Draw SIPP without phone call?

confusedfreelancer

HeyYeah said:

I think stopping paying into this pension would be a shame, as you'll need some money to have a happy retirement. 

I know that in theory, but it feels like pouring money into a black hole and hoping that something might change to allow me to access or transfer it in future. I'll do some research about the transfer process - if I can be sure that it is possible to change to a provider that will allow me access, I'll feel better about paying in.

Pat38493 said:

Also this is completely away from your question, but since you mentioned that you have a lot of cash savings, and if your lack of autism diagnosis is causing you a lot of issues, you could consider paying privately to get a diagnosis - most probably you know that already but I mention it just in case.

I know that's possible, but I'm keen to use the NHS service as the assessment centre is a 15-minute walk from my flat and I'm pretty sure the NHS will accept their own diagnosis. Some people I've met who have private diagnoses have run into issues with NHS services refusing to acknowledge them. The main reason I want to be diagnosed is in the hope that the NHS will then make accommodations to allow me to access healthcare.

MallyGirl

Even if Nutmeg don't change their stance you would be able to transfer elsewhere at a future point. There is no need to rush. I am with Interactive Investor and when I wanted to transfer my other pensions in to them I just initiated that with II online. They dealt with all the transfer mechanics and I spoke to no one. When my husband crystallised some of his II SIPP it was entirely done online.
Holding off contributing to a pension - any pension - because of something so far in the future is not wise. You will always be able to get at your money.

confusedfreelancer

MallyGirl said:

Even if Nutmeg don't change their stance you would be able to transfer elsewhere at a future point. There is no need to rush. I am with Interactive Investor and when I wanted to transfer my other pensions in to them I just initiated that with II online. They dealt with all the transfer mechanics and I spoke to no one. When my husband crystallised some of his II SIPP it was entirely done online.
Holding off contributing to a pension - any pension - because of something so far in the future is not wise. You will always be able to get at your money.

My concern is whether this call is some kind of legal requirement, in which case any money that I put into any pension is money that I might as well have flushed down the loo for all the ability I have to access it. I'll research other providers' processes for drawing a pension and see if I can transfer to one that doesn't require it.

squirrelpie

confusedfreelancer said:

HeyYeah said:

I think stopping paying into this pension would be a shame, as you'll need some money to have a happy retirement. 

I know that in theory, but it feels like pouring money into a black hole and hoping that something might change to allow me to access or transfer it in future. I'll do some research about the transfer process - if I can be sure that it is possible to change to a provider that will allow me access, I'll feel better about paying in.

One possibility would be to stop payments into Nutmeg but open another SIPP (you can have many) and pay the money in there. You could split it and pay it into those you want to become familiar with. Then at a later time you can consolidate them into whichever you choose, or drawdown from each of them if you wish.

Pat38493

confusedfreelancer said:

MallyGirl said:

Even if Nutmeg don't change their stance you would be able to transfer elsewhere at a future point. There is no need to rush. I am with Interactive Investor and when I wanted to transfer my other pensions in to them I just initiated that with II online. They dealt with all the transfer mechanics and I spoke to no one. When my husband crystallised some of his II SIPP it was entirely done online.
Holding off contributing to a pension - any pension - because of something so far in the future is not wise. You will always be able to get at your money.

My concern is whether this call is some kind of legal requirement, in which case any money that I put into any pension is money that I might as well have flushed down the loo for all the ability I have to access it. I'll research other providers' processes for drawing a pension and see if I can transfer to one that doesn't require it.

There is no legal requirement that mandates a phone call, but there are regulatory requirements that tells the pension provider that they have to check that you know what you are doing when you take the money out (for example that you are not taking out a very large lump sum that will incur an enormous tax bill, or at least that if you are doing that, you are aware and doing it on purpose).  

If Nutmeg has interpreted this as that they want to make a phone call, that is them doing that - it's not a legal requirement because other providers have other ways of doing it.

Also as I stated above, if the exact wording they are using is that they need a phone call to "sell down assets" - I would suggest you ask them on the web chat or by email to clarify what this means - are they saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell your investments to cash, or only that a phone call is normally required if you want to withdraw funds.  Phone call to sell investments to cash also should not be required and is not required with most of them.  

If they are saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell the assets so that they can be transferred as cash, then you will already have the same issue trying to transfer out.  Nutmeg has to answer this question.  Even if they say that, they should provide an alternate method.  For sure, I would suspect that they must provide a method to do this by a physical letter by post - I would suspect that it would be illegal for them not to accept signed instructions from you to their company address, as long as you have included the correct instructions and required information.

I used the word "normally" because I am also pretty sure they will find another way if needed.

The odd thing is that most companies these days are keen to avoid too many phone calls rather than insist on them.

Doctor_Who

confusedfreelancer said:

MallyGirl said:

Even if Nutmeg don't change their stance you would be able to transfer elsewhere at a future point. There is no need to rush. I am with Interactive Investor and when I wanted to transfer my other pensions in to them I just initiated that with II online. They dealt with all the transfer mechanics and I spoke to no one. When my husband crystallised some of his II SIPP it was entirely done online.
Holding off contributing to a pension - any pension - because of something so far in the future is not wise. You will always be able to get at your money.

My concern is whether this call is some kind of legal requirement, in which case any money that I put into any pension is money that I might as well have flushed down the loo for all the ability I have to access it. I'll research other providers' processes for drawing a pension and see if I can transfer to one that doesn't require it.

