10k to invest

deb2451

I have £30k with St James Place London
Nothing earned in 2020.
I have £19k in my bank account and a Lloyd's final salary pension of 17 years contributions.
I have no income due to disability. Has anyone any ideas? I've had 2 FAs first signed me up for St James fund. 2nd one was supposed to be helping me to transfer out of my Lloyd's pension. It didn't happen as at the time I was on esa. But not now because I have too much money in account  thanks

Alexland

deb2451 said:

I have £30k with St James Place London
Nothing earned in 2020.
I have £19k in my bank account and a Lloyd's final salary pension of 17 years contributions.
I have no income due to disability. Has anyone any ideas? I've had 2 FAs first signed me up for St James fund. 2nd one was supposed to be helping me to transfer out of my Lloyd's pension. It didn't happen as at the time I was on esa. But not now because I have too much money in account  thanks

Generally best to avoid FAs (salespeople) and only use Independent FAs working more for your interests not the product provider. It usually isn't a good move to transfer out of final salary pension schemes as they provide reliable income in retirement.

Are you sure you are not entitled to any benefits for your disability? I am not an expert on benefits but understood that some such as PIP are not means tested. Have you fully explored all possible options? How are you currently covering living expenses?

How long until you can access your Lloyds pension and will it meet your needs in retirement?

What is your objective for this £30k (and extra £10k presumably from the £19k) investment?

grumiofoundation

deb2451 said:

I have £30k with St James Place London
Nothing earned in 2020.
I have £19k in my bank account and a Lloyd's final salary pension of 17 years contributions.
I have no income due to disability. Has anyone any ideas? I've had 2 FAs first signed me up for St James fund. 2nd one was supposed to be helping me to transfer out of my Lloyd's pension. It didn't happen as at the time I was on esa. But not now because I have too much money in account  thanks

Why do you want/need to transfer out of the final salary pension?
The idea of these types of pension will pay you a guaranteed pension upon retirement rather than being subject to risk of the stock market. (Could consider posting on pensions board for more specific pension questions).
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/pensions-annuities-retirement-planning

In the event you do want to transfer see an IFA (independent financial advisor) not a FA (financial advisor).

Are you looking to change the investment the 30k with STJ (generally seen as quite poor investments on this forum due to high charges) or invest 10k of the 19k? Would 9k be enough for you as an emergency fund?

As above I am believe disability benefits are not inherently means tested?

Eyeful

With a defined benefit pension (final salary) the employer takes on the risk of paying you your monthly pension. If you have one of these then the government recommendation is to stay in it and not to transfer out.

With a defined contribution pension, your money goes into the stock market. The risk then falls onto you.

The first is expensive for the employer, which is why they prefer to now use the second.

I think of FA's as financial sales persons who want to sell me stuff. If they are tied to a particular "wealth provider" then they can only recommend the stuff that that provider has to sell me. If that stuff has high charges and fees attached, tough on the customer.

An IFA can look at the whole of the market before suggesting what I should buy. The drawback is with the amounts you mention, they are unlikely to be interested in you.

I understand that St. James charges & fees are on the high side, so less will end up in your pocket.

Have you an ISA or a SIPP?     If not you should look into them. Have a look here
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/investments/
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/using-your-pension-money
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/investments/isas/hsbc-global-strategy-portfolios/#dynamic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr-IFxRGT88

helpyhelper

Most funds don't outperform the index on average, so might be best just buying an index fund as they are cheaper.

eskbanker

helpyhelper said:

Most funds don't outperform the index on average, so might be best just buying an index fund as they are cheaper.

Did that seem meaningful, relevant or helpful in your head?