T'fer company pension to bank?

Question

When you stop working for a firm you have a stake holder pension with can you move that money to a SIPP aswell as starting a new pension with a new employer?

Is it wise to mass all pensions other than final salarys into one pot?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can now have as many pensions as you like ... the only limit is you can't contribute more than 100% of your Salary each year (actually there is another limit of about £200,000 if that applies to you, you should pay for proper financial advise ..)

As to collecting your Pensions into your own SIPP - well if the Company pays the charges on your existing pension and it is returning on average at least the same as the FTSE 100, then I would be tempted to leave it where it was.

However MOST 'managed' investments return LESS than the FTSE100 and in the case of 'small' Pension funds (i.e. less than about £50,000) the annual charges often wipe out any return you might have made completely = so you would be better off in a low cost SIPP buying Index Tracker funds.

If you are confident of your ability to manage your own investments, then by all means collect your Pensions together into a single low cost SIPP.

NB> When choosing a SIPP, check out Dealing Costs and Annual Charges first - ignore the 'special offers' and 'free se-tup' - I suggest spreadsheeting the charges over 10 years to get some idea of the real difference between accounts.

Answer 2

By all means, find a mutual fund company to roll your first pension into. Don't just go through your bank. Go directly thru mutual fund companies. Get acct set up and then txfr your pension into it. You don't wanna touch any part of the money, even if you have thirty or sixty days to put it someplace. Play safe, have new acct ready and the txfr it. Check with HR from old company to see what advice they can give you.

Answer 3

Don't put all your eggs in one basket is said, keep you company pension declaring for taxation only exception otherwise keep quiet about it,you;ll be the envy of all if you let any one know they'll expect you to treats,keeping your pension to your self will give a far bigger say of how you spend and invest securing a far better return for later in life