Company pension vs SIPP

Albermarle

Aviva will not pick a fund for you as this in effect giving you financial advice , which is a highly regulated activity which you have to pay for. They will only offer guidance on what is available - how to switch etc 
The charges you mention seem a bit low. Probably there is a charge from Aviva for managing the pension - often called a platform charge and then a separate charge for the funds . You could be lucky in that your employer has negotiated a good deal though . In this case a call to Aviva would be a good idea to get full clarity on the charges. 

oli356

@Albermarle
That makes sense and I saw that the current fund selection was picked by my employer and help from some financial advisor. 
The annual charge which is currently 0.26% is described as :

This annual charge includes the following:

• Your Scheme annual management charge, less any Active member discount if this applies

• The Fund annual management charge

• Ongoing fund based Scheme Adviser remuneration, if this is applicable.

The annual charge does not include the following:

• Any transaction charges that may be incurred

• Any Large account discount that may apply

• Fund additional expenses. These relate to the administration of the fund and could include custody, depositary, regulatory and trustee expenses. They are paid directly out of the underlying fund.

• Any annual charges that may apply if you invest in the Fund supermarket or Alternative investment options.

• Initial Scheme Adviser remuneration, if this is applicable.

SouthLondonUser

A SIPP can be beneficial if you can invest in similar funds but be charged much lower fees. E.g. Aviva may charge you between 0.50% - 0.70% per annum to invest in straightforward funds, but you may pay 0.07% - 0.25% to invest in similar passive funds or ETF via a SIPP (but beware of the additional costs and fees of the SIPP, on top of those of the funds).

However, as others pointed out, don't lose the national insurance savings and the employer's contribution by contributing only to a sipp.

Move your pension to a SIPP if you change job, or inquire if you can move some assets to a SIPP every 3-4 years or so. Aviva may not like it because, if everyone does it, then managing the pension for your employer becomes much less profitable for them.

Albermarle

. Aviva may charge you between 0.50% - 0.70% per annum to invest in straightforward funds,

The OP has supplied clear info that they are only being charged 0.26% by Aviva. It looks like their employer has negotiated a very good deal !

oli356

Albermarle said:

. Aviva may charge you between 0.50% - 0.70% per annum to invest in straightforward funds,

The OP has supplied clear info that they are only being charged 0.26% by Aviva. It looks like their employer has negotiated a very good deal !

My employer is a large American IT company, though there's only a few thousand employees in the UK. Other funds though are more like 0.50 - 0.70, so imagine I might need to pay this if I want to change, still need to research this properly. We moved to Aviva from Friends Life if that had anything to do with it (think they merged/got bought, whatever).