Having more than one pension pot - problems

AliceBanned

I've posted a few other questions over the last few days, but hope this to be my last one on pensions!

My new company won't allow me to transfer my former company's pension fund into the same pot; but will take it. There is little point in it being in a pot on its own, as it is so small. Can the new company enforce this? I thought the government had brought in new legislation to help people improve their pensions, especially workers in less stable/regular employment etc. Transfer of pensions was supposed to have been made easier and more beneficial. Has anyone heard of this? I am checking with the new employer at the moment, just so that I don't rule out the possibility of one pension fund if it is a possibility.

Thanks

jess444_2

Hi,
I am in similar situation so will be interested in any replies- was told I was too late to transfer my NHS pension into Teaching pension as I had left nursing for more than a year.

Dschachter

No need to mix your old a new pension. You can roll your old pension into an IRA and maintain complete control. Even if you could move it to the new plan, why give the new company control over your money?

jem16

Dschachter wrote: »

No need to mix your old a new pension. You can roll your old pension into an IRA and maintain complete control. Even if you could move it to the new plan, why give the new company control over your money?

Not in the UK you can't and this is a UK site.

By the way signatures with links are not allowed.

averageguy11

Nice to c a scot talk about the UK lol

Debt_Free_Chick

jem16 wrote: »

Not in the UK you can't and this is a UK site.

No you can't, but the equivalent option in the UK is to transfer to a personal pension.

Debt_Free_Chick

AliceBanned wrote: »

My new company won't allow me to transfer my former company's pension fund into the same pot; but will take it. There is little point in it being in a pot on its own, as it is so small.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing. It depends on what type of pot and the charges. We'll need more details to be sure

Can the new company enforce this?

Yes they can.

I thought the government had brought in new legislation to help people improve their pensions, especially workers in less stable/regular employment etc. Transfer of pensions was supposed to have been made easier and more beneficial. Has anyone heard of this?

Yes. Transfers OUT of existing plans must now be offered. But there is nothing that forces any company to accept a transfer IN to their plan.

You could transfer to a stakeholder/personal pension in your own name. You could then keep this plan to accept other transfers in the future. So if you accumulated 10 small pots over 20 years, you could simply transfer each pot into the same stakeholder/personal pension. But this might not necessarily be the best option for you.

I am checking with the new employer at the moment, just so that I don't rule out the possibility of one pension fund if it is a possibility.

Thanks

The only way to end up with one, single pot is to open your own personal pension (or stakeholder pension - same thing, nearly ....). Then every pension you ever have gets transferred into this pension plan. But .... and I have to repeat this ..... this is not automatically the best thing to do.

I work in pensions and have 7 different "pots" and have no intention of combining them into one, for a number of different reasons.

Don't be fooled by the urban myth that one single pension is better than several separate ones. In particular, you cannot predict that, when you retire and need the money, that the single pot provides more than you would have got, had you simply muddled along with several separate ones.

HTH

AliceBanned

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

But this is not necessarily a bad thing. It depends on what type of pot and the charges. We'll need more details to be sure



Yes they can.



Yes. Transfers OUT of existing plans must now be offered. But there is nothing that forces any company to accept a transfer IN to their plan.

You could transfer to a stakeholder/personal pension in your own name. You could then keep this plan to accept other transfers in the future. So if you accumulated 10 small pots over 20 years, you could simply transfer each pot into the same stakeholder/personal pension. But this might not necessarily be the best option for you.



The only way to end up with one, single pot is to open your own personal pension (or stakeholder pension - same thing, nearly ....). Then every pension you ever have gets transferred into this pension plan. But .... and I have to repeat this ..... this is not automatically the best thing to do.

I work in pensions and have 7 different "pots" and have no intention of combining them into one, for a number of different reasons.

Don't be fooled by the urban myth that one single pension is better than several separate ones. In particular, you cannot predict that, when you retire and need the money, that the single pot provides more than you would have got, had you simply muddled along with several separate ones.

HTH

Thank you all for your help. This gives me a clearer picture. The only reason I thought one pot would be better was that it would be one larger amount in one place, and I am thinking of it in the same terms of saving, but obviously pensions are not the same thing as other savings. I will probably opt for a stakeholder for the old fund, plus joint the company's one for now in my new job.

dunstonh

Some pensions do have fund based discounts which have lower charges on higher balances. So there can be times when you can benefit. This is increasingly the case with personal pensions. Not so much with stakeholder pensions although some do.