Moving aviva pension to HL, advise pls?

everfor007

I am currently with Aviva,  pension fund performance tracking, charges checking through online is crap and online won't support swap of funds, need to call customer care and wait for longer queue and email response is very poor.   So i am thinking move the my pension from Aviva to HL (hargreaves lansdown ) understood they are supporting around 3000+ funds to select. But not sure interms of charges comparing to aviva, is it expensive?  How is support HL online and customer care response? 

is there any other similar pension provider who has supporting more funds comparing HL ?  is it good decision move HL? pls advise.

xylophone

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/cheap-sipps/ might help.

El_Torro

You're right in saying that HL offers a lot more funds than Aviva does. Do you know which funds you want to invest in? If not why do you want to leave Aviva? 

Buying funds on HL will cost you a 0.45% annual platform charge to maintain your portfolio. The fund will also have a charge, which is detailed on the fund factsheet (this can be found on the HL website). I'm not sure what Aviva charges. Especially if you have an old workplace pension they might be charging you a better rate than someone who just opens a pension directly with them. How much they charge should be detailed when you login to your account, or you can phone and ask.

If you don't know what either platform charges then I have to ask again: Why do you want to leave Aviva and go to HL? It's possible that HL are more expensive than what you're currently getting from Aviva. If cost is your main concern there are other platforms out there which are cheaper than HL.

I have used HL for various years now and find their website user friendly. I have also had a relatively quick response whenever I've had to e-mail them (I only ever e-mail them when they mess up a pension transfer, which seems to happen quite often). I've never felt the need to phone them so can't comment on this aspect of their customer service. 

trevjl

I have a workplace pension with Aviva and I can do all the things you say you can't do online, online.
I have SS ISA with HL, service good & answer the phone almost immediately from my experience.

SouthCoastBoy

I have used H&L for around 15 to 20 years, I find their customer service good. Depending on your investment strategy and the amount you have invested they can be quite expensive. It is worth shopping around and looking at other providers such as AJ Bell, Fidelity, Interactive Investor etc. to see what suits you best, based on your needs and investor profile (e.g. fund , unit trusts, shares, investment amount,,,)

squirrelpie

"If not why do you want to leave Aviva?"

I would have thought that question was well answered by the OP in the first post:

"pension fund performance tracking, charges checking through online is crap and online won't support swap of funds, need to call customer care and wait for longer queue and email response is very poor."

Whether that is accurate is apparently another question.

everfor007

Attached  my online account screenshot, for  proof of  accuracy, says call us for any investment changes.  is it not outdated system? 

engagedandopen

You might find it is easier online after that first phone call... it's probably to protect you from leaving their investment approach without thinking it through.

balbs

HL might not be the cheapest outfit around but their customer service people know what are they talking about and are not just script readers - Ive just had a nightmare with transferring an old AVC from another provider to HL, IMHO the old provider shouldnt be trusted with holding anybodys money so Im glad Ive moved it to HL,and they were extremely helpful in badgering the old company.  Its the old story , you do get what you pay for.

biscan25

In my experience, HL's service is second to none. They actually answer the phone and know what they are talking about, and they invest in technology resulting in a slick app.
Yes they are reasonably expensive, AJ Bell are cheaper and ii are if you have a massive pot as they have a fixed platform fee instead of a percentage.
I've found Aviva to be one of the more useful of my workplace pension providers, Aegon by far the worst!

cfw1994

trevjl said:

I have a workplace pension with Aviva and I can do all the things you say you can't do online, online.
I have SS ISA with HL, service good & answer the phone almost immediately from my experience.

My workplace pension was also with Aviva: pretty easy to chose from around 80 funds, low cost (from 0.23% to about 1%, all in).  So certainly *some* Aviva plans let you do things.  Maybe call them and ask?

I have now left work & started drawing down: they have been reasonable enough (bit of a faff & palaver with first amount, they offered some compensation which was kind enough, no money lost for me); my fund choices and charges remain the same as they were before.

80 funds was enough for me to research…having a few thousand would cause me more challenges, I suspect!