| Pensions 09:01 - Jul 11 with 2791 views | _clive_baker_ |
I'm no expert on pensions at all, but I'm getting to an age where I probably need to be a bit more proactive in managing it. Not necessarily where its invested at this stage, initially just understanding where I'm at and forward projections.
Like most people I've had multiple employers, different pension providers, and contributed different amounts at various stages of my career (as have my employers).
Has anyone attempted to consolidate their pensions? It feels really odd to me that all pension contributions are linked to a unique NI number through payslips and HMRC data, yet there doesn't appear to be an easy tool to pull historic contributions (both mine and my employers) based on NI number. Unless I'm missing something?
Does anyone have any advice / words of warning / recommendations of companies who might do this well?
|  | | |  |
| Pensions on 09:06 - Jul 11 with 2448 views | DanTheMan |
I've moved my pensions into a SIPP as I've moved so I've got it all in one place. I use Vanguard but there are plenty of options out there for managing one, they all make it fairly simple. Can easily just invest in a retirement fund and let them do all the work or go completely DIY with it and anywhere in-between.
As for finding your pensions, there is this tool available.
https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details |  |
| |
| Pensions on 09:19 - Jul 11 with 2370 views | J2BLUE |
Haven't used them so not a recommendation but I think Pension Bee find old pensions for you? |  |
| |
| Pensions on 09:22 - Jul 11 with 2319 views | DanTheMan |
| Pensions on 09:19 - Jul 11 by J2BLUE |
Haven't used them so not a recommendation but I think Pension Bee find old pensions for you? |
Similarly there's also Gretel but I've never used it.
https://www.gretel.co.uk/ | |
| |
| Pensions on 09:47 - Jul 11 with 2217 views | _clive_baker_ |
Thanks both.
I've had 4 employers over the pas 15 odd years so shouldn't be too arduous to do myself, but I'll check out these guys as well.
Thanks for that tool, looks like 2 of the 4 are the People's pension which is helpful. 1 employer I can't find on the tool so I'll email them and see where I get to.
Appreciate the help. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:15 - Jul 11 with 2079 views | Basuco |
I had the same thing, 8 different pensions two with the same company! A good friend of mine was a financial advisor but when I went to consolidate them all he had retired, but past on the details of a guy he had worked with for a while and who replaced him. I have been very impressed with him and a knowledgeable recommendation meant a lot to me.
The company is Cranbourne Financial using Sam jones and would recommend him/them. It is a case of signing a letter of authority for each pension and he does the work, I also let them manage the investments reviewing them every 6 month's, fees are paid from the pot. This management helped my pot grow very nicely. The quick guide they use is long term higher return for younger people and blue chip low risk as you get nearer to your chosen retirement date. Which is obvious really, but as I have no knowledge of these things I decided to pay the fees and mostly follow the advice. Consolidating into one pot (apart from any defined benefits pensions) and having it managed is important.
https://cranbournefinancial.co.uk/service/pensions/ [Post edited 11 Jul 10:15]
|  | | |
| Pensions on 10:21 - Jul 11 with 2031 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Pensions on 10:15 - Jul 11 by Basuco |
I had the same thing, 8 different pensions two with the same company! A good friend of mine was a financial advisor but when I went to consolidate them all he had retired, but past on the details of a guy he had worked with for a while and who replaced him. I have been very impressed with him and a knowledgeable recommendation meant a lot to me.
The company is Cranbourne Financial using Sam jones and would recommend him/them. It is a case of signing a letter of authority for each pension and he does the work, I also let them manage the investments reviewing them every 6 month's, fees are paid from the pot. This management helped my pot grow very nicely. The quick guide they use is long term higher return for younger people and blue chip low risk as you get nearer to your chosen retirement date. Which is obvious really, but as I have no knowledge of these things I decided to pay the fees and mostly follow the advice. Consolidating into one pot (apart from any defined benefits pensions) and having it managed is important.
https://cranbournefinancial.co.uk/service/pensions/ [Post edited 11 Jul 10:15]
|
Thanks for taking the time to write that Basuco. Sounds like you were in a similar boat and good to hear you've tidied up yours.
