Can I choose my workplace pension?

Cam93

Might be a daft question, however I currently have 2 pensions - 1 with my old employer ‘blue sky’s’ and 1 with my current employer ‘smart pension’

I want to move both of these to a single pension provider - is this possible ?

Is it possible to put these into something such a vanguard LS?

MDMD

It is unlikely that you can decide which pension your employer will pay into (and in some cases the funds are restricted) but there is nothing stopping you from either paying into another pension or consolidating your old pension into the new one by transferring.(https://evolvepensions.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/BlueSky-Member-Guide-March-2018.pdf)

Note that the Vanguard LS is not a pension but a range of funds which can be held inside a pension. If your current pension plan doesn’t offer it you can contribute to a fund outside the employer (in addition to the SMART) pension

btcp

In my experience of having several employers in the past, they always work with a pension provider of their choice. You can, however, talk to the pension provider and ask them to invest in different funds. They may have a similar fund to what you are looking for, but not VLS. I also merged my pensions, just because it is easier to deal with one.

Thrugelmir

Your employer will most likely offer a default option. Dealing with multiple providers being an administrative burden.

glider3560

I can't help but feeling the enforced choice of defined contribution pension will become the next "mis-selling" scandal. After all, if the employer is just paying in a sum of money, they could make the bank transfer literally anywhere (with a small bit of admin).

At the moment, your employer is making a choice of investment for you (I've previously been locked into a scheme offering a very limited number of poor quality funds that all performed badly compared to the market).

SonOf

I can't help but feeling the enforced choice of defined contribution pension will become the next "mis-selling" scandal.

I dont think its likely. Workplace DC schemes have been used for much of the last 50 years and no-one has suggested that before.

After all, if the employer is just paying in a sum of money, they could make the bank transfer literally anywhere (with a small bit of admin).

Group scheme contributions are entered under a single system, usually integrated into their payroll and collected via a single direct debit.

If an employer has 1000 staff with 1000 individual schemes that would a) prevent employers from changing the amounts as they are not the scheme controller. (if it was possible then the employer would have to input under 1000 different logins
b) require 1000 direct debits (and 1000 lots of bank charges for the business)

At the moment, your employer is making a choice of investment for you

No they don't. Every scheme is required to have default option (which is mainstream middle of the road) but the individual chooses their investments.

Albermarle

I can't help but feeling the enforced choice of defined contribution pension will become the next "mis-selling" scandal.

Normally an employer, especially a bigger one , will have negotiated a good deal/discount with the provider. Usually significantly better than you could get yourself . So would be difficult to paint this as mis-selling.

At the moment, your employer is making a choice of investment for you

Well nearly always there is a choice ( the exception being NOW pensions I think ) and often quite a large choice ( up to 300) but sometimes only a few .
In any case whether there are 3 or 300 , 95% of employees never change from the default fund .