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

robj20 said:
This is probably a stupid question.
But when you look at your pension and it says return +38% does that include money you have since put in or is it purely interest?
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It depends..

Different companies use different returns in their appss/online portals.

Some use "simplified returns" which is basically (Ending Value - Beginning Value) / Beginning Value = 38%

Others use IRR (internal rate of return) - Complicated calculation that can give different values to the above.

As an example I know a few companies I have the option to select either option and they generate different numbers over the long term.

You need to ask the pension company.

"most" will use Simplified return which is money you've paid in plus growth.
 
booyaka said:
It depends..

Different companies use different returns in their appss/online portals.

Some use "simplified returns" which is basically (Ending Value - Beginning Value) / Beginning Value = 38%

Others use IRR (internal rate of return) - Complicated calculation that can give different values to the above.

As an example I know a few companies I have the option to select either option and they generate different numbers over the long term.

You need to ask the pension company.

"most" will use Simplified return which is money you've paid in plus growth.
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Thanks, don't know why I didn't Google it but looks like Vanguard is a time weighted total return. But yes doesn't include contributions.
 
Mines gone up by 19.9%.. might sound impressive but inflation has gone up by 25% in the same period according to the BoE site, so it’s like to to have gone up higher.
 
Just tend to check in on the SIPP every 6 months or so or when making an additional contribution. For NHS pension it's a totally ballache to keep an eye on as it's only update once a year and usually 12 months behind.
 
gary996 said:
I've never done anything with mine. Its a Scottish Widows. Had it since I was 20 odd I'm now 61
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The best time to have paid attention to your pension was 41 years ago. The second best time is now :)

Scottish Widow funds have really underperformed for the last 10 years. You really need to see how its performing and whether you're better to do a transfer into a SIPP with a wider range of funds available.
 
ci_newman said:
The best time to have paid attention to your pension was 41 years ago. The second best time is now :)

Scottish Widow funds have really underperformed for the last 10 years. You really need to see how its performing and whether you're better to do a transfer into a SIPP with a wider range of funds available.
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Will take a look thank you
 
robj20 said:
This is probably a stupid question.
But when you look at your pension and it says return +38% does that include money you have since put in or is it purely interest?
Click to expand...
As above will very much depend upon the provider, some will be based upon returns, but some will be based upon additions + returns.
 
silversurfer said:
You want the annualized figure if possible, 38% over the last twenty years wouldn't cover inflation even.
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Its since 14 Sep 2021 when i moved it to Vanguard

2022-2023 is 8.49%
2023-2024 is 15.16%
2024-2025 is 14.46%

I'm 40 now and putting in around 24% of my income (including tax relief). Currently have 3.3x my annual salary in my combined pots.
 
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Started a transfer from Scottish Widows to Vanguard. Actually surprisingly little information required just the policy number. I guess they do lots of checks behind the scenes.
Fingers crossed it goes smoothly, little nerve racking transferring such big sums of money.
Not like you can transfer £1 first to make sure it's correct.
 
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robj20 said:
Started a transfer from Scottish Widows to Vanguard. Actually surprisingly little information required just the policy number. I guess they do lots of checks behind the scenes.
Fingers crossed it goes smoothly, little nerve racking transferring such big sums of money.
Not like you can transfer £1 first to make sure it's correct.
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My pension is with SW and my s&s isa with vanguard so im really interested in this are you still contributing to the pension? And does anything change from your payroll point of view
 
I've got a Scottish Widows pension from a previous job - it increased 15% last year to 27/10/2025.
Seems decent to me - unless people can recommend something better?
 
steinooo said:
My pension is with SW and my s&s isa with vanguard so im really interested in this are you still contributing to the pension? And does anything change from your payroll point of view
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Yes still contributing.
I could either transfer it all in which case it would remain open for 3 months before closing off no payment was made or leave a minimum of £2 in it.
I just transferred about 95% though.
 
robj20 said:
Yes still contributing.
I could either transfer it all in which case it would remain open for 3 months before closing off no payment was made or leave a minimum of £2 in it.
I just transferred about 95% though.
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Thanks but do contributions from your employer’s payroll just now automatically go into vanguard ? This is what I don’t get, don’t payroll need to know where to send the money?
 
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