Phoenix Life (formerly Britannic) Pension - planning for the future

beavere38

I'm approaching 50 and I have a private pension I pay into which I started when I was about 21 or 22. I think it was with a company called Britannic but is now Phoenix Life.

I am wondering if this is the best performing place to leave it for the next 15 years or so or should I move it to another provider to get better growth?

I have just had an annual statement which mentions some figures eg.

Plan value Former protected rights: £23,233 Personal rights: £70,114 Total Value: £93,348
It also says "Your personal rights elements will give you a pension (at age 60) of £1,595 per year"
"Your former protected rights elements will give you a pension (at age 65) of £484 each year"
I'm not going to get a fat lot from the sounds of it despite trying to do the right thing by starting a pension at an early age.
Currently I pay £162 (including tax relief if applicable) each month (increasing by 5% each year.

Thank you in advance.

dunstonh

I am wondering if this is the best performing place to leave it for the next 15 years or so or should I move it to another provider to get better growth?

The provider is not responsible for the growth on a pension.   They are responsible for the administration.    The investment fund(s) are responsible for the growth.     You haven't mentioned those.  So, until we know, your question cannot be answered.

I'm not going to get a fat lot from the sounds of it despite trying to do the right thing by starting a pension at an early age.

the projections on statements use synthetic figures that are right at the lowest end of the scale.  They are artificially low on purpose.  For example, taking your current value with no more growth or contributions and using drawdown at 3.5% would give you £3267 a year.  A lot more than the £2079 the statement says.

83705628

Couldn't say without knowing your total expense ratio, how it's invested, and how confident you feel managing it for yourself.
 My dad had a Phoenix life one that I worked out had returned 1% more than RPI over the past 30 years and was charging 1.5% so that went straight into a Vanguard SIPP.

beavere38

How do I know the investment fund and how do I know what they are charging please?

On the statement it mentions "Phoenix Life Limited Britannic With-Profits Fund" - is that the investment fund?

Someone told me it could be a "zombie" pension fund I just want to get the best return like everyone. I don't want to do anything risky I would like a pension provider who gives a decent annual return.

83705628

beavere38 said:

How do I know the investment fund and how do I know what they are charging please?

On the statement it mentions "Phoenix Life Limited Britannic With-Profits Fund" - is that the investment fund?

Someone told me it could be a "zombie" pension fund I just want to get the best return like everyone. I don't want to do anything risky I would like a pension provider who gives a decent annual return.

/
Yes that sounds like the name of the fund.
Is there an online login? If not then an email or phone call.
This info should be on your statement: the total charges, annual management charge, platform fee, "what does it cost?", Ongoing charge figure, AMC, TER, OCF... Also some info about how the fund is invested should be there.
I just checked on the phoenix life website and they have taken over from several former providers with Britannic in the name so I couldn't find out this information publicly.

Before transferring check very carefully what the protected rights mean and if you lose any benefits, right or other protections. 

As for the second part of your question about looking for a pension provider who gives a decent annual return - welcome to the club.
You can open a SIPP online in minutes, there's plenty of info on the forum and on the site generally about it.

Albermarle

A with profits fund is a fund that is designed to smooth out the ups and downs of the markets from one year to the next .
It is never going to give high growth but it should protect you to a reasonable extent when the markets drop.
They are a bit old fashioned and nearly all older ones that are still around . The detail of how they work and charges can be a bit of a mystery .

Someone told me it could be a "zombie" pension fund I just want to get the best return like everyone. I don't want to do anything risky I would like a pension provider who gives a decent annual return.

A zombie pension fund is basically one that is not taking on any new customers or contributions. It will just keep going until the last customer dies or transfers out ( oversimplification probably ) Phoenix buy these funds from providers who usually want out of the pension business.

On your second point 'Decent Return' = 'taking risks' This is a rule of investments and would apply with any new pension provider. To be safe you can keep your pension fund as cash but return = zero . or in government gilts but return = almost zero.

In any case to partly repeat the point made earlier , the pension provider is less important that the investments held within the pension. To make a decent return, or even keep up with inflation , the investments have to be based on risk, some more than others.