If nothing else just having visibility of the total pot and future projections will be valuable to me to focus what I put in moving forward etc. I can't actually answer the question of 'how much is in my pension' right now, which I'm uneasy with. I'm not too concerned about deciding where its invested, like you I'm happy for now for someone else to do that. I invest privately in various things but my pension is currently just a deduction from my payslip that I give zero thought to. It was my new years resolution to tidy that up, I appreciate your thoughts on it. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:22 - Jul 11 with 2027 views | WeWereZombies |
| Pensions on 09:47 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Thanks both.
I've had 4 employers over the pas 15 odd years so shouldn't be too arduous to do myself, but I'll check out these guys as well.
Thanks for that tool, looks like 2 of the 4 are the People's pension which is helpful. 1 employer I can't find on the tool so I'll email them and see where I get to.
Appreciate the help. |
If it's any comfort I was in the same boat as you but unlike Dan I haven't consolidated (in a couple of cases there were competitive advantages to stay in a scheme and follow their recommended route out into a very favourable annuity) so I have the pleasant experience of getting little bundles of pension into my bank account four times a month.
Somehow over the anguish of separation and then divorce I managed to keep track of my pension paperwork even though I had six addresses in the space of five years and, especially as my various retirement dates became 'imminent', I was getting regular fund valuations with my various options outlined. If you aren't getting these then I suggest you contact the 'imminent' pension providers to sharpen up their act. [Post edited 11 Jul 10:26]
|  |
| |
| Pensions on 10:22 - Jul 11 with 2024 views | SmithersJones |
Are you currently in a workplace pension? If so, and if your primary goal is simply to get all your different pension pots into one place, you will probably be able to transfer your historic pension pots into your current scheme (unless your historic pots are defined benefit). Contact your current scheme and they can talk you through it. |  | | |
Login to get fewer ads
| Pensions on 10:26 - Jul 11 with 1996 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Pensions on 10:22 - Jul 11 by WeWereZombies |
If it's any comfort I was in the same boat as you but unlike Dan I haven't consolidated (in a couple of cases there were competitive advantages to stay in a scheme and follow their recommended route out into a very favourable annuity) so I have the pleasant experience of getting little bundles of pension into my bank account four times a month.
Somehow over the anguish of separation and then divorce I managed to keep track of my pension paperwork even though I had six addresses in the space of five years and, especially as my various retirement dates became 'imminent', I was getting regular fund valuations with my various options outlined. If you aren't getting these then I suggest you contact the 'imminent' pension providers to sharpen up their act. [Post edited 11 Jul 10:26]
|
Thanks chap. Life admin is a bit boring at times innit.
I still don't know why there can't just be an HMRC portal that details historic contributions based on NI number. It doesn't sound like a difficult thing to do given they're linked to payslips for anyone PAYE. Even if they don't have visibility of where they've gone and the specific pension providers it would no doubt be a very helpful starting point for people to comb back through and see when they've contributed and with which employer. I bet there's a shed load of private pensions that get lost in the ether. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:33 - Jul 11 with 1943 views | EuanTown |
I am no pensions expert but consolidation though useful is not always the best option.
Some older pensions may have benefits you don't get with new ones and consolidating them may leave you at a disadvantage.
It is best to get professional advice as once the financial advisor gets informed on them they will find out and understand what perks you may lose from coming out of them.
Also someone can confirm this there is a £10k rule that any pensions with values under £10k at the moment don't count when you draw them. Again I am a little hazy on this and those ITK will be able to clarify the exact detail of this.
FWIW |  | | |
| Pensions on 10:36 - Jul 11 with 1929 views | surreyblue |
| Pensions on 10:26 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Thanks chap. Life admin is a bit boring at times innit.
