Transferring occupational pension

dlk

Am I able to transfer a lump sum from within my occupational scheme while remaining a member?

The scheme (a uk equities fund) managed to lose 10% over the past year despite the ftse actually rising slightly.

I currently have £116000 in the pension and wondered if I was allowed to move £100k of it to a private scheme and then continue to contribute (as they contribute as well as match my contributions so wouldn't want to leave it of course)

Are there any rules stopping that, is it something that's usually possible?

xylophone

Other posters have been permitted partial transfers out of  their workplace pensions into their personal pensions but this definitely depends on scheme rules.

The scheme (a uk equities fund) managed to lose 10% over the past year despite the ftse actually rising slightly.

We have had high volatility over the last several months - has your personal pension not suffered from this?

Linton

Whether you can transfer out some money yet still remain a member witll depend on the rules of the scheme.  You will have to check with your employer.  Many schemes will allow it, it is possible that some wont.

I am unclear why you want to - what UK equity fund are your invested in?  One point I would make is that putting all your money in a single country that represents perhaps 5% of the world market is poor investing.  You would be better off investing globally.  Do you not have the choice in your current scheme?

dunstonh

The scheme (a uk equities fund) managed to lose 10% over the past year despite the ftse actually rising slightly.

Which FTSE?    A UK equity fund can be all share, mid cap, large cap or small cap.  The FTSE, if you mean FTSE100, is large cap.  

Mid caps are down around 15% on the year (or closer to 25% from peak to trough).  

You also have to be careful on dates.  A statement date may be down 10% on the FTSE100 (as it would have been a few months ago) but not currently.  Unless you look at identical dates, any comparison is meaningless.

Also, what about your other funds?  Investing 100% in UK large cap would be silly.   Just as it would be investing 100% in UK equities of any type.

dlk

Thanks, I'll check with the scheme.

Yes Linton, 70% is uk equities, 20% global and 10% emerging markets.

I've been unable to find out what the scheme charges are but I'm wondering if that's what is effecting performance. The total fund was £122k two years ago and I've been paying £380 per month in as well and it's dropped to £116k. I guess the thought of moving it to another scheme is just the frustration of seeing it drop consistently when we've not been in a falling market.

Linton

dlk said:

Thanks, I'll check with the scheme.

Yes Linton, 70% is uk equities, 20% global and 10% emerging markets.

I've been unable to find out what the scheme charges are but I'm wondering if that's what is effecting performance. The total fund was £122k two years ago and I've been paying £380 per month in as well and it's dropped to £116k. I guess the thought of moving it to another scheme is just the frustration of seeing it drop consistently when we've not been in a falling market.

I agree with Dunstonh that a likely cause for the difference is that the dates dont match exactly.  A few days can make a lot of difference.   Another reason is that non UK funds have performed worse than UK ones in the recent falls.  Globally we have been in a falling market.  Emerging Markets in particular has not done well.   If you let us know the name of the fund we can check exactly what is happening.

Charge differences are typically less than 1% so wont explain your numbers.

dunstonh

I guess the thought of moving it to another scheme is just the frustration of seeing it drop consistently when we've not been in a falling market.

We have been in a falling market.  Not sure why you think we haven't.

Albermarle

dlk said:

Thanks, I'll check with the scheme.

Yes Linton, 70% is uk equities, 20% global and 10% emerging markets.

I've been unable to find out what the scheme charges are but I'm wondering if that's what is effecting performance. The total fund was £122k two years ago and I've been paying £380 per month in as well and it's dropped to £116k. I guess the thought of moving it to another scheme is just the frustration of seeing it drop consistently when we've not been in a falling market.

A more normal geographic distribution would be the other way around i.e. 70% global- 20% UK . Although it would not have stopped it going down recently, it would have grown a lot more in previous years.

Moving it to another scheme is not really the answer. What matters is how the money is invested within the scheme. That is the same for your current pension, or any new one. Your current scheme will almost certainly offer a choice of investments, other than the one you have. Have a look online.

Financial markets around the world have fallen in 2022.