Pension fund performance - do you monitor yours, how is it doing, do you actively change it?

[dirtychinchilla]

Our work has ****** up on our pensions so we've been receiving double relief, which is one issue. One guy, who is in the process of retiring, then announced that he was unaffected because he'd opted out. I thought he meant that he was getting his funds sent to a different provider than what the company scheme is on. But no, he just rejected a free pension.

 

[Richie]

Todays generation are living for today, unlike last generation that worried more about the future and what it looked like for them

What is "Today's generation" and the "last generation" you mean here? Genuine in asking, as there are currently 3 generations of working age and 2 of non-working age (leaving out the pre-work generations of Gen A and Gen B that is)

 

[booyaka]

What is "Today's generation" and the "last generation" you mean here? Genuine in asking, as there are currently 3 generations of working age and 2 of non-working age (leaving out the pre-work generations of Gen A and Gen B that is)

Last generation is 60-80 year olds in my eyes

Todays "younger" generation I should probably have said - 20-40

And yes - something in the middle

 

[fez]

I am a little surprised that one of the reasons that people will be poorer than previous generations is the due to companies ending Final Salary pension schemes and some companies not even offering a scheme excluding the Government mandated WPPS (Work Place Pension Scheme) I mean.

Some of those final salary schemes were criminally good to the point where the current working generation are paying for them. My uncle got one where it was a percentage of the average of the final 3 years or something like that. He got a massive promotion a few years before he retired so his final salary pension was a joke compared to what he had contributed.

So you are going to have people that cannot afford homes, due to the cost of getting a home, and then retiring with minimal income; having spent their money on renting to the wealthier cohorts, and having to continue to pay exorbitant rents..... Kind sticks in my throat a little TBH.

Yep. You are going to have a lot of people who don't own a house, who don't have a private pension and will be entirely reliant on the state for everything. They are already predicting that the simple pension will be completely unaffordable due to the triple lock and then the additional burden of taking care of all the afforementioned people will blow it all to pieces. Those people, like they do now, will vote for whatever party says they will steal from the young to feed the old.

The next 20-30 years in most first world countries could get real spicy and thats completely ignoring climate change and the huge movement of people across the world to escape it.

For the final kicker, more and more people see no future where they have any real quality of life so what little they get now, they squander. Leave people with a bleak future and don't be surprised when you have a mental health crisis and a generation who has no hope or plan for the future beyond "maybe when my parents die I might own a house".

 

[slinxy]

I saw that I can claim from my DB pensions and not trigger pension recycling rules nor the Money Purchase Annual Allowance... so I need to see closer to the time if it's worth the less pension for a longer period of time.

 

[booyaka]

I saw that I can claim from my DB pensions and not trigger pension recycling rules nor the Money Purchase Annual Allowance...

correct on both counts.

Also the chances of HMRC actually checking the source of the payments (despite pension companies asking where it came from) is extremely rare.

I've had one check in 25 years done on a client for recycling - and it was cleared up very quickly.

 

[Furton]

Merging pension pots?

I currently have 3 pension accounts, all with Aviva. 2 are from my old employer and 1 is from new employer. Is it beneficial to merge these accounts into one larger pension pot? Other than ease of management, does having one single account provide greater scope for growth?

 

[glenimp617]

Merging pension pots?

I currently have 3 pension accounts, all with Aviva. 2 are from my old employer and 1 is from new employer. Is it beneficial to merge these accounts into one larger pension pot? Other than ease of management, does having one single account provide greater scope for growth?

I had a small Aviva pension which is in the process of moving to my main one with Royal London. It was very easy to do online, but was weeks ago now and still not been transferred.

 

[jaybee]

Merging pension pots?

I currently have 3 pension accounts, all with Aviva. 2 are from my old employer and 1 is from new employer. Is it beneficial to merge these accounts into one larger pension pot? Other than ease of management, does having one single account provide greater scope for growth?

You'll generally be told "it depends" and "speak to a financial advisor" on here.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Is it possible to move chunks of your pension to different providers? Our work Scottish Widows pension scheme, apart from being a huge **** up, isn't performing well and I'd like to move the money over to my Vanguard pension without closing the account. Can you do this?

 

[booyaka]

Is it possible to move chunks of your pension to different providers? Our work Scottish Widows pension scheme, apart from being a huge **** up, isn't performing well and I'd like to move the money over to my Vanguard pension without closing the account. Can you do this?

You can potentially do a partial transfer - you'll need to confirm with Scottish Widows and Vangaurd that they will accept partial transfers. Some companies will/some won't.

Have you tried/considered changing the funds in the Scottish Widows one if you feel it's not performing well?

 

[booyaka]

Merging pension pots?

I currently have 3 pension accounts, all with Aviva. 2 are from my old employer and 1 is from new employer. Is it beneficial to merge these accounts into one larger pension pot? Other than ease of management, does having one single account provide greater scope for growth?

Potentially yes - one pot, ease of management, simplified etc.

However - check the charges/costs on the funds with your old employers - if they are part of a group scheme they are likely to be very low.

Also depending on the size of the funds involved discount might apply under the old schemes / new pot etc.

Ultimately yes "probably" a good idea to consider, but you need to check what benefits you might loose by transferring.

As @jaybee says - "it depends" and if your serious and want professional advice - seek out an IFA - but that's up to you as there is no need to do so.... Also most IFA's will have a minimum pot size they would even consider taking on these days...

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Potentially yes - one pot, ease of management, simplified etc.

However - check the charges/costs on the funds with your old employers - if they are part of a group scheme they are likely to be very low.

Also depending on the size of the funds involved discount might apply under the old schemes / new pot etc.

Ultimately yes "probably" a good idea to consider, but you need to check what benefits you might loose by transferring.

