Left PAYE employment, have £2500 in pension, now self employed. Options?

directsys

Hey guys,

£2500 in my pension pot from old company, they've written to me saying I can leave it there till I retire.

I'm now self employed. What options would I have?

Better with an ISA or the like, or private pension and trying to transfer the £2500 into it?

wjr4

How old are you?

directsys

39 years old

wjr4

You cannot withdraw money from a pension then. Therefore, it is best to either leave it where it is an add more money to it (if you are allowed) or open a new pension and contribute to the new pension. You can usually transfer your old pension to your new one however check for penalties and guarantees.

xylophone

You say that you are self employed - is this accurate or are you employed by your own limited company?

For information only (you have a wide choice of pension providers)

https://www.pensionbee.com/pensions-explained/pension-types/self-employed-pensions

https://www.pensionbee.com/pensions-explained/pension-contributions/contributing-to-your-pension-from-your-limited-company

What kind of pension did you have with your old employer?

directsys

Thanks guys,

Its with Now Pensions from my old company I was employed by, but wasn't sure if they'd be a penalty for transferring £2.5k to make it worth it.

I'm now registered with HMRC as a sole trader.

This is probably the info i'm after thanks for the link

"When you’re ready to set up your self-employed pension, you have several options, including a personal pension, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) or a stakeholder pension. The government scheme NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) is now open to self-employed people too."

I've heard of SIPP and NEST so will look into those first.

xylophone

Might a simple stakeholder suit as a beginning?

https://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/stakeholder-pension would accept a transfer.

Albermarle

I've heard of SIPP and NEST so will look into those first.

NEST is a specific pension provider set up to offer simple workplace pensions ; similar to NOW

SIPP means Self Invested Personal Pension so is a type of pension of which there are many providers.
They are more complicated , not really for very inexperienced investors . The stakeholder mentioned in the previous post is straightforward and suitable for the amount you mention.