What can I do with a rubbish personal pension - I've got 10 - 15 years?!

JustABitClueless

I have a rubbish personal pension (Valued at around £40k) and I haven't a clue what to do with it. It's with Phoenix Life and is the only pension I have outside a full state pension. Given what I've got,  I've assumed I shall be working until just before I drop (!!) however if there is anything I can do to make this tiny pot work a little bit harder that would be great. I'm 60 (thankfully in good shape!) and utterly intimidated by the thought of managing my own investments. I have a Vanguard stocks and shares ISA worth not much more than the pension and I add about £500 a month. I'm not a high earner.

I'm not sure I understand the difference between just drawing it all down and reinvesting it and doing a SIPP ..? isn't that really what a SIPP is? you just take control of it yourself? And given I'm not going to be a terribly savvy investor, can I not just put my currently rubbish pension into a better pension and pay more in? Really hoping there are some very bored and brilliant money heads out there who like nothing better than giving excellent advice to a clueless person. Help? 

SacredStephan

No mention of employer contributions, are you a sole-trader?

LHW99

Are you employed? If so and your employer offers a pension (autoenrollment - you haven't opted out I hope?) then you could probably transfer this one into the work pension.

Otherwise, what are you invested in (fund wise) in Phoenix Life? It's the funds that perform or not, so you could look and see if there's another fund that would do better.

Why not pay in some money? In the end, if you put in peanuts that's what you get out.

lisyloo

How old is your phoenix life pension?
Does it have a huge MVA (market value adujstment) if you withdraw?

I would suggest you dowload the app and check the transfer value.
If it's an old pension you might find a huge penalty.

dunstonh

I have a rubbish personal pension (Valued at around £40k) and I haven't a clue what to do with it.

How is it rubbish?

Given what I've got,  I've assumed I shall be working until just before I drop (!!) 

Ultimately, what you pay into your retirement planning is the biggest influence on what you get back.

However if there is anything I can do to make this tiny pot work a little bit harder that would be great.

You haven't told us anything about the pension you have other than the provider name.

I have a Vanguard stocks and shares ISA worth not much more than the pension and I add about £500 a month. I'm not a high earner.

Why are you paying it into an ISA and not the pension?  (hint: pension beats ISA)

Moonwolf

Wll you get a full state pension, have you checked?

Do you have a feel for what you are aiming for on top of this, have you even though about it?

Did you realise that if your transferred some og the money from your ISA into your pension it would immediately get 20% basic rate tax (as long as you have the income to cover it) and the investments could be the same in both.

What is your pension invested in and what are the charges.  People will have comments on either but in general you can invest in the same funds in a SIPP as your pension so as long as the charges aren't too high you don't have to change it.  It is possible that you have the default funds and something called lifestyling turned on which isn't always a good idea.

If you want more pension, you will need to put more in.

Marcon

What's rubbish about it?