Help with SIPP

[The jiffle king]

I have asked for advice from a financial advisor, but given I am living in the US, they cannot/are not willing to provide, so looking for some guidance:

I have a UK based pension which I and a company made contributions toward which is 10k cash value or 30k transfer value so clearly I want to transfer it.

What I'm not sure is what I transfer it to as previously I have had a final salary pension which is not this pension and I've not had to deal with this before.

- Can I just open a SIPP and transfer the value in?
- Is there something else I should investigate (I'm prepared to do the research)?

Thanks

[Simpo Two]

Why do you want to transfer it?

[PurpleMoonlight]

Why is there such a difference between the value and transfer value?

[The jiffle king]

PurpleMoonlight said:

Why is there such a difference between the value and transfer value?

I was with the company less than 18 months so the can either give my contributions back in the lower figure or let me transfer the full amount including their very generous contributions .

It's 20k difference so I want to move it
Thanks

[PurpleMoonlight]

You should be able to transfer it within the UK even if you reside outside of it but I can see how many IFA's would be unwilling to assist unless they can meet you on person. They have money laundering ID responsibilities.

If you are struggling perhaps look into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

[Ginge R]

Has the company told you you must move it? If they want it out, for whatever reason, can the insurance company not absorb it into another of their products?

Are you a crown servant?

[rotarymazda]

The jiffle king said:

I have asked for advice from a financial advisor, but given I am living in the US, they cannot/are not willing to provide, so looking for some guidance:

A similar issue came up on Radio 4, Money box live recently.

The answer was "go to unbiased.co.uk" to look for an advisor with insurance that covers them for international clients.

[audi321]

A few questions:

1. Why do you want a SIPP? A normal Personal Pension will probably suffice and be much cheaper to run. Loads of people think they want a SIPP but really, unless you actually want to control the investments yourself and manage them regularly, you're better off with a PP.

2. Why do you want to transfer it anyway? Are the charges and/or performance in the current scheme that bad? Again, loads of people transfer pensions when there's no real need. The £30k value is not just the transfer value, but most likely the actual value too. The £10k will just be if you 'cash it in' right now (return of contributions) which you wouldn't do. You don't need to transfer it to get the £30k.

3. You can transfer it yourself with someone like Standard Life, but you will need some UK address on an official document (like driving licence etc).

If you want any help, just PM me

[Sharted]

I was in a similar position recently, albeit without the overseas issue.

In the end I transferred to a Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP, the existing pension company were too difficult to deal with but the HL set up was piss-easy.

[anonymous-user]

audi321 said:

A few questions:

1. Why do you want a SIPP? A normal Personal Pension will probably suffice and be much cheaper to run. Loads of people think they want a SIPP but really, unless you actually want to control the investments yourself and manage them regularly, you're better off with a PP.

Just to give an alternative view I have a DC pension scheme where as part of the terms it's tied into some managed fund that has given a pitiful return in the last couple of years relative to the increase in global stock performance. I resent having to pay 0.5% of my annual pension value for someone to 'manage' my fund as my personal view is that if this someone was actually that good at investing to justify this fee, they wouldn't need to work for a living.

I transferred a pension from a previous employer to a HL SIPP and chose some stocks with a history of dividend payments. It was not difficult to research this. I check it about once every month and currently the performance (dividends + stock value) is almost double what the fund has achieved - with the added bonus of lower fees.

For me, investing for income gives a greater guarantee of what you're likely to have to live on come retirement. If the value of stocks also goes up (the last 100 years of stock performance suggests this is likely) this is a bonus.

Come the day when I leave my current employer that managed fund is being transferred asap to my SIPP.

[Edinburger]

The problem you'll have because you live in America is that pension providers need to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and are required to collect additional information about non-UK residents - including those with dual residency - and US citizens.

I'd imagine some IFAs won't take this on and many pension providers wouldn't accept the application. Perhaps worth looking at a pension provider with a US parent such as Fidelity? They may be more lenient?