Draw SIPP without phone call?

Pat38493

confusedfreelancer said:

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!

With Interactive Investor, you have nothing to lose by launching a transfer request to transfer your pension from nutmeg.  Pick that you want to transfer the entire fund as cash if this is what you want.  You might well find that II takes care of it all, no phone call required.  The worst thing that can happen is that Nutmeg block the process on their side (which actually they should not do), but then you will be no worse off than you are right now and Interactive Investor may be able to help push it through somehow.

You should be aware that even when it goes smoothly, transferring a pension like this takes a week or two, and there will be a period of time when the funds will disappear from one platform before they appear some days later in the other one.   This does not mean the money is lost it just means they are in the process of transferring it.

If you open an SIPP account with Interactive Investor which is what you need to transfer a pension, you might need to come back here for some hints on how to invest the money.  The money will be in the II account as cash and it will automatically earn interest as cash, but it won't be much.  Beyond that, when you want to invest the money you have to pick an option and you might want to run your intentions past this forum.

If you do not have any friends or relations that you can rely on, you might want to consider looking to see if there is a local autism charity or organisation that can help.  Your communication skills on the forum seem to be good enough that you could communicate what you need in writing and they might be able to get someone local to help be a kind of go between.  Given that social and communication skill differences are clearly part of the ASD diagnosis process, and that some people with autism are completely non verbal, they should be able to find a way to conduct an assessment 

Annisele

confusedfreelancer said:

The problem with disability discrimination laws is that organisations (NHS especially) usually tell me that I'm not disabled and that I can do phone calls, which isn't very helpful. As I haven't yet managed to get a diagnosis I'm not able to dispute that.

You absolutely can dispute that.

My experience (which will of course be different to yours) is that the NHS is its own special brand of useless when it comes to disability. The NHS often thinks that it is the expert with respect to disability, and believes it knows better than its patients what those patients are able to do.

Financial services providers like Nutmeg, on the other hand, are very unlikely to demand proof of disability. Everybody knows that NHS waiting lists are extremely long, and that the fact a person doesn't have a diagnosis doesn't mean they don't have a disability.

Your issues probably fall outside of the web chat staff's standard script, but I'm reasonably confident that a written complaint to Nutmeg would produce an apology and reassurance that of course they will make reasonable adjustments for your disability.

Good luck!

confusedfreelancer

[Deleted User] said:

May be drop them an email asking how deaf people are allowed to draw their pension?

Their answer to that is Relay UK, which I've never managed to get working. It also doesn't solve the problem of being bombarded with real time information which will send me into overwhelm and probably a meltdown, whereas if they sent me an email or letter I could read it and take it in.

confusedfreelancer

dunstonh said:

*Apparently it's not a sipp but a personal pension. I don't know if that changes anything. I'm so confused. I wish I'd never started a pension and had stuck with cash ISAs.

Strange train of thought as pensions beat ISAs on a like for like basis..

A 5.5% return beats a return of -100% which is what I'm looking at if I can't get around this barrier.

QrizB

confusedfreelancer said:

dunstonh said:

*Apparently it's not a sipp but a personal pension. I don't know if that changes anything. I'm so confused. I wish I'd never started a pension and had stuck with cash ISAs.

Strange train of thought as pensions beat ISAs on a like for like basis..

A 5.5% return beats a return of -100% which is what I'm looking at if I can't get around this barrier.

I don't understand why you keep thinking that you'll lose 100% of your pension. As others have repeatedly explained, it's simply not going to happen.

If none of the already-mentioned options work or you, you could give someone else PoA and they can deal with it on your behalf.

confusedfreelancer

QrizB said:

confusedfreelancer said:

dunstonh said:

*Apparently it's not a sipp but a personal pension. I don't know if that changes anything. I'm so confused. I wish I'd never started a pension and had stuck with cash ISAs.

Strange train of thought as pensions beat ISAs on a like for like basis..

A 5.5% return beats a return of -100% which is what I'm looking at if I can't get around this barrier.

