How good/bad do you think my current pension is?!

barnstar2077

If you halved that £1000 charge (which is the least you could do really), the difference with 5% yearly growth would give you just shy of 10k extra in your pot at 60.

You could do with working out how much money you think you will need a year at sixty to give you a better idea of your target.

simonp

Thanks everyone. Some really useful advice. I know for sure I need to increase my contributions and will have a look around for some (safe) alternatives!

cloud_dog

Perhaps you could enquire with the scheme if you are permitted to undertake a 'partial transfer out' of the scheme, whilst remaining an active member and continuing to contribute to the scheme (or at least the employer's contributions continue).

I do this with contributions in to a Prudential scheme and their charge is 0.75%.

simonp

barnstar2077 said:

If you halved that £1000 charge (which is the least you could do really), the difference with 5% yearly growth would give you just shy of 10k extra in your pot at 60.

So I'm looking at Hargreaves Lansdown which a friend is always raving about - they're 0.45% which has got to be better right? Even if I just transferred into a low risk fund with them and leave it it *should* be a saving? 

barnstar2077

Having reread your original post I see that this is your works pension, sorry I thought because it said personal pension on the statement that it was yours alone.  You probably won't be able to move it, unless your friend also works with you? (Because your company probably wouldn't let you.)  My apologies.

DanJ90

I’m actually looking at doing something similiar in terms of a partial transfer to save on fees long term. For example, if I were to transfer to a Vanguard SIPP with the fund I am looking at (and regular partial transfers) this will save me around 0.5% per annum. 

Over the 30 year period that I am looking at investing for, by switching to the lower fee platform will save me around £56000 in fees (Based on a 6% growth per annum - Just an example).

Im no expert by any means, but certainly something to look into.

You cannot control the stock market, but the one thing you can control in investing is the fees that you pay.

dunstonh

I'm a single guy, currently 46 and was planning to retire at 60. 

Obviously, this pension (and the current contribution) by itself won't be enough to achieve that.  So, what other things do you have to help you achieve your objective?

Is 1% a year pretty average then?

It was in 2001.  It is about double the charge for an unmanaged pension in 2020.

simonp

barnstar2077 said:

Having reread your original post I see that this is your works pension, sorry I thought because it said personal pension on the statement that it was yours alone.  You probably won't be able to move it, unless your friend also works with you? (Because your company probably wouldn't let you.)  My apologies.

It’s my business

Prism

simonp said:

barnstar2077 said:

Having reread your original post I see that this is your works pension, sorry I thought because it said personal pension on the statement that it was yours alone.  You probably won't be able to move it, unless your friend also works with you? (Because your company probably wouldn't let you.)  My apologies.

It’s my business

If its your business then your contributions seem a bit on the low side since a pension is one of the most tax efficient ways of paying yourself.
Another platform to consider is Youinvest - I use them for my business.

Steve182

I use Youinvest (AJ Bell) too and their fees are very low. They are a SIPP so it's a DIY arrangement.
If you are aiming to retire at 60 that's a good 8 years before your state pension age. So apologies for stating the obvious but unless you have a spare house or something of similar value to sell to help fund retirement I think you may need to up your contributions 2 or 3 fold to achieve your goal.