How can I stop my pension company losing my money?

Nelson1100

I wonder if anyone can give me some advise please?

I have a workplace pension that my company pays into every month, but every month the company seem to lose as much as gets paid in so the overall amount never really increases. I understand that pensions are a long term investment but in 7 years they have lost almost 5% of the money paid in. They clearly don't know what they're doing so I have asked that they don't invest my money, I just want them to take the money from my employer and save it up until I retire but they're telling me that they have to invest it. Surely if this is my money I should have a say in whether or not they gamble with it?  And to cap it all they're gambling my money and losing it and charging me a fee for losing it? Am I being scammed here?

McKneff

They are correct. 
It's an investment company, not a savings bank. 
Take some advice from an financial advisor and see if they can help 

elsien

Why is everything on here always a scam?

Is there not a choice of funds within the pension that you can choose to move to that might be less risky than the one you’re in at the moment? 

Nelson1100

elsien said:

Why is everything on here always a scam?

Is there not a choice of funds within the pension that you can choose to move to that might be less risky than the one you’re in at the moment? 

I guess it just seems strange to me that an "investment" company can't make money from investing, and when I asked them to stop wasting my money they tell me they won't.  But I don't know enough about funds and what is and isn't risky so I'm not best placed to advise them on what to do with my money, I would have thought if I'm paying them for a service they would chose the best option?  

El_Torro

Investments go up and down, not just up. 

You seem to be misunderstanding what service you are paying for. You are paying for the pension platform to hold your money and invest it in the funds that you choose. That's right, the choice of fund is your responsibility. Though you do have to choose between the options that the pension provider offers. 

One option would be to move some of your money to another provider if you're not happy with what your current platform offers. You shouldn't close your workplace pension down completely, if you did that you'd lose out on your employer's contributions. You could even get an Independent Financial Advisor to invest it for you. Bear in mind that you will have to pay extra for this service. IFAs can also not guarantee that your investments will always grow.

Sarahspangles

Remember that you get tax relief on pension contributions whether or not they deliver a gain on investments. 
Also remember in the seven years since yours commenced that we’ve had Brexit, a pandemic and a war on Europe’s borders.
Certainly look at what funds you are invested in - if you ticked a ‘low risk’ box then you may not get ‘exciting’ returns.
If you move job you’ve also got an opportunity to move most pensions into a new home, worth considering particularly if their charges are high.

elsien

Nelson1100 said:

elsien said:

Why is everything on here always a scam?

Is there not a choice of funds within the pension that you can choose to move to that might be less risky than the one you’re in at the moment? 

I guess it just seems strange to me that an "investment" company can't make money from investing, and when I asked them to stop wasting my money they tell me they won't.  But I don't know enough about funds and what is and isn't risky so I'm not best placed to advise them on what to do with my money, I would have thought if I'm paying them for a service they would chose the best option?  

Which is a bit strange, because you were quite au fait a year or so ago.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6418966/some-pension-advice-please/p1

Bostonerimus1

You (and we) need more information. So how much do you put into your pension, what are the fees and how is the money invested? Find that information, tell us and we might be able to answer some of your questions.

ProDave

If you are saying the fund over the last 7 years, is still worth less than what has been paid in, that is truly appalling.

dunstonh

They clearly don't know what they're doing

You pick the investment area.  Not them.   So, you could argue your choices and the outcome suggest you don't know what you are doing.

Surely if this is my money I should have a say in whether or not they gamble with it?

They wont be gambling.  They will be investing it in the areas you have selected.

And to cap it all they're gambling my money and losing it and charging me a fee for losing it? Am I being scammed here?

No.  Just a lack of knowledge and understanding on your part and possibly bad decision-making on your investment choices.   

 But I don't know enough about funds and what is and isn't risky so I'm not best placed to advise them on what to do with my money, I would have thought if I'm paying them for a service they would chose the best option?  

You or your financial adviser picks the investment funds.    If you pick a fund that is say 100% UK equity, then it will invest 100% in UK equity even if UK equity is the worst place to be.     They cannot change that.

What are you invested in at the moment?  

Below is a chart showing portfolios with 0% equity, and then going up in 10% slices of equities until 100%.   Its the last 5 years.



As with most medium to long term periods, the more equities you have, the better the return.  The bottom 3 are negative and k is 0% equities (100% bonds), J is 10% equities (90% bonds), I is 20% equities (80% bonds).  

Over 2022, bonds suffered their worst loss period in over 100 years.   So, if your chosen fund was heavy in bonds, then you would be down the bottom end.         

I wonder if you selected the lifestyle option, which at your age, would be heavy in bonds.

Nelson1100

elsien said:

Nelson1100 said:

elsien said:

Why is everything on here always a scam?

Is there not a choice of funds within the pension that you can choose to move to that might be less risky than the one you’re in at the moment? 

I guess it just seems strange to me that an "investment" company can't make money from investing, and when I asked them to stop wasting my money they tell me they won't.  But I don't know enough about funds and what is and isn't risky so I'm not best placed to advise them on what to do with my money, I would have thought if I'm paying them for a service they would chose the best option?  

Which is a bit strange, because you were quite au fait a year or so ago.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6418966/some-pension-advice-please/p1

The more research I did the less I understood - I did approach a couple of financial advisers but they said they didn't take clients with assets of less than a million pounds.