Looking for a personal pension provider, first pension

DarrenLee02

I know very little about pensions until I started research a week ago.

I'm 43 and currently not employed, studying part-time to better myself, no existing pension, looking to set up a personal pension. I can set aside £80 a month quite comfortably at the moment and for the foreseeable future. I don't want to be active in investments, i.e. reviewing and choosing options yearly, so I'm looking at the easy managed type of account.

So far into my research it looks like either Aviva, Standard Life, or Aegon. Are there other 'simple' plan providers I'm missing, or does one of those three stand out as better than the rest? It's a fairly big decision and I'm still in research mode just now, reaching out here to see if there's any better providers.

Low to moderate risk and simple to maintain is the direction I think I'm headed, the safe option, perhaps.

TLDR: Best simple personal pension and provider, ~£80/Month, low/moderate risk investment option.

Any recommendations/suggestions appreciated.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

A popular option on here is Vanguard who now operate their own SIPP and have relatively low charges for small amounts.
You are limited to Vanguard's own funds but that isn't necessarily a problem from what you have posted.
Don't forget Aviva, Standard Life and Aegon are often just providing the pension wrapper, it is the investments within the pension that are usually more important.
Even as a non earner you get the basic rate relief on upto £3,600/year so if you can afford it you can turn £2,880 into £3,600 before you even consider any investment returns.

DarrenLee02

I looked at Vanguard, they looked like you need to be more hands-on and 'active'. I'll look again to see if they have a more passive option. I just know I'd make a bad investment choice, I know little to nothing about the markets.

Thanks.

xylophone

https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what-we-offer/personal-pension/personal-pension-account

Why choose our Personal Pension (SIPP)?

Start small

Invest from £100 per month or start with a £500 lump sum

Flexible

Choose a ready-made portfolio or build your own

https://monevator.com/using-vanguard-lifestrategy-funds-life/

DarrenLee02

Are Vanguard trustworthy? Names like Aviva and Standard Life are well known to most people, Vanguard less so.

More to look into and chew over tomorrow, thank you.

[Deleted User]

DarrenLee02 said:

Are Vanguard trustworthy? Names like Aviva and Standard Life are well known to most people, Vanguard less so.

More to look into and chew over tomorrow, thank you.

Different league.  Aviva and Standard life are midgets compared to Vanguard.  An order of mag difference in terms of assets under management.  There are a couple of other companies as well known as  Vanguard in the world of pensions but they don’t offer SIPP wrappers in the UK. 

And size isn’t everything but Vanguard has been instrumental in pushing investment costs down across the world. I’d say their reputation is pretty good.  While they started offering active funds in recent years, their reputation has been built on passive investments, which they pioneered.  They offer several  “hands off” options. 

Now... Their headquarters are in the US.  Vanguard returns profit to clients in the US.  Clients outside the US aren’t so lucky. That’s a bit of a bummer.  Still, they have a good culture of pushing the costs further and further down and have the economy of scale.  

While their products have been popular with British consumers for a while, their SIPP is only 1 year old, so perhaps that’s what you meant.  It seems to be targeted at people in the early phases of pension investments with small funds. Like already mentioned, their product offering is limited to own funds and ETFs, but they are all very solid products. 

Albermarle

If you want something really simple you could look at this ( but not the cheapest ) 
https://www.nutmeg.com/pensions.Retirement+Tips:+How+to+create+your+own+Personal+Pension+PlanMost

DarrenLee02

Vanguard is looking more interesting the more I look at it. I think that might be the one.

Thanks for the replies.

[Deleted User]

DarrenLee02 said:

Vanguard is looking more interesting the more I look at it. I think that might be the one.

Thanks for the replies.

If you go with Van, you have two types of instruments to pick from. 

1. ETFs. This option requires a little bit more attention. You need to do some reading.  In your position I would have a 100% equity portfolio with 80% in VWRL, 10% in VUKE  and 10% in VMID.  This is a highly diversified global portfolio with a good balance between different sectors of the economy and a small home bias.  

2. Mutual funds.  This is the easiest option and is probably more suitable for you.  Keep buying VLS100 and you are done.Very similar in terms of allocations to option 1 but you have less control. Which you likely don’t desire anyway. 

Nurse2047

https://www.moneyboxapp.com/faqs/what-pension-funds-can-i-invest-in/