AVC worth holding on to?

RebTech

I have a small AVC with the Pru dating from the mid-90s. Contributed just for a couple of years, not since. I also have a somewhat larger occupational pension (USS) and a personal pension with Standard Life, a bit bigger still, but still not big. I'm in my mid-fifties, with a very low income, but some capital, which I intend to shift from savings accounts into ISAs and pension(s) over the next year or two as regulations allow. I'm thinking seriously about starting a SIPP.

So this is the question: I'm going to leave the USS pension as it is, on the basis that occupational pensions, I believe, are usually better than any alternative, but do AVCs fall into the same category, or are they more like an ordinary personal pension, in which case I'd probably transfer it to bump-start my SIPP?

I should probably already have mentioned that, though very inexperienced investment-wise, I'm a fast learner and quite highly motivated, and have a fair bit of time to spend on all this due to temporary, though long-lasting, health factors. I already have a stocks and shares ISA for the current year, with Hargreaves Lansdown, invested in a bunch of funds, and I've put my £2808 into the SL pension (which has a protected component, which I believe complicates transfer, and I'm not currently considering that).

Newly_retired

I'm no expert but your ideas sound sensible. However, do you know that there is a possibility that you may benefit from Prudential's distribution of its Inherited Estate at some point? No definite news on this but might be worth checking this out before you transfer.

harryhound

Bigger thread on this confusing subject here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=324238

RebTech

harryhound wrote: »

Bigger thread on this confusing subject here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=324238

Thanks for that. I'm now thinking it would be safest just to forget the SIPP and leave things as they are!

RebTech

Newly_retired wrote: »

I'm no expert but your ideas sound sensible. However, do you know that there is a possibility that you may benefit from Prudential's distribution of its Inherited Estate at some point? No definite news on this but might be worth checking this out before you transfer.

No, I didn't know about that, and it's very interesting, thanks very much.

EdInvestor

In any case the AVC is linked to the occ pension and cannot be moved to a SIPP or activated independently of the main scheme.

Jake'sGran

I paid into my company pension for only ten years but made AVCs to the maximum allowed. I definitely feel that I gained by this and as EdInvestor says you could not split the AVC from the main pension provision. If you have some spare cash you could pay out each month I believe you can still use it to buy shares/funds etc to put into a SIPP. My SinL has arranged one with HL and has a company pension too.

RebTech

Newly_retired wrote: »

I'm no expert but your ideas sound sensible. However, do you know that there is a possibility that you may benefit from Prudential's distribution of its Inherited Estate at some point? No definite news on this but might be worth checking this out before you transfer.

Going by this http://www.pru.co.uk/existing_customers/wp_subfund/#5 it seems people like me who have stopped contributing won't be eligible. :-[