I still don't know why there can't just be an HMRC portal that details historic contributions based on NI number. It doesn't sound like a difficult thing to do given they're linked to payslips for anyone PAYE. Even if they don't have visibility of where they've gone and the specific pension providers it would no doubt be a very helpful starting point for people to comb back through and see when they've contributed and with which employer. I bet there's a shed load of private pensions that get lost in the ether. |
That sort of portal is coming - it's just taken a lot of work to try to get it set up.
https://www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/
Basically every pension scheme needs to do the set up work for the dashboard through their administrators, which of course takes time and money. Plus a load of testing to make sure it is right. Hopefully it will be all up and running by the end of next year. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:45 - Jul 11 with 1879 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Pensions on 10:36 - Jul 11 by surreyblue |
That sort of portal is coming - it's just taken a lot of work to try to get it set up.
https://www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/
Basically every pension scheme needs to do the set up work for the dashboard through their administrators, which of course takes time and money. Plus a load of testing to make sure it is right. Hopefully it will be all up and running by the end of next year. |
Nice! Fair play, I only came up with the idea this morning and they've already got on it. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:46 - Jul 11 with 1878 views | Basuco |
| Pensions on 10:21 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Thanks for taking the time to write that Basuco. Sounds like you were in a similar boat and good to hear you've tidied up yours.
If nothing else just having visibility of the total pot and future projections will be valuable to me to focus what I put in moving forward etc. I can't actually answer the question of 'how much is in my pension' right now, which I'm uneasy with. I'm not too concerned about deciding where its invested, like you I'm happy for now for someone else to do that. I invest privately in various things but my pension is currently just a deduction from my payslip that I give zero thought to. It was my new years resolution to tidy that up, I appreciate your thoughts on it. |
One thing I did find was that one company was performing very badly because it was not being managed, I only found this out when I got all the annual statements together and compared a few prior to consolidation. So I would advise that whoever you get to sort them all out to manage the pot moving forward.
They do checks on how risk averse you are as a person which will help decide on how risky your investments will be, and you will need a rough idea of when you might intend to retire as well. Good luck and try to get this under way ASAP to maximise your future pension pot. | | | |
| Pensions on 10:59 - Jul 11 with 1786 views | Basuco |
| Pensions on 10:21 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Thanks for taking the time to write that Basuco. Sounds like you were in a similar boat and good to hear you've tidied up yours.
If nothing else just having visibility of the total pot and future projections will be valuable to me to focus what I put in moving forward etc. I can't actually answer the question of 'how much is in my pension' right now, which I'm uneasy with. I'm not too concerned about deciding where its invested, like you I'm happy for now for someone else to do that. I invest privately in various things but my pension is currently just a deduction from my payslip that I give zero thought to. It was my new years resolution to tidy that up, I appreciate your thoughts on it. |
As a very rough guide, at the moment I think, your annual pension will about 7% of your pension pot, this does change constantly, but that will give you a bit of an idea of what you could expect. | | | |
| Pensions on 11:00 - Jul 11 with 1775 views | DJR |
I wouldn't do anything without financial advice.
For example, according to Which, some older pension schemes still apply exit charges.
This was true in my case for a private pension taken out in 1989 which contained some Serps contributions.
The pot was only worth about £2,500 but its transfer value (to another scheme) was only about two-thirds of that value.
I claimed the whole amount last year when I reached 65, with 25% being tax free. An annuity would have given me about £50 a yean. [Post edited 11 Jul 11:02]
|  | | |
| Pensions on 11:53 - Jul 11 with 1614 views | bluefunk |
| Pensions on 10:45 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Nice! Fair play, I only came up with the idea this morning and they've already got on it. |
I would strongly recommend getting financial advice around this process, I’m a retired adviser and I had a significant number of clients who’d made fundamental errors when doing it themselves and then hoped I could sort things out for them. That’s not to say you will make errors but there are a range of issues and complexities on older pension which are not for the uninitiated. They also do the transfer work for you, so it’s well worth paying for advice.
