Some Basic Pension Questions

SkintSquirrel

Hi

First, I would like to say that I am really not very good with pensions and am just reading through the various pages on here and Money Helper websites, etc. So, apologies in advance for any stupid questions!

I had a Britanic Assurance pension which I set up some years ago which has now been taken over by Phoenix Life.

The pension type is a Defined Contribution and my latest pension summary shows a Pension Savings Value at £18,700.

The plan's special features and conditions show:

Final Bonus Applicable: YES
Could An Early Claim Charge Apply?: NO
Could A Market Value Reduction (MVR) Apply?: YES

I am 55 years old.

I also have a NEST pension which was set up by a former employer which only has £290 in the pot with no further contributions.

At the moment I have taken time out from work, but will be returning to full time employment early next year and then continuing to pay into my pension.

My questions are:

1) I would like to take a one-off amount from my pension (£5,000) and was wondering how to go about this. I read on another post on here that older pensions have to be transferred to more modern plans to gain access to the pension pot and Phoenix Life chose Standard Life as they are one of their companies.

2) Would it be better to consolidate the two pensions by transferring one from the other? If so, which would be the best option? Keep the Phoenix Life pension or keep the NEST account?

3) I know it's down to personal choice and circumstances, but are there any alternative companies that you could recommend, particularly where I can keep track of my pension pot online. Although I get my annual statements from Phoenix Life in paper format, I am unable to access my plan online and changing address, etc has to be done in writing, even though I have a Plan Number. I would like to find a company that would be good for smaller pensions and have easy access, online facilities, etc.

Again, apologies for the questions and any help really would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

lisyloo

My phoenix pension has about a 30% MVR.
Have you tried registering on-line?

Albermarle

lisyloo said:

My phoenix pension has about a 30% MVR.
Have you tried registering on-line?

Phoenix have taken over many pension providers and the associated plans. So when dealing with Phoenix it all depends who the original provider was. Yours may well have been different from the OP's.

I read on another post on here that older pensions have to be transferred to more modern plans to gain access to the pension pot and Phoenix Life chose Standard Life as they are one of their companies.

Usually you can gain access to the pot but maybe the only option is to take it all out in one go.
Transferring to a more modern provider will give you more options for withdrawal, and on line access etc.
SL are a modern provider. Although taken over by Phoenix they have continued to operate semi independently, with their own website, customer services etc.
There are many others though.

LHW99

At the moment I have taken time out from work, but will be returning to full time employment early next year and then continuing to pay into my pension.

At which point you should be auto-enrolled into your new employer's pension, which could (possibly will) be with a third company. You could transfer the Nest pension there, and find out if you can transfer to a SIPP or personal pension & make a withdrawal without triggering an MVA from the Phoenix funds .

The Phoenix pension value of £18700, would mean a 25% tax-free amount of £4675. However an MVA would reduce that, but any bonus could increase it. If you take more than the tax-free amount, you will be restricted to £10,000 pa contributions in future - yours + the employers (MPAA)