Advice needed: How to amalgamate pension pots

shellstar

I'm reasonably financially savvy but pensions is a real blind spot for me. I'm 43 and I have always had a pension since I started work at 21. The past 10 years or so I have always put in more than my employer has matched. Currently I put in 7% and my employer puts in 5%. 

My pension is split between 4 pots. 

A tiny one I've almost lost from my first employer. I say lost in that I know it exists but I don't have all the details for it. I was tracking it down to amalgamate it with my then employer, but it was taking ages and I stopped working on it when I had a baby. I am sure I can pick that up again once I decide on the best way forward overall. I don't think it has much in it. Maybe £5k. 

I have an Aviva pension which is from a previous employer. It has the bulk of my pension money (£126k). 

I also have a Scottish Widow pension (£77k) from a previous employer. I left them June last year following redundancy. 

I now have a new one, 'Smart Pension'. Nothing of note in there so far as it started in January, but it is my current employer based pot. 

I've been looking into amalgamating them but am finding it a bit overwhelming. I'm pretty time poor right now and each provider has different info in different formats, so I am unsure how to compare. Scottish Widows is particularly bad. I haven't been able to find comparable performance info, fees or switching fees etc. 

Is there a service or advice I can use to help me decide which pots to merge where etc. to maximise my pension in the future? 

dunstonh

Scottish Widows is particularly bad. I haven't been able to find comparable performance info, fees or switching fees etc.

Thats unusual.  I typically find SW supply more information than most, including fund ISIN and charge & discount details on their standard layout.

Is there a service or advice I can use to help me decide which pots to merge where etc. to maximise my pension in the future? 

Any local IFA

Marcon

Have a look at https://www.aviva.co.uk/retirement/pensions/pension-consolidation/

Albermarle

Firstly it is unlikely there will be any fees involved for transferring/consolidating any of these pensions.
However it is true that it is not that easy to find all the current charges. 
Sometimes there are two charges. A management fee ( often called a platform fee) for the pension provider to manage the pension, and an charge for the investment fund (s) . Sometimes it is just rolled into one and sometimes there can be discounts as well.
The choice of investments is more important to some people than others, although a good website and customer service are always a plus.

Is there a service or advice I can use to help me decide which pots to merge where etc. to maximise my pension in the future? 

In the area of personal finance 'advice' has a specific meaning. It means personal financial advice that you have to pay for. Otherwise everything else is just general guidance. On this forum for example you tend to get general pointers in the right direction, as opposed to personal advice. If you want someone to make financial decisions for you, then you really need to pay an IFA

Most pension providers are happy for you to transfer other pensions to them. A few advertise themselves as focused on helping you do this, although largely it is marketing to get you to use them rather than anyone else.
Also there are robo providers. They will ask you a few questions and guide you towards a suitable investment. It is a kind of very basic financial advice, but their charges are usually a bit higher.



You could transfer everything into your new workplace pension. I am not that familiar with Smart .
Or you could leave that alone and merge the other three.
Or move the other three into a new pension.
Or some other combination.

The main point not to forget, is that how the pensions are invested is more important than who the provider is. ( Sorry if that complicates things more)

LHW99

Best first step may be to take up tracking down that first pension. Work out who it was with and how much is there - and what type it is. It is probably a "defined contribution" pension, ie a pot of money that can be transferred easily. However if it should be a "defined benefit" type it is probably better kept.

Once you know that, list the information, along with that from the others, and look at what funds they all invest in.

There isn't too much hurry, the money will all be being kept safe. Once you have the information, you could list the funds here (no personal information) and people will likely be able to direct you to useful information on the funds.

shellstar

Thank you all. I'll follow the suggestions and perhaps come back for further advice when I am ready. With work, re-training and other things this is likely to be a slow burn but I will sort it eventually! 

MallyGirl

Slow burn is much better than many - just keep on it in a low key background sort of way. Pensioners providers rarely move quickly. Once you have the info then people will be better able to make suggestions and to explain any terminology that is unclear. Have you moved house since you actively contributed to the pensions - do they all have your latest address (and name in the case of marriage or other life event)

penners324

It's an easy process with som le providers. Go into the app, go to the transfer in section, put the details of the pension to be moved in and let the pension company do everything.

LHW99

do they all have your latest address (and name in the case of marriage or other life event)

And (for anyone else reading) be aware that if the company has sold its book elsewhere / been amalgamated, then even if you have acknowledgement of a change from the original pension co, it may not have been transferred correctly over, especially if that change was in the days before digital records (personal experience)

shellstar

Ok, so I tracked down the first pension and it was tiny. £586. When I asked about transferring they said they would just refund it and I'm expecting that money to hit my bank account within the next couple of weeks. We're therefore just looking at my three 'main' pension pots. They've dropped a bit due to the turmoil but I guess that is to be expected. 

Aviva Pension My Future Growth Pre 2025. Charge 0.25% Risk rating 4 out of 7. I'm not sure how to compare the performance against other pensions so if anybody know how to do this I would be grateful.

Scottish Widows is more confusing to me. I can't say what the fund is called because it basically says it is called 'Workplace Pension Ex employees of COMPANY NAME'. In the most recent statement it says it is invested in BAL targeting flex access which contains Scottish Widows Pension Portfolio Two CS8. Charges on last statement totalled £145. Doesn't say what the basis of that is. I've really struggled to find the information for Scottish Widows which does make me like the other two a bit more. The risk level is medium

Smart Pension: This is my current workplace pension, so has minimal in it so far. It is invested in their Smart Sustainable Growth Fund. Mobius Life Limited is the provider for the fund. The charge is 0.30%. The risk level if medium.

At this point, I'm minded to amalgamate the Scottish Widows into the Aviva pot for now, and build up Smart Pension separately, but I would be grateful if people could advise how I can compare their performance and which one might be the best in terms of performance? Because they have such different amounts and timeframes I've found it confusing. 

Do let me know if what I've provided isn't helpful (or worse, too much info for a public place, but I think I've kept it vague enough). 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

shellstar said:

Ok, so I tracked down the first pension and it was tiny. £586. When I asked about transferring they said they would just refund it and I'm expecting that money to hit my bank account within the next couple of weeks. We're therefore just looking at my three 'main' pension pots. They've dropped a bit due to the turmoil but I guess that is to be expected. 

Aviva Pension My Future Growth Pre 2025. Charge 0.25% Risk rating 4 out of 7. I'm not sure how to compare the performance against other pensions so if anybody know how to do this I would be grateful.

Scottish Widows is more confusing to me. I can't say what the fund is called because it basically says it is called 'Workplace Pension Ex employees of COMPANY NAME'. In the most recent statement it says it is invested in BAL targeting flex access which contains Scottish Widows Pension Portfolio Two CS8. Charges on last statement totalled £145. Doesn't say what the basis of that is. I've really struggled to find the information for Scottish Widows which does make me like the other two a bit more. The risk level is medium

Smart Pension: This is my current workplace pension, so has minimal in it so far. It is invested in their Smart Sustainable Growth Fund. Mobius Life Limited is the provider for the fund. The charge is 0.30%. The risk level if medium.

At this point, I'm minded to amalgamate the Scottish Widows into the Aviva pot for now, and build up Smart Pension separately, but I would be grateful if people could advise how I can compare their performance and which one might be the best in terms of performance? Because they have such different amounts and timeframes I've found it confusing. 

Do let me know if what I've provided isn't helpful (or worse, too much info for a public place, but I think I've kept it vague enough). 

That wasn't a DB pension was it?

If so you have probably lost a bit more than £586 by doing that.  Was a transfer to one of your existing pensions, which would have included the employer contributions as well, not possible?