Contractor pensions..

[zudecke]

Hi guys,

From the top - how do I go about starting to contribute company and personal monies into pension funds?

Friend recommended Hargreaves & Lansdowne...

Any tips?

Cheers,

Z

[Kenny@MyAccountantFriend]

I would recommend speaking to an IFA (independent financial advisor) and they can go through the options with you and the most suitable to the risks you are willing to take.

Then it is simply a case of making the payments and advising which source they come from I. E. Employer or personal contributions.

[saptastic]

Contractor pensions advice :: Contractor UK

[northernladuk]

Any tips?

Don't take tips from friends.
Do a bit more of your own research if you don't know how to do something.

HTH BIDI

[IR35 Avoider]

You don't need an IFA. Just open an account with a SIPP provider and make employer contributions.

I have never understood why Hargreaves Lansdown are so popular, as they are more expensive than several alternatives, once your balance is significant.

I use Youinvest, but I think there are one or two other providers that may be cheaper now, such as Interactive Investor.

DIY pensions: The cheapest Sipp fund supermarkets - Telegraph

Note that it can make a difference whether you use unit trusts/OEICs or ETFs. In the latter case the Youinvest fees are at most £150, rather than £350 as stated in that table.

[unixman]

Hi OP you don't mention what sort of pension you have in mind. Several replies above assume it is some sort of SIPP.

I have a bog standard private pension scheme dating back to my permie days. Probably not the best pension but that's not the point here. I pay contributions to it direct from the company. It is an efficient way to get money out of the company.

[syrio]

Open an account with a low cost SIPP provider. See Compare the UK’s cheapest online brokers for a list of brokers. You will see that Hargreaves Lansdowne can be expensive, although their customer service is supposedly very good.

You normally apply online, then probably there will be a little bit of paperwork to sign. Might take up to a couple of weeks before everything is sorted.

Make a payment into the pension. For company contributions this is paid directly to the pension from your company. If it is a personal contribution you will pay from your personal account. You will probably need to fill in some form to tell your pension provider whether it is a company or personal contributions so that the provider knows whether to reclaim tax or not.

If you don't know what to invest in, I suggest read Smarter Investing by Tim Hale and the Monevator blog, then invest in a Vanguard Lifestrategy fund.

[SueEllen]

You don't need an IFA. Just open an account with a SIPP provider and make employer contributions.

IFA have to charge you for any advice they give and there are plenty of internet sites that give you advice about pensions.

The general advice about funds is that if you aren't an active investor choose index trackers.

[jmo21]

This is a good comparison table, but it's nearly a year old.

[JB3000]

I would recommend speaking to an IFA (independent financial advisor) and they can go through the options with you and the most suitable to the risks you are willing to take.

Getting an IFA is good advice for consultants who can't be bothered to do their own research