As @jaybee says - "it depends" and if your serious and want professional advice - seek out an IFA - but that's up to you as there is no need to do so.... Also most IFA's will have a minimum pot size they would even consider taking on these days...

Thank you. I'm in the process of taking on an IFA - we don't have loads of money, but I want all the planning done. He seems pretty reasonable fees-wise and he's very thorough

 

[jaybee]

Thank you. I'm in the process of taking on an IFA - we don't have loads of money, but I want all the planning done. He seems pretty reasonable fees-wise and he's very thorough

I literally have no idea how much an IFA costs. Any rough quotes or idea? Do they work based on a percentage of your financial worth or is it just an hourly rate regardless? I've always assumed it would not be financially worthwhile to see one based on my tiny savings/pensions. OCUK Lambo drivers may find it worthwhile mind?

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I literally have no idea how much an IFA costs. Any rough quotes or idea? Do they work based on a percentage of your financial worth or is it just an hourly rate regardless? I've always assumed it would not be financially worthwhile to see one based on my tiny savings/pensions. OCUK Lambo drivers may find it worthwhile mind?

As I understand it, it's a % of the growth you achieve annually. I think he's charging something like 1.25%. I suspect they do have limits, but if you calculate your net worth (properties, savings, pensions, etc) then the value stacks up quite quickly!

 

[lordrobs]

I do keep an eye on my overall collective "pot", which is actually a combination of a LISA and three workplace pensions with a spreadsheet to give me a ball park projection on the what if's of leaving the current provision as is and allowing for growth and the crystal ball stab in the dark of what I would hope for with paying in relative to my salary over the next 17 years.

All I can say for certain is that choosing to invest my current workplace pension myself instead of the generic one size fits none pot has MASSIVELY increased my growth. This is just in a few trackers and ETFs to spread the risk so I'm not exactly Warren Buffett

 

[tangey]

I'm in the early stage of looking towards full retirement. I'm currently on 3 days a week, and I expect to be fully retired in 12-18 months.

My main pension is with vanguard. MY stocks and shares SIPP is with IG, as invest in some Australian shares and I've found them the best in the UK for that.

One imagines that those that may be good with investment funds/prices, might not necessarily be the best when it comes to options/costs/customer service for drawing from the pension.I'm guessing there is going to be a whole range from excellent to bloody awful like anything else. Given we can move our pension pot to wherever, it would make sense to move to whoever provides a really good post retirement service, assuming they also still have decent investment options.

Is there anywhere online, include youtube channels, that analyse pension providers performance/quality/fees/options in the retirement phase ?

 

[Jim99]

I'm in the early stage of looking towards full retirement. I'm currently on 3 days a week, and I expect to be fully retired in 12-18 months.

My main pension is with vanguard. MY stocks and shares SIPP is with IG, as invest in some Australian shares and I've found them the best in the UK for that.

One imagines that those that may be good with investment funds/prices, might not necessarily be the best when it comes to options/costs/customer service for drawing from the pension.I'm guessing there is going to be a whole range from excellent to bloody awful like anything else. Given we can move our pension pot to wherever, it would make sense to move to whoever provides a really good post retirement service, assuming they also still have decent investment options.

Is there anywhere online, include youtube channels, that analyse pension providers performance/quality/fees/options in the retirement phase ?

Performance is a red herring on that front - that's completely down to the funds you pick, not the pension provider.

First question is which provider suits drawdown / decumulation - you can refer to https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/ which sets out the options.

Second question then its what you invest in for drawdown. There are some articles more focused on that eg https://monevator.com/decumulation-a-real-life-plan/ and https://monevator.com/pension-drawdown-rules/

 

[slinxy]

I'm in the early stage of looking towards full retirement. I'm currently on 3 days a week, and I expect to be fully retired in 12-18 months.

My main pension is with vanguard. MY stocks and shares SIPP is with IG, as invest in some Australian shares and I've found them the best in the UK for that.

One imagines that those that may be good with investment funds/prices, might not necessarily be the best when it comes to options/costs/customer service for drawing from the pension.I'm guessing there is going to be a whole range from excellent to bloody awful like anything else. Given we can move our pension pot to wherever, it would make sense to move to whoever provides a really good post retirement service, assuming they also still have decent investment options.

Is there anywhere online, include youtube channels, that analyse pension providers performance/quality/fees/options in the retirement phase ?

Not all funds are the same, even if they share very similar names. Hence why each fund shows their benchmark and how they perform against this.

I have two sets of emerging market and developed world trackers, on with vanguard for my ISA and one with L&G for my pension, and the results can vary.

With such a large amount and with yourself being on the victory lap, is it really worth trying to get that very last point zero one difference? If you are planning to go draw down and have the large amount still invested, if you been happy with the service that your broker has provided so far? What’s change? And why change?

I’ve been looking at pension annuities.. take the 25% tax free and stick it in premium bonds, fixed rate savings and ISAs, for large purchases then use the rest to get an annuity so I don’t have to worry about market dips, crystallising this/that, tax returns etc and actually enjoy being retired rather than “work” with my pension pots. Yeah I will definitely lose out maxing out possible gains.

 

[tangey]

Obviously my original wording is not portraying what I intended.

Trying to find who is the easiest to deal with in the retirement phase, who has really good customer service, who provides the most flexibility in the drawdown (i.e I imagine some might only allow quarterly drawdown, or charge more for more frequent or adhoc payments), how quick the money arrives, and who is good on fees etc etc.

The best I've found thus far is which, from April this year.

Interestingly, Vanguard got the highest which score and is one of the 4 that get "recommended".

Best pension drawdown providers 2025 - Which?

We've surveyed nearly 2,000 pension drawdown customers to identify the providers that offer the best value and service.

www.which.co.uk