Transfer Pension?

steveo280

Sorry, this type of question has probably been asked a million times so I apologies in advance. I have recently changed job and was paying into a Standard Life Pension for nearly 20 years that had built up to nearly 150K.  My new employer uses NEST as their provider. Would it be wise to transfer my Standard life into NEST so its all in one pot or leave the Standard Life one dormant? Many thanks 

MallyGirl

You need to find the details on both pensions before you can make that sort of decision.
What are the charges - ongoing and transfer fee
What investments is each pension using?
Does the SL one have any protected benefits?

gm0

The short answer is that there is no rush.  You may have other new job priorities. It's tidy. It's one less thing to keep track of. (Some login credentials and a small paper file).

The long answer is that it will depend on the fund range, fund costs, scheme costs.  What do you pay. As a deferred member / ex employee not actively contributing to it.  Can you invest "better" (whatever that is for you). And are there any other features of the old scheme your old employer used but which are still relevant to you having left employment.  Life insurance (death in service) may not be if it had it. But other aspects of older schemes could be.

Basically Nest could be more expensive or less expensive to just "hold" and invest the existing funds longer term than what you already have.  Some old schemes are out of whack with prices today in a way that exploits you though they were priced sort of "fairly" in the market at the time.  Other old occupational trusts used by employers are a bargain compared to the "new" commodity pensions used by a lot of employers. Lower fees, sometimes employer subsidised platform fees etc. while holding broadly the same investments.  You would likely not move the investments to hold the same thing for a higher annual cost.

So it is not helpful to generalise whether it is better or not to move as it could steer you wrongly. 

Not moving loses nothing until you have time and inclination to look at it in detail to check features and if old is more or less expensive than new.  It's not generally reversible to transfer back in.  So look before leaping.

dunstonh

Would it be wise to transfer my Standard life into NEST so its all in one pot or leave the Standard Life one dormant?

The Std Life pension will not go dormant.  So, don't worry about that.    NEST is cheap annually but expensive on contributions in. It is one of the few providers that have an initial charge.   It could be over a decade or more (or even never) before it breaks even on charges.    You need to do a comparison of the two.

JoeCrystal

I thought that the NEST do not impose initial charge on transfers in? 🤔

Here is the quote from NEST website.

Making transfers into Nest

Contributions aren’t the only way to pay into your pot. You can also transfer other pension pots into and out of Nest. This means you can bring your pension pots together, making your savings easier to manage.

You won’t pay a contribution charge on any transfers into Nest. However, our 0.3% AMC is based on how much is in your pension pot, which includes any funds you’ve transferred in.

dunstonh

I thought that the NEST do not impose initial charge on transfers in? 🤔

I don't know.  If the site says it doesn't then go by that.

Albermarle

the Standard Life one dormant?

Just because you are not contributing it, does not mean it is dormant. The investments within the pension will go up and down and fees will be charged. 

If you are not aware/not monitoring  how the SL pensions investments perform (many people do not) then this would be something more important to look into, than worrying about transferring it. 

wjr4

Personally, the fund range for Nest is rubbish so I’d keep two separate pensions!