Moving jobs and not sure what to do

triplea35

There is a sliding scale calculator of charges on the PP site which shows the amc as .36%. You need £100k to get to .25%. It needs a reading of the small print to understand the rebate as it is only given on monies within certain bands so some of your pot is getting less or even no rebate!
I think your suggestion to keep both providers and pay in your additional contributions to the Peoples Pension is  a good one in your circumstances. You just need to print of an application form and direct debit mandate from the PP site.
In respect of fund choice the 'default' option with Nest are dated Retirement funds which have three periods, a foundation stage of low risk. a growth stage. and a consolidation stage again low risk as approach retirement. You will have gone through or may still be in the foundation period.
I am loathe to advise you on which funds to choose as it depends on your attitude to risk, though with a pension being a long term investment , the general consensus seems to be that you can take more risk and accept some volatility until closer to retirement. An example with Nest is the 2040 retirement fund has grown 59.4% in the last five years whereas the Sharia Fund (100% equities) has grown 127.7% in the same period.
People Pension does seem to have  a better selection of funds. You can choose your risk profile as adventurous balanced or cautious  or  a self selection choice of funds.
I find the best site to research/compare previous performance is Trustnet and just search Pension Funds with the management companies Nest and B&CE.
My son is 28 and we originally chose Nest Higher Risk fund and on transfer to PP have now gone 100% Sharia.

Albermarle

I have no idea when it comes to fund selection, everyone I have ever mentioned that to just leaves it on the default...... any suggestions?

You are right that something like 95% of pension investors leave their money in the default fund. However that is due to lack of knowledge/head in the sand about investments. I can probably say with some confidence that none of the regular contributors to this forum have any money in default funds.

The usual problem is that they are too cautious , especially for people still many years from retirement. For these people funds with a relatively high % ( up to 100%)of global equities ( shares) should produce more growth in the long run. However in the short & medium term they will be more volatile and you have to hold your nerve when they drop .

Picking the right fund is much more important than 0.1% difference in charges.

JamesWhite19

Thanks Albermarle and triplea35 some great advice/comments from you both. My last question for now, how often should I be reviewing the funds that the pensions are invested in? Should I be reviewing them annually, monthly every couple of years etc? 

Albermarle

JamesWhite19 said:

Thanks Albermarle and triplea35 some great advice/comments from you both. My last question for now, how often should I be reviewing the funds that the pensions are invested in? Should I be reviewing them annually, monthly every couple of years etc? 

The funds on offer from Nest and PP are basically linked to the performance of the markets . So if you pick an  Adventurous/higher risk fund it will follow the ups and downs of the financial markets quite closely . A more cautious fund will also follow the markets but to a lesser degree.
Decide the risk level you are comfortable with and then leave them alone and go and do something more interesting. Maximum annual review .
This year saw a big drop in March due to Covid. Many inexperienced investors were panicking and pulling their money out which is the worst thing to do . Some braver types invested more . However most experienced investors just sat on their hands and did nothing as they are in it for the long term. Usually that is a good a strategy as any , unless you really know what you are doing.

garmeg

JamesWhite19 said:

Another Question .... Sorry complete newbie here ..... I thought that the tax relief on pension contributions was 20%? Having just looked at all this I noticed there is an export to .csv option for contributions so just for fun I did. I then thought I would look at the % of Tax relief that I am getting,.. just for fun.... In the below month, for example, 65.55 \ (262.18+104.04) = 17.8% In other months its again different in Dec 2019 it works out at 15% 

25/11/2020	Payroll deduction			£262.18
25/11/2020	Company			£104.04
25/11/2020	Tax Relief			£65.55
18/11/2020	Management Charge Rebate			£2.51

You dont get tax relief on the employer contributions.

penners324

You need to look at what funds you are using with Peoples Pension and NEST. They both have a higher risk fund which might be more beneficial long term.
A company cannot pay individual employees pensions into different providers. It's not possible with most payroll systems and would go against the Pension Regulation Authority rules.