Pension advice cost

Can anyone please tell me roughly what I should expect to pay for pension advice from an IFA . This is to give me advice on my private pension and where to put future contributions . Also any ongoing charges , thanks .
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  • IanSt
    IanSt Posts: 366 Forumite
    I suggest you have a search through this forum for the many posts that have asked the same set of questions as you have.

    If you don't find your answer then come back with details on whether it is a DC or DB pension and how much it is worth. Someone may then be in a position to give an answer for your particular circumstances.
  • Malthusian
    Malthusian Posts: 10,898
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    edited 14 November 2017 at 12:31PM
    Depends on the IFA and how big the private pension is. If your private pension is a defined contribution / personal pension, 3% of the existing fund up front and 0.5% per annum is still the benchmark. The initial fee can often be negotiated below this, depending on the size of the private pension.

    Some charge more, some charge less and you will need to shop around.

    If it's advice to transfer out of a DB pension you're after, then it will be a lot more *edit* than advice on a DC scheme and you can expect less scope to negotiate the price down.
  • pip895
    pip895 Posts: 1,173
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    Malthusian wrote: »
    If it's advice to transfer out of a DB pension you're after, then it will be a lot more.

    This can be at those sorts of rates but there are people charging only ~ 1% even for this. You should be able to get much lower fixed rate charges for standard pensions advice though. Shop around!
  • Malthusian
    Malthusian Posts: 10,898
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    Yes, my wording was poor the first time. I should have said that I meant more than just advising on a DC pension, rather than more than 3%.
  • shilts
    shilts Posts: 78
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    Thanks for the help . I was wondering whether it was the norm to pay a fixed fee up front , an ongoing charge or indeed both .
  • bigadaj
    bigadaj Posts: 11,531
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    shilts wrote: »
    Thanks for the help . I was wondering whether it was the norm to pay a fixed fee up front , an ongoing charge or indeed both .

    It varies, typical process might be free initial meeting where you meet and discuss overall aims and goals and then ifa comes back with outline plan and costs.

    Anecdotally then typical charges vary 1-3% for initial fees and 0.5-1% ongoing charges.

    What's your situation and what are you trying to achieve, this will affect the charges and work, and if it's fairly simple there no reason you can't do it yourself.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,038
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    shilts wrote: »
    Thanks for the help . I was wondering whether it was the norm to pay a fixed fee up front , an ongoing charge or indeed both .

    For simple things or small value cases, typically you would go transactional (up front fee, no ongoing). For larger values or where you have periodic work (such as ad-hoc contributions) then ongoing is usually used.

    Upfront is for the initial advice. Ongoing is for ongoing advice.

    No right or wrong. Just preference. However, you may find more basic investments and products used for transactional stuff. Especially after 3rd Jan 2018 when MiFID II comes in. Firms should largely be doing it already but there is evidence to suggest some are not.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • pip895
    pip895 Posts: 1,173
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    In most circumstances you can DIY the information you need and use free help (not advice lol) available from companies like Hargreaves Lansdowne to, for instance, consolidate lots of small defined contribution pots.

    You don't need to worry about them telling you to transfer things that shouldn't be transferred because the area is so highly regulated. When I used them for instance there was one policy that had a guarantee that we couldn't transfer across and they were very upfront about it and suggested we didn't transfer that one.

    You can save yourselves a fortune by spending a bit of time educating yourself and making a few phone calls.
  • shilts
    shilts Posts: 78
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    Thankyou for your help . I have just heard back from one advisor who has quoted me :-

    Free initial meeting
    Initial fee - 3%
    Ongoing - 0.75-1%

    I currently pay into a company pension which I don't really want to touch and have a personal pension which I haven't paid into for years and is relatively small (just under £50000) . In addition to this I want to pay in a further £200 a month into a pension . So basically I want to know the best place for the £50000 plus the £220 month to be for my circumstances . I would think this would be quite straight forward so does 3% seem reasonable ? Not sure if I would need ongoing or not given the relatively small sum , thanks .
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