Aviva SIPP or Pensionbee

shiraz99

I currently have a couple of pensions, one with Aegon and another older ltd co pension that's now with Aviva. Because the latter is an older Aviva pension i don't have any access to it online. I want to consolidate both pensions and currently looking between transferring them both to a new Aviva SIPP or using PensionBee instead.

For reference, if it helps, I'm currently in my late 50s.

Any thoughts?

jimjames

Why are you limiting yourself to those 2 choices? There are many SIPP providers I would consider before those ones.

leosayer

What are you planning to invest in once consolidated?

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915460#Comment_81915460

I'm not wedded to having a SIPP as I probably don't want to manage the investment myself therefore the option of using Pensionbee. The main driver for this is to simply consolidate the two pensions under one roof.

Aylesbury_Duck

With my recent experience of transferring an old Aviva pension to an Aviva SIPP, I would look elsewhere. It took two months of letters that didn't materialise, emails that went unanswered, phone calls that promised action and none came, a social media conversation that went nowhere and eventually a formal complaint that finally got the letter sent and the process restarted. I'm not holding my breath that things are likely to complete any time soon.

dunstonh

I'm not wedded to having a SIPP as I probably don't want to manage the investment myself therefore the option of using Pensionbee. The main driver for this is to simply consolidate the two pensions under one roof.

They are very different choices. Normally, once you know what you are after, you would have eliminated the other.

i.e. one is a restricted robo provider, and the other is a whole of market SIPP.

If you want simplicity, then a robo is likely to be better for you. If you want lowest cost or particular investments, then a SIPP is the way to achieve that.

With my recent experience of transferring an old Aviva pension to an Aviva SIPP, I would look elsewhere. It took two months of letters that didn't materialise, emails that went unanswered, phone calls that promised action and none came, a social media conversation that went nowhere and eventually a formal complaint that finally got the letter sent and the process restarted. I'm not holding my breath that things are likely to complete any time soon.

Context is needed with that. Ex CGNU Aviva policies are usually transferred within 1-2 days. Ex AXA Sun Life or ex Friends Provident are more sluggish. If it is a heritage plan needing manual calculations (rare non-standard plans typicaly) then because of the manual nature, you will find those very slow.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915538#Comment_81915538

Pension Bee average cost at around 0.75% is quite high by todays standards.

If you have a SIPP - yes you do have to choose the investment fund ( for inexperienced investors there is simple guidance available) but after that the fund will manage itself.

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915593#Comment_81915593

I have over £380,000 in my combined pots so I'm expecting the Pensionbee's fees to be around half of that.

Any recommendation as to a better SIPP than the Aviva one?

shiraz99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915460#Comment_81915460

Such as?

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915608#Comment_81915608

As @dunstonh said, it depends what you are looking for. A robo adviser, or a whole market SIPP. Depending on that, we can recommend various platforms.

For example, there are several robo-advisor type platforms, e.g. PensionBee, Nutmeg, Plum, Wealthify, etc.

Or there's whole of market SIPP platforms, e.g. Interactive Investor, iWeb, AJ Bell, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, etc.

InvestEngine offers both of the above and has no platform fee (but is also unprofitable).

Vanguard is a bit in the middle, offering their own funds only, but broad index funds as well as simplified funds for people who want simplicity (e.g. Target Date Retirement Funds/Life Strategy).

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the robo-advisor platforms.

dunstonh

Any recommendation as to a better SIPP than the Aviva one?

You are looking at it wrong. You haven't said how you want to invest. That is the starting point. The provider comes after that.

With £380k, I would have hoped you were taking the suitability of this money a little bit more seriously.