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

In retirement or nearing retirement stability and wealth preservation is more important than anything else. Actually being in cash probably shielded him from the recent bond crash which has decimated many retirement plans.
 
Drawdown is a very popular option now yet pension schemes are still set up to guide your investments to prepare for annuity purchase. Too bad for the previous OPs colleague, but really people have to take some responsibility too.
 
200sols said:
In retirement or nearing retirement stability and wealth preservation is more important than anything else. Actually being in cash probably shielded him from the recent bond crash which has decimated many retirement plans.
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Not really. Drawing down and keeping invested is a popular option now. Need a good strategy to manage periods of poor performance, though.
 
EvilRob said:
Not really. Drawing down and keeping invested is a popular option now. Need a good strategy to manage periods of poor performance, though.
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Really. Chasing growth in drawdown often ends badly. Too many people are clouded by the last 10 years of growth to think that is what always happens.

I'm not saying you want it all in cash, but there is a happy medium. Especially now you can get a decent yield on gilts drawdown is easy and risk free.

Also drawdown only became popular because annuity yields collapsed. That has changed now. The future of pensions looks better than it has done in while, many viable options.
 
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Entirety of my SIPP is in Vanguard life strategy funds, held with Best Invest. Just about the best set-and-forget low-fees plan there is available in the UK. Returned 9/0.5/6/6.5/14% each year looking back over past 5 years.
 
Just realised my employer does a match plus 10 scheme for contributions. :eek:
So if you contribute 2% they do 12% = 14%
I think this is one of the more generous ones?
I think it is capped at 15% total though.
 
It's worth maximising whatever free money your employer can add, think mine is as basic as they come, I do 4% and they match 4% so 8% total.

I still need to sort mine out properly, got a meeting with the pensions guy our workplace uses in April, will ask him about what he thinks on my plan to move some older ones over to Vanguard and how feasible it is.

I'll probably need to keep my live pension payments going into my Standard Life workplace pension for now, it doesn't sound like I can move the funds out without closing that pension account fully, but they offer a range of options so I'll look at changing how it allocates them at least.
 
Mr.Stu said:
Entirety of my SIPP is in Vanguard life strategy funds, held with Best Invest. Just about the best set-and-forget low-fees plan there is available in the UK. Returned 9/0.5/6/6.5/14% each year looking back over past 5 years.
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The bond heavy versions have been terrible i was advised to get LS 40 and it was so shocking i bailed out early not long after the Ukraine invasion, i am well aware now what happened with the bonds but at the time i was touted them as the safest thing in uncertain markets, markets down bonds up but no it was constant markets down bonds down.
i got out at well over £200 and even now years on they are only £196 (only a 1.5% dividend)
i ended up simulating Ls 100 with vwrl but increased the uk exposure with vuke, that helped when the us tanked and gives a large dividend
 
I’ll be staying in index fund with my pension. I want to retire before then so I’ll have some bonds setup to get me through the first few years but otherwise it’s equities all the way.
 
If I am being honest I consolidated my pensions then was left to make decisions I don't feel confident or qualified to make, especially coming up to my drawdown as I am already old enough to take it
So now I have a large cash amount in vanguard festering at 3.6% nervous to make another move (I am in profit but.,.,)
Btw I tried to get a financial advisor but no one would touch a smaller pot
 
My pension is invested in EQQQ and all future investments will be in the Nasdaq aswell. I hope it should do me well for 30 yrs. I have Bitcoin aswell.
 
If I knew what I was doing I could use the Powell speech, jobs data UK budget this week to make a quick kill but I don't think they have a fund that shorts here as a stop loss ? as they do in the us

Think I need to stop watching the big short on netflix
Edit/ and yeah note to self, don't gamble the pension fund)
 
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moon man said:
In my case I will be 70 in 10 years so will be using the drawdown pretty soon I did ok with vwrl and if I was in long term would carry on with this.
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Two years in cash to cover meltdowns and the rest in the S & P 500. The safe bet of heavily in bonds when old doesn't seem so safe anymore.
 
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jaybee said:
Just realised my employer does a match plus 10 scheme for contributions. :eek:
So if you contribute 2% they do 12% = 14%
I think this is one of the more generous ones?
I think it is capped at 15% total though.
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Depends on age. Mine is about that when I'm in my 40s I think.
 
moon man said:
If I am being honest I consolidated my pensions then was left to make decisions I don't feel confident or qualified to make, especially coming up to my drawdown as I am already old enough to take it
So now I have a large cash amount in vanguard festering at 3.6% nervous to make another move (I am in profit but.,.,)
Btw I tried to get a financial advisor but no one would touch a smaller pot
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What sort of size fund is it?
 
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