Pension Providers

neildh

Hello, i am retiring this year and my current 2 pension providers do not offer draw down, which is the way i want to proceed. I have looked on the market and only ones i can seem to find are SIPP providers. I would like my new pension to be managed, as i don't feel confident to do a DIY. Has anybody had the same experience, or could recommend one they use with reasonable fees?

One thing that i have found disturbing is the number of companies with really poor reviews

DRS1

Are you sure it is the providers who do not offer drawdown or is it the pension scheme you have which does not offer it?  Older personal pension schemes won't allow drawdown but a more modern insured personal pension scheme will.  I had pensions with Aviva and if I wanted drawdown I would have had to transfer to a new product with Aviva.

ali_bear

Same here. When the time comes I will move my pension into a SIPP with one of the providers very possibly the same one that currently has my pension now. Or possibly I will move portions of it. Flexi access drawdown. 

Sounds like you want one of those "investment pathways" they all should offer - I think its a regulatory requirement

Marcon

neildh said:

Hello, i am retiring this year and my current 2 pension providers do not offer draw down, which is the way i want to proceed. I have looked on the market and only ones i can seem to find are SIPP providers. I would like my new pension to be managed, as i don't feel confident to do a DIY. Has anybody had the same experience, or could recommend one they use with reasonable fees?

One thing that i have found disturbing is the number of companies with really poor reviews

People are always quicker to leave negative reviews than positive ones - and a lot of them, especially when it comes to pensions, are based on customer misunderstandings of the product. You've only got to look through some of the questions on this forum to realise just how bemused many people are - and it's always the fault of the provider!

dunstonh

 I have looked on the market and only ones i can seem to find are SIPP providers.

Most providers have moved to SIPPs nowadays.   

I would like my new pension to be managed, as i don't feel confident to do a DIY. Has anybody had the same experience, or could recommend one they use with reasonable fees?

Personal pensions don't manage either.   The pension type doesnt dictate whether it is managed or not.  The fund type or whether you use an adviser or not does that.

One thing that i have found disturbing is the number of companies with really poor reviews

Reviews are a really bad way to look at providers.   Especially the old names.  You just have to read the reviews to see that its not the provider that is the issue most of the time but the person writing the review.

Albermarle

neildh said:

Hello, i am retiring this year and my current 2 pension providers do not offer draw down, which is the way i want to proceed. I have looked on the market and only ones i can seem to find are SIPP providers. I would like my new pension to be managed, as i don't feel confident to do a DIY. Has anybody had the same experience, or could recommend one they use with reasonable fees?

One thing that i have found disturbing is the number of companies with really poor reviews

It is a common misconception that the pension provider is managing your pension, but they are not

It is very likely that your current pensions are not managed either. It is normally up to you to manage them.
However with workplace pensions, if you have no input, they put your money in their default fund.
So the default fund itself is managed ( as are many funds available in SIPP's) but you could have changed away to a different fund if you had wanted . The pension provider would never change to a different fund, unless you asked them to.

artyboy

Albermarle said:

neildh said:

Hello, i am retiring this year and my current 2 pension providers do not offer draw down, which is the way i want to proceed. I have looked on the market and only ones i can seem to find are SIPP providers. I would like my new pension to be managed, as i don't feel confident to do a DIY. Has anybody had the same experience, or could recommend one they use with reasonable fees?

One thing that i have found disturbing is the number of companies with really poor reviews

It is a common misconception that the pension provider is managing your pension, but they are not

It is very likely that your current pensions are not managed either. It is normally up to you to manage them.
However with workplace pensions, if you have no input, they put your money in their default fund.
So the default fund itself is managed ( as are many funds available in SIPP's) but you could have changed away to a different fund if you had wanted . The pension provider would never change to a different fund, unless you asked them to.

And that 'default fund' in itself is a big warning flag for the OP to check, because they often come with 'lifestyling', i.e. moving of asset allocation towards cash/gilts as you approach retirement age, because the legacy assumption was you'd be buying an annuity and not drawing down.

So the OP could now find they have a totally unsuitable investment mix given what their future plans are...

(before anyone mentions it, I am aware there is also draw down specific lifestyling nowadays, although personally I think that's rather nonsensical...)