Small pots consolidation

CoffeeLover

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

CoffeeLover said:

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Would taking one under the "small pots" rules be something you might consider in the future?

The total pot must not be more than £10,000 and it allows you to take taxable money without triggering the Money Purchase Annual Allowance.

Marcon

CoffeeLover said:

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Not if they were group personal pension arrangements (as is highly likely in at least some cases). You need to establish the position for each scheme. Aviva's free Find and Combine service might be worth a go: https://www.aviva.co.uk/retirement/pensions/pension-consolidation/

CoffeeLover

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

CoffeeLover said:

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Would taking one under the "small pots" rules be something you might consider in the future?

The total pot must not be more than £10,000 and it allows you to take taxable money without triggering the Money Purchase Annual Allowance.

Thanks, that's an interesting consideration.

Marcon

CoffeeLover said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

CoffeeLover said:

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Would taking one under the "small pots" rules be something you might consider in the future?

The total pot must not be more than £10,000 and it allows you to take taxable money without triggering the Money Purchase Annual Allowance.

Thanks, that's an interesting consideration.

You don't have to stick at just one small pot. Currently you can take up to 3 different pots, each of no more than £10K (and can be taken in the same or different tax years), from personal pensions, + any number from true occupational schemes. A workplace pension isn't necessarily an occupational scheme, so you'd need to check each one.

Quite apart from a 'small pot' not triggering the MPAA, tax free cash taken from a small pot can be in addition to the Lump Sum Allowance.

Albermarle

CoffeeLover said:

I'm aged over 55 and don't intend retiring anytime soon. I have a number of small pension pots from short-term jobs, there are probably 5 in total that have less than 10k each.

I was thinking about consolidating into one, just to make the admin a little easier. I have other larger pensions that will remain untouched.

I appreciate that ex-company schemes have low percentage fees and that's something I will lose. Are there any obvious gotchas about consolidating when over 55? Thanks.

Not all ex company schemes are that cheap, but some could be.
However you should be able to open a modern SIPP and keep the fees quite low, as long as you stick to low cost passive investment funds, and do not get tempted by some of the more expensive managed funds on offer.

CoffeeLover

Thanks, I will look into a SIPP

aecleland

For what it's worth, I found the Aviva Find & Combine service to be a total waste of time... in fact, for 1 (very old) workplace pension they advised that I likely would not be entitled to anything - which turned out not to be the case! Unless you actually have the policy numbers etc for the old pensions Aviva won't actually be able to help (they don't use NI number to help trace, so they couldn't find any info that I didn't already have myself). Gretel seems to be getting reasonable reviews and it's free, so worth a try.