Now self employed, restart previous private pension other start new and transfer in

Catwales

Hiya. 

I'm 48, I've got a LGPS pension which I dont want to transfer, ive now become self employed and looking at sorting a private pension. 

I have previously paid into one in 2007/08, thats got £20K in at present. 

Im wondering about starting paying into this again or setting up a SIPP or personal pension and looking at whether I should transfer my past private pension in it. 

Im going to look at getting independent advice, but just wanted to know any advice of what I need to ask/consider. 

Any help is much appreciated, thanks 

Marcon

First question: will it accept further contributions?

2007 is in any case quite an old contract - it predates many changes which have come in since then. How flexible is it - eg does it support drawdown, if that might be a route you'd want to consider when you come to access your benefits?

What sort of fund choices does it offer?

What are the charges like and how do they compare to more modern contracts (if you post details of the charges here, someone will be able to answer that!).

SVaz

Presumably you are a sole trader,
not a ltd. Company?
A sipp is probably the easiest option then transfer the old pension in, as long as there are no protected benefits with it.
If you don’t feel confident in choosing your own investments,  some Sipps have ready made funds for your level of risk attitude. 

Is your future income from the LGPS a decent amount?   If so then a mixed asset fund of 80% equities should give a decent level of growth.
What is your old pension invested in? 

Albermarle

Catwales said:

Hiya. 

I'm 48, I've got a LGPS pension which I dont want to transfer, you probably can not transfer it anyway and would be a very bad idea even if you could   ive now become self employed and looking at sorting a private pension. 

I have previously paid into one in 2007/08, thats got £20K in at present. 

Im wondering about starting paying into this again or setting up a SIPP or personal pension and looking at whether I should transfer my past private pension in it. 
SIPP/personal/private are all DC ( Defined Contribution) pensions, so all work by the same rules.
However as mentioned, more modern pensions tend to be more flexible and give you more options.

Im going to look at getting independent advice, but just wanted to know any advice of what I need to ask/consider. Unfortunately the sums you are talking about would normally not be of interest to a financial advisor. Even if they were the fees would be very large compared to the size of your funds.
Luckily it is very easy to set up a new pension yourself nowadays, and although they will not offer you advice on how to invest the money, there will be some guidance, and reading though this forum could be helpful as well. 

Any help is much appreciated, thanks 

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