I've accessed my SIPP with Interactive Investor recently and everything was done online with no phone calls. I did have to confirm (online) that I had/hadn't contacted PensionWise and that I had/hadn't received advice from an IFA, but it was all done online in ~20 minutes. Don't let accessing your pension put you off paying money in, since the tax advantages are second to none!

confusedfreelancer

Pat38493 said:

There is no legal requirement that mandates a phone call, but there are regulatory requirements that tells the pension provider that they have to check that you know what you are doing when you take the money out (for example that you are not taking out a very large lump sum that will incur an enormous tax bill, or at least that if you are doing that, you are aware and doing it on purpose).  

If Nutmeg has interpreted this as that they want to make a phone call, that is them doing that - it's not a legal requirement because other providers have other ways of doing it.

Also as I stated above, if the exact wording they are using is that they need a phone call to "sell down assets" - I would suggest you ask them on the web chat or by email to clarify what this means - are they saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell your investments to cash, or only that a phone call is normally required if you want to withdraw funds.  Phone call to sell investments to cash also should not be required and is not required with most of them.  

If they are saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell the assets so that they can be transferred as cash, then you will already have the same issue trying to transfer out.  Nutmeg has to answer this question.  Even if they say that, they should provide an alternate method.  For sure, I would suspect that they must provide a method to do this by a physical letter by post - I would suspect that it would be illegal for them not to accept signed instructions from you to their company address, as long as you have included the correct instructions and required information.

I used the word "normally" because I am also pretty sure they will find another way if needed.

The odd thing is that most companies these days are keen to avoid too many phone calls rather than insist on them.

The web chat agent said a letter (or email) wouldn't be possible as it had to be "conversational" - which is exactly what I struggle with. I definitely won't be putting any more money into Nutmeg. I'll try to transfer out, but will regard what I had in there already as lost in terms of my planning for the time being.

Pat38493

confusedfreelancer said:

Pat38493 said:

There is no legal requirement that mandates a phone call, but there are regulatory requirements that tells the pension provider that they have to check that you know what you are doing when you take the money out (for example that you are not taking out a very large lump sum that will incur an enormous tax bill, or at least that if you are doing that, you are aware and doing it on purpose).  

If Nutmeg has interpreted this as that they want to make a phone call, that is them doing that - it's not a legal requirement because other providers have other ways of doing it.

Also as I stated above, if the exact wording they are using is that they need a phone call to "sell down assets" - I would suggest you ask them on the web chat or by email to clarify what this means - are they saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell your investments to cash, or only that a phone call is normally required if you want to withdraw funds.  Phone call to sell investments to cash also should not be required and is not required with most of them.  

If they are saying that a phone call is normally required in order to sell the assets so that they can be transferred as cash, then you will already have the same issue trying to transfer out.  Nutmeg has to answer this question.  Even if they say that, they should provide an alternate method.  For sure, I would suspect that they must provide a method to do this by a physical letter by post - I would suspect that it would be illegal for them not to accept signed instructions from you to their company address, as long as you have included the correct instructions and required information.

I used the word "normally" because I am also pretty sure they will find another way if needed.

The odd thing is that most companies these days are keen to avoid too many phone calls rather than insist on them.

The web chat agent said a letter (or email) wouldn't be possible as it had to be "conversational" - which is exactly what I struggle with. I definitely won't be putting any more money into Nutmeg. I'll try to transfer out, but will regard what I had in there already as lost in terms of my planning for the time being.

How much money is in there?  The money will not be lost - they will keep it forever and if you never claim it, they will try to find someone who is related to you to give it to after you die.

Further, if it's a large amount, you could find an IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) who can deal with it on your behalf.  This would be quite expensive, but if there's a lot of money in there it's still better than never getting the money.

Another small point is that if you don't need this money for another 22 years, the NHS waiting list for ASD diagnosis is long, but it's not 22 years long.  As such, you will probably get appointments for diagnosis sessions long before you need to withdraw the money.  If you have a diagnosis of ASD or any other condition that's classified as a legal disability, Nutmeg will be legally obliged to provide a way for you to transact under the disability discrimination act.

Even before that, I suspect a postal letter directly to the CEO of the company explaining your predicament would also yield some good progress.  Some attention is needed from someone higher up than just a web chat agent.  Web chat is conversational but they are saying it isn't so that on its own doesn't make sense.

confusedfreelancer

About £20,000. The thought that they might find a long-lost relative to give it to if I die isn't very comforting.

I do not have good enough communication skills to work with an IFA. I'm not 100% convinced I have good enough skills to get an ASD diagnosis (I've never managed to get any other health issue sorted - usually what happens is I say "I can't communicate this way" and the NHS says "well that's the only option" and then I get discharged from the service) but I'm going to try.

I'm definitely not going to risk putting any more into there. I'm looking at Interactive Investor to start a new one. The fees are a lot higher but at least I'll know I can get the money back!

LHW99

Probably even the NHS will find a way to deal with your communications problems in the next 22 years (hopefully!).

Combinations of issues have always taken the NHS longer to get to grips with unfortunately (eg historically deaf-blind disability was poorly catered for).

If / when you get a diagnosis, some councils provide specialist financial advice as described here (3rd paragraph on "Managing your Money":

https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/practical-issues/navigating-the-cost-of-living/ (I'm not saying your problem is similar to those supported by this organisation, but there may be a similar solution)