Help with Private pensions

smallzoo2

I have 6 small ( compared to a lot of people ) private pensions totalling about £150k. One of the pensions is split into 2 policies which total £54k so I was told I would legally need an IFA to sort the pensions out. I contacted one with good reviews and he seemed fine at first but after 3 months he has only just given us advice which is to combine them all into one Royal London pension fund but his advice is very difficult to understand, he always says he cant guarantee anything ad the annuities are a waste of time and dont touch Pension Bee

Both my wife and I really have doubts so before we go ahead and sign up I wanted to know is there a way we can find out ourselves about which companies are good to transfer to, whether we should out them all in one pot, what about annuities etc

There are no guarantees in life but even though the pot is small its still important to us.

Thanks

El_Torro

I don't really see why you need an IFA. You may want one, but it should be optional. You only need one if you have Defined Benefit pensions (e.g. final salary pensions), which it doesn't sound like you have. 

Yes, you can consolidate. 6 pensions is probably too much to be bothered with. Reducing this to 1 or 2 would be beneficial, if only to make things simpler. Unless one or more pensions has some kind of benefit attached, in which case it may make more sense to leave them as they are.

Annuities have fallen out of fashion in the last decade (or more). It is generally considered that you will be better off keeping the pensions and drawing down the money you need every year. This is probably what your IFA is saying when they say that annuities are "a waste of time". 


From what you've posted my suggestion would be to find an IFA that you understand and get on well with. The one you have now doesn't seem to meet this criteria. 

You can do it all yourself, including choosing which platform(s) to invest in and what funds. If this is something you have no experience in then you will need to do some reading up on the subject though.

NlghtOwl

Probably a good idea to consolidate to make it easier to manage and typically IFA’s will suggest moving to one of the big providers such as Royal London or Aviva and there isn’t anything wrong with that if you are looking for a managed service and the fees that go with that approach. 

They won’t be suggesting Vanguard or Hargreaves’s Lansdown as they are typically DIY platforms. You will have to investigate if there are any restrictions on moving them, such as penalties before a certain age and you could always leave those ones alone. Decide which route you want to go down and understand the pros and cons.

smallzoo2

Thanks for that but this is what I had been told 

"...If the pension you wish to transfer has a transfer value of £30,000 or more, then the law requires you to take financial advice first..."

Dazed_and_C0nfused

smallzoo2 said:

Thanks for that but this is what I had been told 

"...If the pension you wish to transfer has a transfer value of £30,000 or more, then the law requires you to take financial advice first..."

It would need to be £30,000 or more and have some form of safeguarded benefit (might be wrong phrase 🤔) to need financial advice.

El_Torro

smallzoo2 said:

Thanks for that but this is what I had been told 

"...If the pension you wish to transfer has a transfer value of £30,000 or more, then the law requires you to take financial advice first..."

That is true if you're transferring a DB pension into a DC one. If you're just transferring from a DC to a DC then you certainly don't need to take advice. 

If your 2 policies which total £54k are DB pensions then you're probably better off leaving it as a DB pension, not changing it to a DC. 


Hard to comment really without knowing more details. 

Marcon

El_Torro said:

smallzoo2 said:

Thanks for that but this is what I had been told 

"...If the pension you wish to transfer has a transfer value of £30,000 or more, then the law requires you to take financial advice first..."

That is true if you're transferring a DB pension into a DC one. If you're just transferring from a DC to a DC then you certainly don't need to take advice. 

You do if the DC scheme has a transfer value of at least £30K and 'safeguarded benefits' of some description, such a guaranteed annuity rate.

OP - in this context, 'taking advice' means you must be able to show you have received the advice from a suitably regulated individual, not that you've followed it.

plumb1_2

smallzoo2 said:

Thanks for that but this is what I had been told 

"...If the pension you wish to transfer has a transfer value of £30,000 or more, then the law requires you to take financial advice first..."

Hi I was I a much similar position having 7 small DC pensions. I opened a sipp with vanguard and transferred them into it, all quite easy. You can leave as cash if you want, but depending when you retire maybe better invest.
But I have one pension with £34k  but it has a safeguard of a GAR in it, and it requires a ifa to agree that I would be able to transfer it. But sadly I have found out there are few advisors out there who have the license ( most probably wrong terminology) to do this.Plus it would cost to much to do it.
So for that one with the annuity attached I have left it be for now.
Hope this helps
The fantastic members on this forum will be able to help you.

xylophone

I have 6 small ( compared to a lot of people ) private pensions totalling about £150k. One of the pensions is split into 2 policies which total £54k so I was told I would legally need an IFA to sort the pensions out. 

Could you list the pensions that you have and with respect to bold above, does this pension have any form of "safeguarded benefit" ?

For example, is this a S32 arrangement  with GMP?  Or is a guaranteed annuity rate involved?

Have you and your spouse obtained state pension forecasts?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

smallzoo2

I will detail the pensions today for you

smallzoo2

PENSIONS ( approx values )

AVIVA  -    Trf Value ( £19k),  , Drawdown - No,  GMP - No,  GAR - No

AVIVA. -    Trf Value ( £ 57k) , Drawdown - No ,  With Profit fund

AVIVA  -    Trf Value ( £ 27k)  GAR - No ,  A-Day value £ 13k - Drawdown 25% of this

AVIVA. -    Trf Value ( £ 21k) , A-Day value £ unknown - Drawdown 25% of this

Aon Master Trust -   Trf Value - £6.5k, DC, Drawdown approx £2k + £500/year

Hargreave Landsdowne ( already taken 25 % )

         SIPP - £9k Cash

         SIPP Income Drawdown - £25k cash

NB: Phoenix Life Pension - Drawdown already taken - Annual Pension approx £2k per year