Aviva Pensions Customer Service

dunstonh

I would be better off taking 25% of the pot Tax Free and putting it in an easy access savings account paying 1.5%.

no you wouldn't.   That would just be silly.   

Can it be done online?

no.

 Do you have to call the dreaded Customer Service number and hope someone actually answers?

yes.  They will then book you in for the phone meeting where they will give you countless warnings.   This is to protect them from you complaining later on when you finally realise what a bad idea it was.


I would suggest you contact a local IFA who can give you some understanding on how these things work.  At the moment, you have a poor knowledge level and its leading you into making bad decisions.

dosh37

I have been retired for some time. I will be 67 this year.

It seems to me it's about time I started taking money from my pension pot before I get too old to enjoy it, or at least use some of it to help pay for my gas & electricity this winter.

I have not contributed to my pension since I finished working, so "buy low and sell high" doesn't apply.

I have been trying to keep track of the funds to decide the best time to start taking money out.

It makes sense to take the 25% tax free lump sum when the pension pot value is high.

Since reaching 65 the world has just stumbled from one crisis to another.

Brexit, the pandemic, Ukraine, energy, inflation and the cost of living.

Despite that, the FTSE charts suggest that, on average, investements have been performing reasonably well.

Yet my pension pot (which is based on a mix of UK and global equities) seems to fall in value every time I look.

I still need an answer to the question of how to request changes to my Aviva pension.

For example...

How to make a request to consolidate a pension I hold with another provider.

How to switch funds.

How to implement one of the retirement options and take money from the pension pot.

I can find nothing the Aviva website that allows a customer to carry out such changes online or even to request paper forms through the post.

All I can find are pages that tell me what my options are but no way to actually initiate any instructions other than by phone.

My experience of trying to get through to Customer Services on the phone has been long queues of up to an hour and paying for the phone call while usually being forced to listen to annoying music.

gambleruk

For starters you can request a free hour Aviva which they will answer your questions (will not give advice) and no doubt be able to point you in the right direction, a lot like Pensionwise if you have ever used that service, I logged onto my account and selected a date and time which suited me and they phoned me (no need to occur any costs or listen to their music choices) and were very helpful and was certainly worth an hour of my time.

Also I downloaded their app and there seemed to be more useful things you can do on that rather than the website, you could switch fund choices etc.

Alternatively ring as soon as they open, you rarely have to wait any longer than a few minutes that way.

One thing to remember is that a pension is not like a bank account where you can take money instantly, these things take a few weeks or maybe even longer so you need to be patient and as dunstonh already said be prepared for some long phone calls which is for your own protection.

I personally found Aviva easy to deal with when I transferred my pension from them last year, only reason I did transfer was because of the costs they charged as was an old dc pension.

dunstonh

It makes sense to take the 25% tax free lump sum when the pension pot value is high.

Whilst that isn't a valid justification in itself, it would be a reason not to do it at this time.

Since reaching 65 the world has just stumbled from one crisis to another.

The world has stumbled from one crisis to another the whole of your life.  Its nothing new.   FInancial crisis occur, on average every 7 years.

Despite that, the FTSE charts suggest that, on average, investements have been performing reasonably well.

Are you invested in the FTSE?

Yet my pension pot (which is based on a mix of UK and global equities) seems to fall in value every time I look.

So, you have very little in the FTSE.      

During a negative period, the value of your investments will fall.  So, if you keep checking your values during a negative period, then you would expect them to be lower.   Just as your values will go up during positive periods and if you check your values then, they will be higher.

How to make a request to consolidate a pension I hold with another provider.You do it via the receiving scheme.  Tell them you want to transfer a pension in.

How to switch funds.Mostly done online with modern plans.   However, if you don't know what you are doing, you could make mistakes here.   It appears you don't know what you are doing.  So, you should probably avoid this.

I can find nothing the Aviva website that allows a customer to carry out such changes online or even to request paper forms through the post.All Aviva's modern plans allow online access.  Legacy plans do not.  

All I can find are pages that tell me what my options are but no way to actually initiate any instructions other than by phone.Its possible, if your plan is a legacy one, that it doesn't offer most of the modern options.  

My experience of trying to get through to Customer Services on the phone has been long queues of up to an hour and paying for the phone call while usually being forced to listen to annoying music.You could use their ringback service.  Its what if I don't get through first time to Aviva.  If you avoid peak hours then I generally find them better to get through.  Although the Bristol and Milford offices  (handling ex AXA and Friends Prov plans) are not quite as good as the offices that deal with ex NU/Aviva plans.

xylophone

How to make a request to consolidate a pension I hold with another provider.

https://www.aviva.co.uk/retirement/transfer-your-pension/

If you have an existing pension with us, you can call to transfer or you may be able to request a transfer online. Log in to MyAviva and view your pension summary to check your online options.

dunstonh

There is no reason to contact Aviva on a transfer out.   The receiving scheme initiates the transfer and controls the process.  The ceding scheme will do nothing until the receiving scheme has requested it.  

dosh37

gambleruk said:

For starters you can request a free hour Aviva which they will answer your questions (will not give advice) and no doubt be able to point you in the right direction, a lot like Pensionwise if you have ever used that service, I logged onto my account and selected a date and time which suited me and they phoned me (no need to occur any costs or listen to their music choices) and were very helpful and was certainly worth an hour of my time.

Also I downloaded their app and there seemed to be more useful things you can do on that rather than the website, you could switch fund choices etc.

Alternatively ring as soon as they open, you rarely have to wait any longer than a few minutes that way.

One thing to remember is that a pension is not like a bank account where you can take money instantly, these things take a few weeks or maybe even longer so you need to be patient and as dunstonh already said be prepared for some long phone calls which is for your own protection.

I personally found Aviva easy to deal with when I transferred my pension from them last year, only reason I did transfer was because of the costs they charged as was an old dc pension.

"One thing to remember is that a pension is not like a bank account where you can take money instantly"

Why? It's my money! It's my pension pot. My hard earned cash that has been invested.

Why shouldn't I be able to take MY money when I want it?

Why should I have to wait hours on the phone to access my money?

The pension system needs to be revised.

dunstonh

Why? It's my money! It's my pension pot. My hard earned cash that has been invested.

Whether it is hard-earned or came easy makes no difference in respect of the money held in the pension.   

Why shouldn't I be able to take MY money when I want it?

You can. Subject to regulation and law.
It is worth noting that it's not your money. It is held under a trust arrangement and you are the beneficiary.   Its not like a bank account.

Why should I have to wait hours on the phone to access my money?

It's not a bank account and you have to go through a process.  There are ways to make that process easier.    Such as putting it in a pension that supports the modern methods and not having it in a pension that does not.

The pension system needs to be revised.

It's working fine.
But if your mentality is to be difficult for difficult sake then there is plenty there to make you angry.  But then going through your life like that will just reduce your life expectancy.     Just remember that when you bought the pension, you had to buy an annuity at maturity.    Getting angry that you can do more with it now doesn't make a lot of sense.  You should be happy you can do more.

eastcorkram

I'm sure the poster is delighted they can do more. 

Aren't they simply trying to find out how to do this?

Seems a reasonable question to ask at 67 years of age. 

dunstonh

eastcorkram said:

I'm sure the poster is delighted they can do more. 

Aren't they simply trying to find out how to do this?

Seems a reasonable question to ask at 67 years of age. 

Board admin has since removed a number of the OPs posts.    So, my reply is in context with the argumentative tone that was present in those.  Without those, the context has gone.