Please Help My G'Friend With Pension - She's 28 And Has None

mr_fishbulb

Hi all,

Hoping to get some pointers for my girlfriend. She'll be 29 this year, has a good job but has no pension.

She is on £40,000 and her work doesn't offer a company contributed pension.

She is looking for something where she can just invest her money in and doesn't have to worry much about checking and changing what it is invested into (but still have the ability if she wants).

Also wants a bit of risk (about a sensible amout for her age, not too much).

I'm guessing a stakeholder is good, but where do we start looking? I must admit I haven't needed to look into pension much as my work has a company-contributed so it made sense to just go with that.

Are all stakeholders pretty much the same?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

olly300

She should find herself an IFA. http://www.unbiased.co.uk/

And read around the subject so she has plenty of questions to ask the IFA -
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/PensionsAndRetirement/index.htm

mr_fishbulb

Thanks - is it best to go with an IFA, or is it something we can do ourselves?

Dithering_Dad

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

Thanks - is it best to go with an IFA, or is it something we can do ourselves?

Would you know what you're doing?

dunstonh

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

Thanks - is it best to go with an IFA, or is it something we can do ourselves?

Do you know which provider and which funds you want?

If so, go DIY. If not, go IFA.

mr_fishbulb

Not for my girlfriend - wouldn't want to make that choice for her, and she doesn't want to spend a lot of time researching.

IFA it is then - thanks

What would be typical fee for finding a pension for her?

dunstonh

What would be typical fee for finding a pension for her?

Fee basis with no commission taken would be around £500-£1000. With pensions its often worth paying the fee out of the pension so you get tax relief on the fee.

Commission basis may be better for smaller contributions.

mr_fishbulb

dunstonh wrote: »

Commission basis may be better for smaller contributions.

What do they base the commission on, as she will have no lump sum investment, just a new monthly investment?

dunstonh

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

What do they base the commission on, as she will have no lump sum investment, just a new monthly investment?

Commission on regulars is not normally explicit. It is paid for by the provider up front who then spends the next 10-15 years recouping it via the annual management charge. You can get providers who will take an advice charge over the early period and these can be quite attractive with regulars. You can end up with equivalent annual management charges over the term of 0.5% even with advice taken.

mr_fishbulb

Cheers again

mr_fishbulb

If we did some research, would it be possible to go it alone using this route:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions

I'm not adverse to looking this stuff up - been doing it for my own pension and ISA research. But want to do whatever's best for my girlfriend - after all it is her money.