Is this a good time to transfer out our Virgin Stakeholder Pension?

WindInHerHair

Hello,
My husband and I started a Virgin Stakeholder pension 20 years ago without really knowing much about pensions at all. We are 53 and 50 respectively and hope to retire in 2034 (14 years away). We have pots valued at £98K and £90K respectively and would like to grow each pot to a minimum of £250K to then be transferred to a provider offering an income drawdown facility (which Virgin doesn't offer). Our pensions are currently invested in the Virgin Global Share fund which charges a 1% annual fee. I realise that, with only 14 years left, we may need to transfer to a cheaper platform to maximise growth. However with such market volatility right now, is this a good time to transfer out?

My second question relates to where to move the pots to. We're interested in SIPPs so that we have a more say in where our money is invested. As we are not experienced investors, I understand that it would be wise to use the services of a financial adviser. I liked the look of Aviva- they have their own financial advisers but they would only advise on Aviva products. Does anybody have experience of Aviva as a pension provider? Or could you recommend another provider?
Many thanks for any guidance. This feels like such a huge responsibility.

Thank you.

Sandtree

According to https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/assets/pdf/pensions-statement-of-the-year-2019.pdf the fee went down to 0.6% already which is still at not the most competitive but was a significant improvement

WindInHerHair

Hi Sandtree, the fee decrease was for default funds but with so much uncertainty in the UK market last year, we switched to the Global Share fund which is not a default fund and attracts the 1% fee. See section 'Charges and account information'. https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/unit-trusts/global-share-fund/
We did know about this when we switched fund but weren't really aware how this might affect growth at the time.

Linton

Over the past 5 years the Virgin Global Share fund was 241 out of 250 in its sector.  So it should not be difficult to find something better.

dunstonh

I liked the look of Aviva- they have their own financial advisers

I don't believe they do.    They offer direct to public but on a non-advised basis.  More of a guided service.    On the advised side, Aviva rely on IFAs.   Unless they have started up a new service that I am not aware of.

Does anybody have experience of Aviva as a pension provider? Or could you recommend another provider?

Depends on which Aviva product and how you buy it.   Like most, it has pros and cons and it really depends on your circumstances and needs as to whether they are the best option or not.

Albermarle

I don't believe they do.    They offer direct to public but on a non-advised basis.  More of a guided service.    On the advised side, Aviva rely on IFAs.   Unless they have started up a new service that I am not aware of.

You can start a pension yourself ( SIPP nowadays ) with Aviva , without any financial advice . However they do offer a financial advice service if you wish to use them.

https://www.aviva.co.uk/retirement/aviva-financial-advice/

To the OP - With a 0.4% platform charge they are not the cheapest but not the most expensive either .

You could have a look at Hargreaves Landsdown - 0.45% but good service /website 

Fidelity at 0.35%

Aj Bell You invest -0.25%

Interactive Investor - £240 pa 

I web - cheaper still 

The top two have few/no extra charges for anything but the bottom ones have .

https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

dunstonh

However they do offer a financial advice service if you wish to use them.

Well there you go. i didnt know they had started their salesforce again.

To the OP - With a 0.4% platform charge they are not the cheapest but not the most expensive either .

That is quite a lot more than the pricing they are doing for IFAs (Aviva do discounts on standard terms for intermediaries).  Plus, you would have the advice charge on top.  So, I am not sure it would be good value.

However, they do DB transfers.  I wonder what they charge for that.   That could be an interesting option for those finding it hard to get DB advice.