Where would I go to get a forecast of all my pension options please?

Lismac

OldMusicGuy said:

Before you go to an IFA or do anything, I would suggest you spend a bit of time educating yourself. An IFA will sell you services, and if you decide to go with an IFA, it is much better to go in from a position of understanding rather than ignorance. A great starting point is "DIY Pensions: A Simple Guide to Pensions, SIPPs & Retirement Planning" by John Edwards. There are other books and resources we can recommend as well but that is a great place to start.

You could also spend some time reading about "safe withdrawal rates". I read a post on here several years years ago about SWR and it completely opened my eyes (so search this site). You seem to have pretty good pension provision already, I think the best thing you can do is spend a bit of time educating yourself before you decide what to do. I am so glad I did (ok I started around age 55). Like you, I was "too busy" to read up on one of the most important aspects of my life.

Thank you, this is really helpful and you are right, I really do need to spend some time researching and working it out for myself. I do have some very simple questions that have already been answered this afternoon just by taking a bit of time out and reading, but yes life does get in the way sometimes I will get that book for sure.

dunstonh

Lismac said:

Thank you all, I will go to an IFA as recommended. I was a bit nervous of that as didn't want to be "sold to" I guess and wanted to see what all my current options were on a simple spreadsheet based on the current information from the 3 providers (with caveats of course). Thanks for your help, looking for a suitable IFA now  

The role of the IFA is to find out your situation and objectives and eliminate the options that do not apply and provide the best solution that fits the objective.  Sometimes there are multiple options and they will present those but ultimately, the IFA is there to narrow it down to make it easier.
The IFA will consider the whole of market and not be limited to 3 providers.  IN most cases (but not all), you usually find a new provider using a modern plan is the best option. Not one of the existing plans.

AnotherJoe

There is an online company called "retireeasy". It's maybe a tenner a month.  You plug in your pensions your contributions you expect to make, state pension date,  spending  and so on and it will produce all manner of pretty charts. 

Easy to use. I used to use it but it's not something you need to use indefinitely because once you are set things don't change On a monthly basis. I'd say it's worth using for a month or two to understand your position. 

Retireeasy doesn't mean not using an IFA because you might wish to use one to manage your funds and provide advice such as consolidating pensions and perhaps moving to a different one. But if you spend some time with RE, then a bit like reading that book that was mentioned, it will hopefully make you better prepared when you speak to an IFA. 

mark55man

This is the link to the thread that was highlighted earlier - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5466114/drawdown-safe-withdrawal-rates/p1

It's very educational, but its not at a 101 level.

Broadly you need to learn about:
* Investment strategies - ie how you invest your money and the blend of assets that you need to meet your requirements
* Investment vehicles - ie SIPP (Pension) - Other pensions - ISAs - Gold, Property, .... all these will impact the tax profile
* Yourself - how risk averse you are - ie if you see a 20% 30% 50% loss will you panic or stay calm.
* Withdrawal strategy - will depend on what number you need to live on, whether you want to leave an inheritance, what cash buffers etc

An IFA can help get provide detailed knowledge about the first two, and can help you work out the last two - but again the more you know to start with, the more you will get out of the sessions