Not sure what to do or where to get advice.

SSTJCKel

So i've been doing lots of research but still no wiser what to do. I'm 62 and the gov website says I can retire at 67. I have one larger pension with £100k in it. I have two others which aren't worth much one from a job which lasted 2 years and one job which lasted 6 months and i've been auto-enrolled in my current job for 2.5yrs. I got all the statements together and it appears I would get in total less than 3k a year from the pensions combined. So what do I do with them, should I combine all the pensions into one ? 
I also have 20k in debts which i'm working hard at paying off before I retire. At the moment I don't see that I will be able to afford to retire at 67 but I was looking at the possibility of buying a boat to live on which would be cheap enough to enable me to live on the state pension once the boat is paid for. Unfortunately that would require me to take the whole pension pot in cash which I now know will involve a big tax bill. 
I've been thinking about seeing a financial adviser but trying to find one that will give me a quote as to their fees to advise on this situation seems difficult as I can't pin them down to a figure. I'm not sure I trust people who are trying to make money out of me and who won't give me a figure for an assessment of my situation. Can anyone suggest the best way forward to ensure I maximise my income on retirement ? 

TVAS

Forget about taking the whole fund in one go. Maximum tax free cash is 25% of the fund. 

Do you want a guaranteed pension annuity or non guaranteed drawdown. 

You could do the work yourself assuming all your plans are money purchase. An adviser will want to take at least 3% of the transfer value for advice and an ongoing adviser fee OAC of up to 1% p.a. Do not have that charge imposed on your plan (if you go down the drawdown route). If you find it has been added on, complain and ask the provider to remove it from your plan.   

Vanguard and Nutmeg are competitive SIPP plans.

You have not said if you own your property now. The boat idea is difficult because there will be mooring fees which will be variable and you might not even get a spot depending on where it is.  
Good luck

SSTJCKel

Thanks TVAS. I don't own a property. I'm in private rented. Also the boat idea has been a long time interest. I've looked into the whole mooring fees and other costs etc in-depth so I have gained quite an depth understanding of that as an option.
I've looked at Vanguard which seems to have interesting and reasonable performance from its funds however I don't understand if I can transfer all of my pensions into this or the pros and cons of doing so. I've been trying to find a reliable independent source of information on this or indeed any other options that may be available to make the most of the pensions I have.

JohnWinder

The world of financial advice, and beyond the UK, is probably moving towards a fee for service model of charging in contrast to a percentage of funds approach, perhaps a bit slowly for you. Each will have its shortcomings I guess, but there'd be a place for both you'd think. But even one quoting £300/hour won't know how many hours it will take to review and advise on your situation; she could inflate the £300 in case the work takes longer than average, or risk not getting paid sufficiently, either way it's imperfect.

It's possible that you already have a clear enough picture of the issues affecting the choices you're considering ie boat, taxes, remaining debt, that an advisor won't be able to add much other than to conclude 'you should do this....'. In which case your guess as to what you should do might be no, or hardly less valid.

You've concluded you don't have enough to retire on. Keep checking that that is right; perhaps search for people writing about 'safe withdrawal rates' (SWR) for retirement spending. If you are right, your choice would seem to be: work longer; save more now; reduce planned retirement spending. The other choice, 'take more risk with investments, hoping for a better return' is fraught with danger and not for the faint heart.

xylophone

Have you obtained a state pension  forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

I have two others which aren't worth much one from a job which lasted 2 years 

What kind of pension is this? DB/DC?

Albermarle

I've been trying to find a reliable independent source of information on this or indeed any other options that may be available to make the most of the pensions I have.

You have probably come to the right place 

've looked at Vanguard which seems to have interesting and reasonable performance from its funds however I don't understand if I can transfer all of my pensions into this or the pros and cons of doing so

If they are all Defined Contribution Pensions ( if you are not sure what that means then check the link to a free government website below ) it is surprisingly easy to transfer them nowadays .

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/pensions-basics/workplace-pension-schemes

You will need to keep your current workplace pension open . You could transfer the others into that or maybe open a new one with Vanguard for example . It is clear from their website how to do this and probably will be clear from your workplace pension website how to transfer pensions into it.

There some pros and cons to consolidating pensions but not such a big issue either way.

So i've been doing lots of research but still no wiser what to do. I'm 62 and the gov website says I can retire at 67

You can retire whenever you like if you can afford it . Your private/workplace pensions are normally accessible from age 55 but usually better to leave them until later /when really needed.

Your state pension will be payable from 66 I think ( not 67 ?) It is very important that you check your forecast as per Xylophones link .

xylophone

I'm 62 and the gov website says I can retire at 67. 

You were born in 1959?
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age

dunstonh

 I'm 62 and the gov website says I can retire at 67.

The Government doesn't tell you when you can retire.  It tells you the age you can collect your state pension. The average age of retirement in the UK floats between 62-63.
That said, your provision for retirement is not great and you will probably have to wait until state pension age to retire unless you have other means.

should I combine all the pensions into one ? 

Possibly for convenience.  Although the smaller ones could help fund the earlier years.

I've been thinking about seeing a financial adviser but trying to find one that will give me a quote as to their fees to advise on this situation seems difficult as I can't pin them down to a figure. 

Most firms should have no problem-pricing you if you are looking at conventional options.  If you tell them you are thinking about cashing the whole lot then many would distance themselves from you.

I'm not sure I trust people who are trying to make money out of me and who won't give me a figure for an assessment of my situation.

They cannot charge you until they give you a price and the opportunity for you to walk away. The point of the first meeting (which is free of charge) is to find out enough about you to be able to give you a price.     

Vanguard and Nutmeg are competitive SIPP plans.

Except neither are SIPPs.  (Vanguard refer to theirs as a personal pension in some places and SIPP in others but whilst SIPPs offer 30,000 or so investment options, Vanguard only offer a few dozen.   Vanguard's product is more of a hybrid.   Nutmeg is not at all a SIPP)

SSTJCKel

xylophone said:

I'm 62 and the gov website says I can retire at 67. 

You were born in 1959?
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age

Xylophone - I was born in 1958 but yes I understand that I can retire when I like but with so little in the pot, relatively, this makes it difficult with the state pension and impossible without and I need to keep working to pay off my debts so Dunstonh comments are apt.
Dunstonh:-
The advisors i've contacted are remarkably unclear about the first meeting being free. I take the point that it should be free so they can assess what is involved and what they should/could charge. Is there a way to get a recommendation to an advisor or a website with reviews ?.... I don't know anyone who's seen one so can't get a personal recommendation. 
And yes its when I get into the detail of Sipps and non-sipps where it all becomes a bit fuzzy for me.

SSTJCKel

Now this is interesting. Has anyone any thoughts on the Pensions Advisory Service ?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/02/martin-lewis-pension-savings/

Bimbly

It's a government run service and very good for giving you general information about pensions and your options. It won't give you tailored advice to your specific situation (ie, you should do this), but is good for an overview if you are just starting to understand pensions.
https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk