Consolidate Your Pensions
It takes a lot of work to monitor and manage multiple pension pots. Consolidate your pensions to ensure your investment strategy is suitable and your investment performance is good to reduce your admin burden and costs.
Consolidate Multiple Pensions
- Reduce the fees you currently pay on your multiple pension pots.
- Your risk appetite and time horizon should drive your optimal investment strategy. If all your pension savings are under one roof, it’s easier to ensure your investments are suitable and to check that your investment performance is good.
- Easy to change your investment strategy as your needs change.
- Reduce the time and effort you spend on administration.
- Easy to monitor your pension savings and ensure that your savings are on track to give you enough income when your retire.
Independent Financial Advice
Reduce your fees.
Take control of your investments.
Reduce the time you spend on administration.
Make it easier to monitor your savings.
“We give candid, impartial, effective, plain English financial advice.”
FT Adviser, November 2019
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The information provided in these FAQs does not constitute professional financial advice. We strongly recommend you consult a professional adviser before proceeding with a financial transaction.
Can I save money if I combine my pensions?
Every pension you have will be managed separately. Each pension will have its own fees. Some of these fees may be higher than others. If you consolidate your multiple pensions pots in one pension with one management fee, you could save money. Compound interest makes a small saving made now into a big gain in the value of your savings when you retire.
Will my savings do better if I combine my pension pots?
If you consolidate your pensions, you’ll be free to use a multi-manager, risk-targeted investment strategy. This approach gives you and your adviser much control over your pension pot.
Your objectives will inevitably change as you move through your working life. More control over your investments will make it easier for you and your adviser to adapt your investment strategy as your circumstances change. This flexibility will improve the value of your savings when you retire.
The value of an investment and any income from it may fall and rise, and you may not get back the total amount you invest.
Will combining my pension pots make it easier to monitor my pensions?
It’s easier to monitor one pension pot than multiple pension pots. Managing a pension pot involves more than checking how much it’s worth once a year. It’s sensible to regularly check to ensure your investments use the right strategy to meet your objectives.
Your objectives will inevitably change over time, especially as you get close to the day you plan to retire. Similarly, your risk appetite may change as you age, so you should regularly review your investment strategy to ensure it’s neither too adventurous nor too cautious.
It’s not legally required (unless you plan to transfer Safeguarded Benefits), but it’s prudent to take professional advice before you draw money from your pension pot. This makes drawing a pension from multiple pension pots impractical because you’d need separate advice for each pot.
Will combining my pension pots make it easier for me to keep track of my pensions?
There’s a high risk of losing track of a pension if you have multiple pensions with different providers. When you change your address, you must tell all your pension providers so that they know where to contact you. You only hear from your pension providers once a year, and if you’re not careful with your paperwork, it’s easy to miss one. When you consolidate your pension pots, this risk is potentially eliminated.
Are there any reasons not to combine my multiple pension pots?
It’s wise to consolidate your pensions before retiring. However, there are some circumstances when it isn’t the best option. Some reasons not to consolidate your pensions include:
- You have a pension with a guaranteed annuity rate (GAR). This gives you the legal right to buy an annuity which pays a higher annual income than would be offered on the open market. Your pension paperwork might not be clear if you have a GAR, but we can check it for you.
- There may be penalties to transfer your pension. This means your transfer value could be less than the current value of your pension.
- Your pension may include other guarantees that will impact your savings’ final value when you retire, e.g. traditional with-profits bonuses, loyalty bonuses or safeguarded benefits.
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Contact Neil Today
The Workers’ League House, 44-50 Royal Parade Mews, Blackheath, London, SE3 0TN