Pension switching incentives

Albermarle

CRAIGSVILLE1 said:

granta said:

CMC Invest - transfer bonus

To anyone who has done this transfer in, how long was it before the bonus was paid? The T and Cs state 10 September as the last possible date, but wondering if they do it sooner? My transfer has completed in less than 2 weeks.

My last one took 4 months after transfer in, and I was close to the cut off to start the transfer, so I would  probably expect it to be closer to the September 10th date. 

Until I saw it mentioned in this thread, I did not know CMC offered a SIPP.
How are you getting along with them? Good website? etc 

granta

Albermarle said:

CRAIGSVILLE1 said:

granta said:

CMC Invest - transfer bonus

To anyone who has done this transfer in, how long was it before the bonus was paid? The T and Cs state 10 September as the last possible date, but wondering if they do it sooner? My transfer has completed in less than 2 weeks.

My last one took 4 months after transfer in, and I was close to the cut off to start the transfer, so I would  probably expect it to be closer to the September 10th date. 

Until I saw it mentioned in this thread, I did not know CMC offered a SIPP.
How are you getting along with them? Good website? etc 

So far so good. It's an app only account. Transfers in have completed in a matter of days/maximum 2 weeks. They answer the phone quickly and have responded to any queries promptly. 

No fee to pay in the first year.

michaels

I have a small account with freetrade from a previous switch offer - they now have a new offer, 3% up to £1500 fro transfers in, including for existing customers, which sound very generous

granta

michaels said:

I have a small account with freetrade from a previous switch offer - they now have a new offer, 3% up to £1500 fro transfers in, including for existing customers, which sound very generous

They sent me an email about this too, and I'm considering transferring £50k over to make use of the promotion. Probably the most generous offer I've seen for a £50k transfer

artyboy

michaels said:

I have a small account with freetrade from a previous switch offer - they now have a new offer, 3% up to £1500 fro transfers in, including for existing customers, which sound very generous

Ooooooh goody, I've got £150k I need to shift out of CS Direct in the next month. Tempted to do a partial there and see if there is another offer for the remaining £100k.

Makes the £345 I got from a £30k move into II sound like chicken feed now. Nevertheless, this looks to be another decent year for transfer cashback, albeit with a new set of players.

artyboy

Just initiated my move from CS Direct to Freetrade, all seemed simple enough. Didn't appear to be any way to just elect to have fees paid from the pension itself but for that amount of cashback I'm not going to grumble too much...

Already looking for the next offer 

Juno_Moneta

Looked into Freetrade for a £50k transfer based on the above comments, to get the max £1500 transfer bonus. 

Seems a nice app, which is an area HL are sadly lacking in, especially on iPad. 

Also it is owned by IG of spread-betting fame, which is interesting.  

But I did notice this in their terms:

“Interest on Available Funds
Your Available Funds will not attract any interest, even if they are in credit. You acknowledge that we may receive interest on all of our clients' funds held by our Custodians, and hereby waive your right to claim payment of any part of such interest.”

Not great, as eg even HL pay a few % on cash while it sits uninvested ‘out of the market’.

Will consider it for a future 2nd SIPP. 

MeteredOut

The Freetrade SIPP Key Features Document states

"Transfers in of funds that are in drawdown are not currently accepted."

I have a DC pension where I've taken the 25% tax free cash, but no more, so not in drawdown, but does anyone know if FreeTrade will allow that transfer. Or has anyone done that?

I fired off a message to them last week and they've just got back to say they're asking the wider team.

granta

Juno_Moneta said:

Looked into Freetrade for a £50k transfer based on the above comments, to get the max £1500 transfer bonus. 

Seems a nice app, which is an area HL are sadly lacking in, especially on iPad. 

Also it is owned by IG of spread-betting fame, which is interesting.  

But I did notice this in their terms:

“Interest on Available Funds
Your Available Funds will not attract any interest, even if they are in credit. You acknowledge that we may receive interest on all of our clients' funds held by our Custodians, and hereby waive your right to claim payment of any part of such interest.”

Not great, as eg even HL pay a few % on cash while it sits uninvested ‘out of the market’.

Will consider it for a future 2nd SIPP. 

I already have an account with freetrade and believe I receive 5% interest on up to £3k held across my ISA, SIPP, GIA. 

Juno_Moneta

Granta yes you're getting a little but of interest, but not much:

The SIPP charges page definitely does say:
"Your Available Funds will not attract any interest, even if they are in credit. You acknowledge that we may receive interest on all of our clients' funds held by our Custodians, and hereby waive your right to claim payment of any part of such interest."
https://freetrade.io/pension/sipp/sipp-charges-schedule

But their package choice page says:
Basic plan £0 a month = 1% AER on up to £1,000 uninvested cash
Standard plan £4.99 a month = 3% AER on up to £2,000 uninvested cash
Plus plan £9.99 a month = 5% AER on up to £3,000 uninvested cash
https://freetrade.io/get-started

So you must be on Plus and paying £119.98 (£9.99 * 12) a year to receive that £150 (£5000 * 3%), net benefit £30.02
I would view this as a bit of a marketing gimmick to build customer base, and at some point in the future the interest element of the package is withdrawn, and the monthly fees continue, and possibly even rise in the future - that's just good business.

I think the top text covers them by confirming that eg if you have a large balance, you're getting no interest on the majority of this uninvested cash. In contrast as I highlighted, you'd get about 2.6%+ (tiered) on the whole lot with HL.