Ongoing advice will also ensure you identify and monitor your retirement goals and keep an eye on things going forward. Worth dropping Keno a message to see if he can help - he’s an adviser. |  | | |
| Pensions on 12:34 - Jul 11 with 1481 views | IndependentlyBlue |
Like many others on here have said get a good financial adviser. Can be worth their weight in gold. I had multiple pensions with multiple employers including a lot of money wrapped up in a very arcane fund. Got advice from these people (not sure where you are but they’re based in Lowestoft)
https://norfolkandsuffolk.co.uk/
who were brilliant, and through their knowledge and doggedness increased my pot substantially. Been with them ever since, and several years on am still very happy with them
…and no l didn’t work for them and am not being paid to promote them |  |
| Better to stay silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt |
| |
| Pensions on 13:09 - Jul 11 with 1364 views | meekreech |
I had multiple pension pots and looked at consolidation. The adviser I used went into the benefits of them all. He advised me not to consolidate as with the fees I would have paid certain benefits that were in place would have been lost. These benefits included annual uprating, continued pension payments to my wife after my death and continued inflation increases for her.
Having asked for advice it would have been a mistake not to consider it. I looked at all the figures and decided not to go ahead and at this time I am ahead of the game. | |
| |
| Pensions on 13:15 - Jul 11 with 1333 views | Churchman |
| Pensions on 10:26 - Jul 11 by _clive_baker_ |
Thanks chap. Life admin is a bit boring at times innit.
I still don't know why there can't just be an HMRC portal that details historic contributions based on NI number. It doesn't sound like a difficult thing to do given they're linked to payslips for anyone PAYE. Even if they don't have visibility of where they've gone and the specific pension providers it would no doubt be a very helpful starting point for people to comb back through and see when they've contributed and with which employer. I bet there's a shed load of private pensions that get lost in the ether. |
Lots of good advice from people far better placed to give it than me. I certainly agree that a good financial advisor would be of real benefit to you.
With regard to the basics, state pension will be based on NI contributions. You should be able to see these through:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/tax/national-insurance
You’ll need to register using NI number but it’s a first port of call, not least because if there’s a shortfall you can buy limited additional years. You can even see what your state pension might be on today’s figures.
Regarding private pensions, yes you (or an advisor with your permission) need to track them down and get projections. With money purchase schemes you will, under current rules, get the choice of leaving it to grow, cashing it all in, Drawdown (goes into another fund and you can take what you want when you want) or buying an annuity. The latter doesn’t have to be through the company the pension was through.
Consolidation? A good idea, but check on the fees. If a company’s charges are high it might be worth leaving until you take the pension - that’s where an advisor will help. If you have final salary scheme pensions, they’re the bedrock of your income in retirement.
Personally, I managed my own small personal pensions, FS pensions and financial affairs because I do have a certain amount of knowledge and chose to do it. Right decision? On reflection possibly not. For me the final salary scheme incomes were always sufficient to allow me to use the private pensions as investment vehicles and to take when I please (Drawdown), while being mindful of tax thresholds. But everyone’s circumstances, propensity to spend, commitments are different.
Looking at financial planning I very much planned a few years ahead for retirement. Costed everything, projected everything. Knew exactly what the financial future held. Boring? Oh yes, very, but I felt it sensible to do and so it proved.
So if I was to offer any thoughts of value, start working on it now, whether you use an FA (good idea) or not. |  | | |
| Pensions on 13:17 - Jul 11 with 1319 views | Devereuxxx |
Out of interest, at about what age should you start taking a proper interest in your pension?
I'm 32 and it just sort of happens in the background, I've been at the same employee for 10 years so both contributing, but i've never really managed or interacted with it. Is this a terrible move? |  | | |
| Pensions on 13:23 - Jul 11 with 1289 views | J2BLUE |
| Pensions on 13:17 - Jul 11 by Devereuxxx |
Out of interest, at about what age should you start taking a proper interest in your pension?
I'm 32 and it just sort of happens in the background, I've been at the same employee for 10 years so both contributing, but i've never really managed or interacted with it. Is this a terrible move? |
31.
You've fecked it. | |
| |
| Pensions on 13:27 - Jul 11 with 1273 views | Churchman |
| Pensions on 13:17 - Jul 11 by Devereuxxx |
Out of interest, at about what age should you start taking a proper interest in your pension?
