free, get information and decide if you need an advisor. If you do make sure they are independent.

Your pensions are not frozen, they will have been growing in your absence- my AVC pot had 1500 put in 20+ years ago and is worth around 8k. Mrs CRV SERPS pot has grown to 100k in her absence so you may be pleasantly surprised!

SeniorSam

It sounds as if you have not been keeping an eye on these. Perhaps the advisers who set them up have not given ongoing guidance, which is a pity. Growth will decide if you need to do more before you actually retire, but you need to understand how they all work, as it may be that one or more of the existing plans is worth keeping rather than transferring. Good advice already to ask for a full statement before you do anything, but do be careful and don't necessarily trust the first adviser you see as opinions do vary.

tacpot12

As has been suggested above, you probably don't need an IFA at this stage. You could just call each pension provider and ask them for the details of the scheme. Most have a website that explain the benefits provided by each pension.

I would suggest you make a list of all of pensions, when they pay, how much they pay, whether there is a spouses pension or not (you haven't said if you are married), what type of pension they are (Final Salary aka Defined Benefit or Money Purchase aka Defined Contribution), who the provider is, who the administrator is (if different), and the policy or account number.

You should also get a state pension forecast. Then you just need to map out when each of your own pensions will pay out to see what income you will have at what ages.

Knowing how much you need to live on in retirement is vital at this stage - prepare a budget that shows your expected spending in retirement. Whether you have savings or debts might also influence when you can retire.

If all your pensions are final salary schemes, you will be able to see when you can retire quite quickly.
If you have some money purchase schemes, you can draw out from these to allow you to retire closer to 55, gradually reducing the amount you withdraw as your final salary pensions kick in.

You haven't said where your are - this will be important for anyone on the forum to recommend a good IFA.

Bear in mind that IFAs need to make a profit, and can't provide a bespoke service for every client at a price most clients can afford - they have to take some shortcuts, such as only reviewing the platforms they use every couple of years, having model portfolios for different sorts of clients, etc. This means that you need to be vigilant. You will be extremely lucky to find an IFA that is so scrupulous that they will always put your interests before their own. It is always ok to ask questions.

You must take advice from an IFA with extra Pension Transfer training and qualification if you want to transfer any final salary scheme with a transfer value over £30,000 to a money purchase pension, as there has been some mis-selling in pension transfers.

gord115

I am married and in Sheffield.

I enjoy working so am not planning to retire yet but wouldn't mind "dipping in the pot" a bit.

Some great advice so far, thankyou.

MallyGirl

dipping in the pot would mean robbing your retired self of income so I would be very careful there.
If the pensions are DB then there is no pot to dip into.
If pensions are DC then you can take 25% tax free at 55 - if you take more than the tax free amount it puts a £4k cap on future annual contributions which is not good if you are still working.

Do your research on what you have and then you have the basis for asking sensible questions.

OldMusicGuy

You need to do some homework before you throw money at an advisor. They are not cheap.

First, do a bit of reading to understand what the different types of pension are. You need to understand the difference between defined contribution and defined benefit schemes. Go here for a simple free guide to the different pension types: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/types-of-pensions

Then, do what other posters recommended, get the details of all your pensions. Find out exactly what type they are and what they might pay out (if DB schemes), or what the value of the investments are (if they are DC). If you have done your first bit of homework, what you find out will make more sense to you (and you might be able to ask some relevant questions when you speak to the pension providers).

Once you have all the details about your pensions and also have a state pension forecast, set up a meeting with Pension Wise: https://www.pensionwise.gov.uk/en
It's a free government-run service and although they will not give you advice, they will talk through what you can do with your various pensions. But to get the most out of it, you need to know what pensions you have.

You should also do some retirement planning. Think about how you will fund all of your retirement. You might need your pensions as more than something to just "dip into" from time to time.

You should also consider reading this book: DIY Pensions: A Simple Guide to Pensions, SIPPs & Retirement Planning by John Edwards.

Once you have done all of this, you may find you don't need any more advice. If you do decide you need more help, that's the point at which you should consider using an INDEPENDENT financial advisor.

xylophone

Have both you and your spouse obtained State Pension Forecasts?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

I have 5 pensions (4 frozen.)

To be honest I haven't a clue what they are all worth.

Have you received any statements over the years regarding these pensions?

k6chris

gord115 wrote: »

I am married and in Sheffield.

I enjoy working so am not planning to retire yet but wouldn't mind "dipping in the pot" a bit.

Some great advice so far, thankyou.

If you need to 'dip into the pot' whilst you are working, will you have enough to live off once you are not working? It may not be the case for you, but for many people 'dipping' is a poor decision, robbing there future selves of money they will need.