A question on Pensions
Discussion
OK a few months ago I got in touch with the PAS as I had a pension I couldn't find. They put me in touch with someone from Clearwater Finance, part of St James's Place.
So it turns out the lost pension didn't exist, in other words I didn't have one, this was 1987-91 so no surprise.
Off my own bat I'd tracked down 2 pensions I did have & were doing nothing & transferred those into a PensionBee pension. That's done a shade over 5% in the past year. I was putting in £250 a month as AVC but I have now moved that to my full time employers pension with Mercer. This is because my company share the NI savings with us.
So I am 66 still working and intending to until my health stops me. I earn around £100K or so.
I have £75K in PensionBee & around £140k with Mercer.
The lady from Clearwater wants me to move the PensionBee to a St Jamess' place pension fund.
I see lots of adverse stuff on SJP pensions although she showed me something where she reckoned SJP Pension would perform better than the PensionBee one? They won't charge pension transfer charges but it'll cost 1.73% going forward per annum for management and advice. If I decide I want to with draw from SJP then then there's a 6% charge in the first year tapering 1% per year for 6 years.
Anyone any thoughts on this? I have a call with her tomorrow.
So it turns out the lost pension didn't exist, in other words I didn't have one, this was 1987-91 so no surprise.
Off my own bat I'd tracked down 2 pensions I did have & were doing nothing & transferred those into a PensionBee pension. That's done a shade over 5% in the past year. I was putting in £250 a month as AVC but I have now moved that to my full time employers pension with Mercer. This is because my company share the NI savings with us.
So I am 66 still working and intending to until my health stops me. I earn around £100K or so.
I have £75K in PensionBee & around £140k with Mercer.
The lady from Clearwater wants me to move the PensionBee to a St Jamess' place pension fund.
I see lots of adverse stuff on SJP pensions although she showed me something where she reckoned SJP Pension would perform better than the PensionBee one? They won't charge pension transfer charges but it'll cost 1.73% going forward per annum for management and advice. If I decide I want to with draw from SJP then then there's a 6% charge in the first year tapering 1% per year for 6 years.
Anyone any thoughts on this? I have a call with her tomorrow.
This isn't my standard approach - but from what you've written it sounds as though a session with a decent IFA (financial adviser) could be well worthwhile. amongst other things, wherever your pension may be invested it isn't with Mercer. They are advisers/consultants/administrators, typically for big companies. And those figures you mentioned are tiny for someone 66 years old who's earning £100k.
Or is the reality that you have a significant occupational pension and this other stuff is fragments from old jobs or some old FSAVCs? If the latter, just sweep them together and sensibly invested in one cost-effective place - although probably not St James's place...
Or is the reality that you have a significant occupational pension and this other stuff is fragments from old jobs or some old FSAVCs? If the latter, just sweep them together and sensibly invested in one cost-effective place - although probably not St James's place...
tr7v8 said:
Clearwater Finance, part of St James's Place.
When you said what the fees were towards the end of your post I almost passed out - they are absolutely outrageous in this day and age. I wondered why the hell anybody would recommend transferring to them, but then I went back to the start and realised I'd skipped over the bit quoted above. Tbh I don't really get why you'd pay for anything above the bare bones when it comes to pensions/ISAs/whatever, which means paying waaay less than 1% all-in, with nothing daft like exit fees, but then I'm very much of the 'choose a handful of low-cost trackers and forget about it' school of investing. 
ferret50 said:
OP earns cira £100k
OP has about £140k in pensions
Just what does the OP intend to live on in retirement?
Given he's 66, I'd guess a fairly substantial DB pension and an enhanced state pension (due to delaying it beyond his normal SP age). I'd guess the pensions he's discussing here are just funny money.OP has about £140k in pensions
Just what does the OP intend to live on in retirement?
ferret50 said:
OP earns cira £100k
OP has about £140k in pensions
Just what does the OP intend to live on in retirement?
I contracted from 91 to 04. When I went permie in 04 I didn't join the pension scheme immediately as I couldn't afford to. I though the company would come back every year & asked & to be honest didn't think about it anymore. The penny dropped in 2018 that I wasn't in the pension. A cock up on my part which I'll be forever cursing my stupidity for. OP has about £140k in pensions
Just what does the OP intend to live on in retirement?
I've carried on working and will continue until my health stops me. At the moment I'm chucking all I can into my pension. Hence asking the question.
Thanks for the rest of the answers, its been helpful.
There is nothing wrong with, or sinister about, SJPs charges. The people who criticize them do so because they don't understand them.
Having said that, SJP will be significantly more expensive charges wise than Pension Bee and it is far from certain that SJP will produce sufficient extra investment return over and above that of Pension Bee to offset those additional charges.
Having said that, SJP will be significantly more expensive charges wise than Pension Bee and it is far from certain that SJP will produce sufficient extra investment return over and above that of Pension Bee to offset those additional charges.
OddCat said:
There is nothing wrong with, or sinister about, SJPs charges. The people who criticize them do so because they don't understand them.
The only people who don't criticise them are customers of SJP...They're the only firm I know who had exit charges. Most of that nonsense died decades ago. The FCA all but forced them to reduce costs as they are so out of line with everyone else.
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uks-st-ja...
OddCat said:
There is nothing wrong with, or sinister about, SJPs charges. The people who criticize them do so because they don't understand them.
Fair enough then, I don't understand them. In the spirit of bettering your fellow man could you explain what about them makes a 1.73% annual charge and swingeing exit fees a good deal? Because it looks like an absolute rip-off to me at the moment, and it makes me think they must target people that don't know what they're doing. -Cappo- said:
£60 per annum per £100,000 managed seems an absolute steal?
It is, although what I wrote may be slightly misleading; 0.06% is the account management charge, with the fund management its 0.204% overall. Still considerably less than 1.7%! This is a transfer from a company scheme into L&G drawdown account.darreni said:
OddCat said:
There is nothing wrong with, or sinister about, SJPs charges. The people who criticize them do so because they don't understand them
The charges are criticized because people do understand them. Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff