Combining 2 pensions and savings question

eric4395

I have just retired I am 68 in December. We have no debt or mortgage to pay and keep in good health.
I have had a pension lying since I was 60 in Royal London( set up for  flexible income drawdown) that I haven't  touched. Over the past year it has lost more than  £20,000..it currently has approx £305,000   in it
My current pension with Aegon has approx £185,000  left in it at the moment down approx £40,000 in the last 12  months.  My income now is I receive the government pension of approx £800  per month which i have had for last 2 years and  which was getting taxed at 40 %  (so I sensibly put 12000 extra contribution into my Royal London pension and got tax relief on it making it 15,000 however it has disappeared in the figures in the last 12 months) and my wife  receives about  £750  per month gov and ex works pension. 
My question is should I combine both my pensions by putting current Aegon one in with the Royal London and set up for flexible income drawdown. We are in the fortunate position of having savings to fall back on for the next few years so really don't have to touch it. Bearing in mind our ages and 75 year old the cut off for taking 25 % tax free from  my pension pot I believe) . I'm not sure what the best plan off action is. Would really like to protect as much as I can with regards to my son and daughter and 3 grandchildren benefitting out of this for there futures. Is it just a case off  handing over lump sums to them on a regular basis  before it all gets taxed at although I believe there are limits on that as it well or who knows goes to care home fees eventually 

 Any advice appreciated.

Marcon

eric4395 said:

I have just retired I am 68 in December. We have no debt or mortgage to pay and keep in good health.
I have had a pension lying since I was 60 in Royal London( set up for  flexible income drawdown) that I haven't  touched. Over the past year it has lost more than  £20,000..it currently has approx £305,000   in it
My current pension with Aegon has approx £185,000  left in it at the moment down approx £40,000 in the last 12  months.  My income now is I receive the government pension of approx £800  per month which i have had for last 2 years and  which was getting taxed at 40 %  (so I sensibly put 12000 extra contribution into my Royal London pension and got tax relief on it making it 15,000 however it has disappeared in the figures in the last 12 months) and my wife  receives about  £750  per month gov and ex works pension. 
My question is should I combine both my pensions by putting current Aegon one in with the Royal London and set up for flexible income drawdown. 

What would you hope to achieve by doing so? What are the respective costs for each provider?

eric4395 said:

We are in the fortunate position of having savings to fall back on for the next few years so really don't have to touch it. Bearing in mind our ages and 75 year old the cut off for taking 25 % tax free from  my pension pot I believe) . I'm not sure what the best plan off action is. Would really like to protect as much as I can with regards to my son and daughter and 3 grandchildren benefitting out of this for there futures. Is it just a case off  handing over lump sums to them on a regular basis  before it all gets taxed at although I believe there are limits on that as it well or who knows goes to care home fees eventually 

 Any advice appreciated.

No - if you're in drawdown, and haven't already accessed all the tax free cash available, you can take more after age 75.

You seem to have quite a few misconceptions, so perhaps double checking the terms of each pension (older contracts aren't as flexible as some more modern ones, which could be what has sparked your misconception), and carefully reading up on your options, might be useful. So too might a free appointment with PensionWise: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise?source=pw#

Albermarle

 Royal London( set up for  flexible income drawdown) that I haven't  touched. Over the past year it has lost more than  £20,000..it currently has approx £305,000   in it
My current pension with Aegon has approx £185,000  left in it at the moment down approx £40,000 in the last 12  months. 

FYI Only £20K down on £325K this year is a very good result. However £40K down on £225K is not so good, but not outside the usual range.

Having said that you need to note the following points
1) These results come from the investments within the pensions. The pension provider themselves is not affecting the result. So it depends what investments you chose, or as many people do, made no choice and were invested in the default funds.
2) You need to compare the results over a longer period. At least 5 years, preferably 10 years. You may find the pot that has gone down the most recently, went up more over the longer term.