Thank you…

AndrewB22

I’ve been researching options for my pension for a little while and feel I’ve understood the key issues. I’d more or less completed my research when I found this forum, and what I’ve read here (across many posts) has confirmed and validated my research, and answered one or two things I still wasn’t totally sure about. It turns out that what I do with my pension will be by far the biggest financial decision of my life, as my pension is worth nearly twice the value of my house.  Both my wife and I have good DB pensions and having analysed it extensively and checked the tax rules it looks to me to be significantly better to transfer my pension to a SIPP and to take my wife’s DB pension.  It’s mandatory to take advice from an IFA before doing that (my pension scheme kindly pays for the advice) and I have that meeting this week. I feel well prepared for it, thanks in part to this forum. 

What struck me, reading through many, many pages of posts, was what an amazing group of people are posting to this forum. In the many hundreds (or thousands) of posts I’ve read, I can’t recall seeing any advice given that wasn’t right, any trolling, impatience, rudeness or arrogance. Just loads and loads of helpful, accurate, patient bits of wise advice. 

Money and finance can be frightening and overly complicated. A friendly forum that helps people, with overwhelmingly wise advice, is a genuinely wonderful thing. 

I think you should all give yourselves a pat on the back.  Thank you, both for helping me, and for helping many others. 

jim8888

Nice post, and I'd second your comments. This board has been a fantastic resource for me.

Albermarle

Thanks for your comments, but I think maybe you are looking through rose coloured spectacles when you say this .

In the many hundreds (or thousands) of posts I’ve read, I can’t recall seeing any advice given that wasn’t right, any trolling, impatience, rudeness or arrogance. Just loads and loads of helpful, accurate, patient bits of wise advice. 

In general there are not too many problems but being an internet forum it is not 100% free of some of the usual issues.
Most of the worst offenders get banned at some point though.

robatwork

I've said previously this particular pension forum is the best one on MSE for quality of postings/members and how little "noise" there is to "signal".  Maybe it's down to the average age of its natural inhabitants.

If you want rude or trolling, try the Savings one!

Flugelhorn

robatwork said:

If you want rude or trolling, try the Savings one!

not sure if I dare, get enough earache from my financial advisor

cfw1994

Good post, & I would agree this sub-forum tends to be useful and positive on the whole, with not too many negative posters 👍

On your meeting this week: I'm curious that your scheme pays for IFA advice.  That is great!
You may want to check it *is* IFA, not FA.   Or that may not matter.....

I suspect you're aware that there is a reluctance both for advisors to recommend, and for potential receiving funds to actually take such transfers if the advice was negative.  You might want to give the advisor every hope/expectation that they can manage it after you move it 😉 🤷‍♂️

Good luck, and feel free to report back for others to benefit from when you are sorted 👍

Albermarle

robatwork said:

I've said previously this particular pension forum is the best one on MSE for quality of postings/members and how little "noise" there is to "signal".  Maybe it's down to the average age of its natural inhabitants.

If you want rude or trolling, try the Savings one!

If you mean the 'Savings and Investments' forum , then really that and this one are inextricably linked . A lot of similar questions and the same regular posters . Not sure I have noticed a lot of difference in tone between the two .

AndrewB22

cfw1994 said:

Good post, & I would agree this sub-forum tends to be useful and positive on the whole, with not too many negative posters 👍

On your meeting this week: I'm curious that your scheme pays for IFA advice.  That is great!
You may want to check it *is* IFA, not FA.   Or that may not matter.....

I suspect you're aware that there is a reluctance both for advisors to recommend, and for potential receiving funds to actually take such transfers if the advice was negative.  You might want to give the advisor every hope/expectation that they can manage it after you move it 😉 🤷‍♂️

Good luck, and feel free to report back for others to benefit from when you are sorted 👍

Thank you!  It is with a firm called Wren Sterling and they seem very credible. Re-reading their website it looks like they provide financial advice to companies and their employees, but I now don’t think they are IFAs. The pension scheme accepts their advice for the purposes of the requirement for advice and they have achieved something called the Pension Transfer Gold Standard. Talking with colleagues in the same pension scheme I know a few that have transferred out and several who haven’t, and I think I can see the factors that each has considered and why what they did was right for them. 

I have given the question whether to transfer out a lot of thought. Wren Sterling has a checklist of factors to consider in deciding whether transferring out is wise, reproduced below. I’ve been through this list carefully and feel confident that transferring out is right for me. The main reason is that the multiple of pension is 50 times, so that the required drawdown is 2% real, and I’m lucky enough that with other pensions and savings we can maintain our current standard of living in retirement without needing any of my pension. I have cancer so have a reduced life expectancy, although I am not in serious I’ll health, and my wife has a good DB pension. We have a lot of savings and investments. 

I’ll let you know how I get on!

Factors to consider in whether or not to transfer out of a Defined Benefit pension scheme

 • Planned retirement age.

• Anticipated income and lump sum requirements in retirement.

• All pension, investment and other assets for both yourself and partner/spouse that can be used to provide an income or capital in retirement, including state benefits.

• Any liabilities and when and how these are likely to be repaid.

• State of health of both yourself and your partner/spouse and family history relating to health issues.

• The importance of providing dependent benefits, if applicable.

• Your current tax status and your likely tax status in retirement.

• Your attitude to investment risk and investment knowledge and experience.

• Your attitude to transfer risk and ability to forego the security of a Defined Benefit pension scheme.

• Your ability to absorb investment loss and the impact this could have on objectives.

• Impact of a transfer on the value of your estate and your Inheritance Tax position.

• Charges applicable for advice and investment of any funds transferred out.

• Any other relevant risk factors, whether the advice is to transfer or stay in the Defined Benefit pension scheme.

• Whether pensions will be subject to a lifetime allowance charge.

• Impact on state benefits when benefits are taken.

cfw1994

50x is a tremendous multiple.  Good luck!

Albermarle

cfw1994 said:

50x is a tremendous multiple.  Good luck!

As long as it is 50X the pension adjusted for inflation from the leaving date of employment.
As you know some posters use the pension figure given to them when they left the employer, 10 or even 20 years ago, which inflates the multiple artificially.

AndrewB22

Yes, it’s actually 53x the pension I will be able to draw from July, when I turn 55. It’s 40x the amount I could take without lump sum at 60. I suppose the 40x is the better comparison.