I don't understand why you keep thinking that you'll lose 100% of your pension. As others have repeatedly explained, it's simply not going to happen.

If none of the already-mentioned options work or you, you could give someone else PoA and they can deal with it on your behalf.

Because money that is technically mine but I can't access it isn't in any practical sense my money.

I don't have anyone who could be power of attorney. I don't keep relationships that long.

I've asked on autistic forums and other people have had the same problem and it's taken years to resolve - usually by the person forcing themselves into a call and experiencing burnout as a result. I've spent the last 15 years recovering from burnout and am not keen to end up there again. It's not worth it for £20k.

Pat38493

Based on everything you are saying, it seems like you least stressful path is

- Set up a SIPP pension with a provider who can definitely operate completely online like one of the ones mentioned above and pay your money into that going forward.
- Launch a transfer request into your new SIPP - as mentioned above, the worst thing that can happen is Nutmeg requests a phone call which leaves you no worse off than you are now.  You may get nicely surprised and it may just all get sorted by the receiving provider.

If it makes you feel less stressed to consider the money as lost, that’s fine but given the amount involved, it should not stop you from still pursuing the issue - you have many years so you can do it at a time you are feeling strong - it doesn’t have to be sorted now.

For what it’s worth I do have an ASD diagnosis but I am lucky in that I do hate making phone calls and I deliberately picked a provider who is online,  but am able to make phone calls when I really have to without severe consequences.   The irony is that I have to make a lot of calls with my job so I kind of forced myself to get used to it and I am usually able to put some structure around it which helps me personally.

NannaH

You’ve convinced yourself the money is ‘gone’ but it’s absolutely not.
I transferred an old pension into a Hargreaves Lansdown Sipp without speaking to a single person and have taken money out without speaking to anyone as well.
It was all done online via scanned and emailed paperwork, then an online form to satisfy their questions then I just go to my online account when I want to withdraw money - couldn’t be simpler
Pick a SIPP provider,  they will transfer your other pension very easily in cash form,  the hardest part is choosing your investments,  for 29+ years you want 100% equities and low charges.  

You have built a scenario up in your mind, now you need to deconstruct it,  everyone on here has told you it’s not correct.

confusedfreelancer

Pat38493 said:

Based on everything you are saying, it seems like you least stressful path is

- Set up a SIPP pension with a provider who can definitely operate completely online like one of the ones mentioned above and pay your money into that going forward.
- Launch a transfer request into your new SIPP - as mentioned above, the worst thing that can happen is Nutmeg requests a phone call which leaves you no worse off than you are now.  You may get nicely surprised and it may just all get sorted by the receiving provider.

If it makes you feel less stressed to consider the money as lost, that’s fine but given the amount involved, it should not stop you from still pursuing the issue - you have many years so you can do it at a time you are feeling strong - it doesn’t have to be sorted now.

For what it’s worth I do have an ASD diagnosis but I am lucky in that I do hate making phone calls and I deliberately picked a provider who is online,  but am able to make phone calls when I really have to without severe consequences.   The irony is that I have to make a lot of calls with my job so I kind of forced myself to get used to it and I am usually able to put some structure around it which helps me personally.

Thanks. I think this is what I'll do. I've hit a slight snag as II's sign-up form doesn't have my title (Mx) as an option. Should I just pick one of the others even though it won't match my ID? Does it matter which one?

I had a job that required making calls in 2005 which I think is what used up all my call-making capacity. I haven't been able to do them at all since then.

MallyGirl

confusedfreelancer said:

Thanks. I think this is what I'll do. I've hit a slight snag as II's sign-up form doesn't have my title (Mx) as an option. Should I just pick one of the others even though it won't match my ID? Does it matter which one?

Pick a title that most closely aligns with the gender you were born with. Some organisations are taking time to offer Mx. It is unlikely that KYC (know your customer) checks would fail on a mismatch of title as there are so many options (and spellings) once you get into the doctor/professor/reverend/sir/lady/his highness/princess etc