Thrown in at the pension deep end!

MakTheYak

Hi folks,

I'm hoping for a little help... I recently left employment at Cambridge University where I was part of the University Pension Scheme. Obviously now I'm not working there I can no longer use it and I've received a letter telling me that I can either withdraw the money minus Income tax and minus 'member's share of the Contributions Equivalent Premium', or I can transfer the benefits to another approved scheme or PPP.

My new employer doesn't offer a pension scheme so it's down to me to find the best one, and quickly too or they will just send me a cheque if I don't reply quick enough.

If I don't transfer it to another pension scheme and take the cheque I will effectively get about £450 less than if it is tranferred. I think £450 is something I'd like to hang onto if possible!

So I am a complete pension novice, and it all seems a little overwhelming right now. Does anyone know any useful links or somewhere to find info about simple things like the advantages and disadvantages of both personal pensions and stakeholder pensions, why someone would get one over the other and what is the best way to find out which scheme is best for me?

Thanks in advance!

dunstonh

You want a pretty long winded answer and its one that has been answered a few times in recent weeks. Take a look at past threads to see the differences between the two.

If you are a bit of a novice, then stakeholder pensions are the basic option. They have less features and funds (usually) but it is easier to understand the charging methods.