Pension advice

penners324

NOW pensions have several investment choices. 

I had several pensions laying around, transferred them all to PensionBee and chose their riskier fund (they have 6 you can choose from).

All very easy.

dunstonh

boknaai said:

dunstonh said:

boknaai said:

dunstonh said:

Thanks for your response. I really don't know enough to choose the investments, so I guess it would be a default.

In some cases, the default will be high risk. In some cases very cautious.  Some will be middle of the road.  Often the default funds are basic and middle of the road in terms of performance.

So, don't rely on default unless you know it is right for you.

I really don't have the knowledge to manage it, so I'm guessing my only options are to leave as is, transfer to my current workplace pension scheme or pay for a managed pension? Pension egg, pension bee or nutmeg, etc

Or use an adviser.  You said one would charge 3%.   You may find cheaper or more expensive but remember that a one off charge to an adviser can result in your going into a pension that is a 1/3rd of the annual cost of what you have or some of the alternatives you have mentioned.   Plus, the adviser picks  the investments to match you.   So, dont rule out that option. It may be an initial hit but there could be a breakeven point within just a handful of years.

I think the advisor I spoke to said he uses the 3 and 1 rule. 3% initially followed by 1% yearly to manage it

The ongoing 1% is optional.  You dont have to have it.   (there is no 3 and 1 rule - its a choice of all advisers to set their own fees at their chosen levels).

boknaai

penners324 said:

NOW pensions have several investment choices. 

I had several pensions laying around, transferred them all to PensionBee and chose their riskier fund (they have 6 you can choose from).

All very easy.

Pension bee charges seem to be quite high. But I guess this is because they manage it for you. How do you find the performance?

Albermarle

NOW pensions have several investment choices

According to their website , unless I am reading it wrong , there are no choices . Just one lifestyle fund that uses a blend of a Growth fund and a Retirement fund, moving more towards the latter as you get near retirement .

Pension Bee has nine investment choices, but the charges are approx double that of Now .

AlanP_2

boknaai said:

penners324 said:

NOW pensions have several investment choices. 

I had several pensions laying around, transferred them all to PensionBee and chose their riskier fund (they have 6 you can choose from).

All very easy.

Pension bee charges seem to be quite high. But I guess this is because they manage it for you. How do you find the performance?

As above, which of the 6 (or 9) "pensions" they offer are you asking about?

I realise you don't know which one to choose but somebody has to somehow. Not sure how PensionBee works but many like that ask you a few questions about attitude to risk etc. and arrive at a product that theoretically aligns with your answers. A choice uis being mad, but in the background.

Think of PensionBee, Now or any other provider as the "admin" side of things with the investments delivering performance. 

boknaai

AlanP_2 said:

boknaai said:

penners324 said:

NOW pensions have several investment choices. 

I had several pensions laying around, transferred them all to PensionBee and chose their riskier fund (they have 6 you can choose from).

All very easy.

Pension bee charges seem to be quite high. But I guess this is because they manage it for you. How do you find the performance?

As above, which of the 6 (or 9) "pensions" they offer are you asking about?

I realise you don't know which one to choose but somebody has to somehow. Not sure how PensionBee works but many like that ask you a few questions about attitude to risk etc. and arrive at a product that theoretically aligns with your answers. A choice uis being mad, but in the background.

Think of PensionBee, Now or any other provider as the "admin" side of things with the investments delivering performance. 

I think I'd probably choose the tailored one. 

Albermarle

boknaai said:

AlanP_2 said:

boknaai said:

penners324 said:

NOW pensions have several investment choices. 

I had several pensions laying around, transferred them all to PensionBee and chose their riskier fund (they have 6 you can choose from).

All very easy.

Pension bee charges seem to be quite high. But I guess this is because they manage it for you. How do you find the performance?

As above, which of the 6 (or 9) "pensions" they offer are you asking about?

I realise you don't know which one to choose but somebody has to somehow. Not sure how PensionBee works but many like that ask you a few questions about attitude to risk etc. and arrive at a product that theoretically aligns with your answers. A choice uis being mad, but in the background.

Think of PensionBee, Now or any other provider as the "admin" side of things with the investments delivering performance. 

I think I'd probably choose the tailored one. 

This is almost exactly the same as the NOW pension investment offering , but with higher charges .

boknaai

I did have a look at legal and general, 0.56% fees and choice of 5 risk levels. Then I read the reviews, looks like they are one to avoid.

dunstonh

boknaai said:

I did have a look at legal and general, 0.56% fees and choice of 5 risk levels. Then I read the reviews, looks like they are one to avoid.

 L&G have plans going back over 50 years.  They also have multiple distribution channels.   Some of those plans are no longer owned by L&G but were sold to Reassure.

So, which L&G plans were the reviews referring to?   Plans they no longer own?  Pre 1988 pensions that do not offer modern functionality or the modern plans that do?

The problem with many reviews is that they are usually written by people who don't understand the product and functions or the fact they have a version that doesn't do what they want because it is too old.       

Internet reviews are a very bad way to buy a pension product.   That may sound strange but you generally find the providers with long histories and have hundreds or thousands of versions of products going back generations and those that have bought other providers tend to have bad reviews.        These providers dont badger new business customers to do positive reviews like many of the new players.  So, all they really get are mostly negative reviews.

The new providers don't have a long history and usually badger people to do a review after the purchase.  Reviews made after purchase are nearly always positive.  Partly as the buyer wants to believe they have made the right decision and partly because there has been so little at that stage that can go wrong.

When I look at the likes of Trustpilot and read some of the reviews it is clear that many don't have a clue or don't have enough time with a provider to give a fair and representative review. 
e.g. xyz provider wouldn't allow me to draw my money as a lump sum- so they give the provider a negative review.    However, the product the person has was bought in 1987 and a lump sum was not an option on that product then.  So, they are giving a negative review because the product isn't doing something that it was never designed to do and never did when they purchased it.  The problem is not the provider but the knowledge of the reviewer.  Its a bit like giving a bad review to a TV maker because the B&W TV you bought in the early 80s doesn't give you widescreen high definition.

Albermarle

I think the poster is looking at this one 
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) | Legal and General

Simple and reasonable price. Cheaper than Pension Bee, but more expensive than NOW.