Old Pensions - Anything I can do with them?

PowerHandle

Hi, I have a couple of pensions from old employers, one a stakeholder pension from 18 months employment for a major transport company, the other a workplace pension (provided by NEST) that currently is worth around £400, though I only contributed for around a year. I don't know who the stakeholder pension is with, but I do know I contributed to it. I'm lucky that my current employers give a very good pension, but I cannot transfer other pensions into the scheme because of how it is funded and managed. 

So, is there anything I can do with these pensions to make them work better for me? I've at least 30 years to go before retirement, so if I can do anything now to make retiring more comfortable then I'm all ears.

xylophone

How about a transfer into something like
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what-we-offer/personal-pension/personal-pension-account
and continuing a monthly contribution?

Marcon

PowerHandle said:

Hi, I have a couple of pensions from old employers, one a stakeholder pension from 18 months employment for a major transport company, the other a workplace pension (provided by NEST) that currently is worth around £400, though I only contributed for around a year. I don't know who the stakeholder pension is with, but I do know I contributed to it. I'm lucky that my current employers give a very good pension, but I cannot transfer other pensions into the scheme because of how it is funded and managed. 

So, is there anything I can do with these pensions to make them work better for me? I've at least 30 years to go before retirement, so if I can do anything now to make retiring more comfortable then I'm all ears.

Before you do anything, have a look at https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3550085/STEVE-WEBB-merge-small-pension-pots.html

You should be getting annual statements from your stakeholder provider, so sounds as if you've not updated your address. Track it down now (ask for your former employer which provider they used in the years you were employed there) and check if you could be invested in funds which are better suited to your current aspirations.

Look at the NEST fund options and, again, switch to those if you don't like the current investments.

Alternatively, transfer one or both to a SIPP. All depends what you want to achieve.

Nurse2047

I moved my little pots into Pensionbee- worked for me. There are referral links in the referral forum 

jamesd

Keep them!

Under current proposals you might be able to take money out of old plans at age 55 instead of 58. Leave them where they are until the proposals have been finalised, then you'll know if moving instead of adding to is a mistake. We'll probably know before the end of the year.

The exact years when you reach 55 and 58 are likely to be key but unless you'll be 58 by April 2028 best to wait unless you're certain that you won't want or be forced to retire earlier than expected.

If you'll be within that critical age range you might want to consider setting up regular payments into the Stakeholder. The final rules might bar changed contributions or transfers in after the date of the change from getting the better treatment. Once we know the rules you can continue or stop as appropriate.