I'm 32 and it just sort of happens in the background, I've been at the same employee for 10 years so both contributing, but i've never really managed or interacted with it. Is this a terrible move? |
No. I’d say it was perfectly natural if my experience was anything to go by. I had been with the same employer a lot of years with a final salary scheme contributed to by them and myself and I totally ignored it.
Mid late 30s, I took redundancy, moved jobs and started to think about it/take an interest, but even then retirement was for sad old coffin dodgers so I was very casual with it. Different employment, actually connected to financial services (eventually an IT company on projects) meant I had to learn in depth about all types of pension and that got me thinking about the future. So I’d say realistically from 40 on I was interested.
The earlier you take a bit of interest in it the better would be my advice. Especially for people with money purchase schemes or no provision at all. Working till you drop or relying on a pitiful state pension - bad ideas. | | | |
| Pensions on 13:47 - Jul 11 with 1206 views | PhilTWTD |
Have a word with pensions guru Keno. |  | | |
| Pensions on 13:50 - Jul 11 with 1175 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Pensions on 13:15 - Jul 11 by Churchman |
Lots of good advice from people far better placed to give it than me. I certainly agree that a good financial advisor would be of real benefit to you.
With regard to the basics, state pension will be based on NI contributions. You should be able to see these through:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/tax/national-insurance
You’ll need to register using NI number but it’s a first port of call, not least because if there’s a shortfall you can buy limited additional years. You can even see what your state pension might be on today’s figures.
Regarding private pensions, yes you (or an advisor with your permission) need to track them down and get projections. With money purchase schemes you will, under current rules, get the choice of leaving it to grow, cashing it all in, Drawdown (goes into another fund and you can take what you want when you want) or buying an annuity. The latter doesn’t have to be through the company the pension was through.
Consolidation? A good idea, but check on the fees. If a company’s charges are high it might be worth leaving until you take the pension - that’s where an advisor will help. If you have final salary scheme pensions, they’re the bedrock of your income in retirement.
Personally, I managed my own small personal pensions, FS pensions and financial affairs because I do have a certain amount of knowledge and chose to do it. Right decision? On reflection possibly not. For me the final salary scheme incomes were always sufficient to allow me to use the private pensions as investment vehicles and to take when I please (Drawdown), while being mindful of tax thresholds. But everyone’s circumstances, propensity to spend, commitments are different.
Looking at financial planning I very much planned a few years ahead for retirement. Costed everything, projected everything. Knew exactly what the financial future held. Boring? Oh yes, very, but I felt it sensible to do and so it proved.
So if I was to offer any thoughts of value, start working on it now, whether you use an FA (good idea) or not. |
Thanks for this Churchman and others.
I've reached out to a professional re. my private pensions so will get some proper guidance on it for sure before I actually action anything. First step for me is some desktop work to establish where it is and what it is and get tabs on it, then I'll be able to make some informed choices with the help of an expert.
I generally consider myself financially literate and 'by trade' I'm a chartered accountant, albeit I haven't done technical roles in a long time or ever crossed over in to the world of pensions. I've always contributed a decent amount to my private pension where I can, and flexed that at certain times depending on circumstances, but I guess life and family have got in the way of actually stepping back and looking at it more holistically and in a considered way in terms of what it means for retirement. Bit embarrassing really, I spend my life planning for other people's businesses and not enough time looking at my own!
EDIT: I'm 37 btw, so you've got 5 years on me Devereuxxx if that's any consolation! [Post edited 11 Jul 13:54]
| | | |
| Pensions on 14:32 - Jul 11 with 1061 views | Daninthecampo |
| Pensions on 13:17 - Jul 11 by Devereuxxx |
Out of interest, at about what age should you start taking a proper interest in your pension?
I'm 32 and it just sort of happens in the background, I've been at the same employee for 10 years so both contributing, but i've never really managed or interacted with it. Is this a terrible move? |
Now! With compound interest the sooner the better, go onto a pension calculator and look at the difference of paying £200 now until retirement or waiting 5 years! | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
