I just need simple pension advice dammit

[jonnyguitar]

Hi everyone I am a contractor and just want some basic advice on the most efficient way to pay into a pension.

I asked my accountant at SJD who put me in touch with Contractor Wealth who then gave me a call. They seem decent but their prices seem astronomical to me, taking large percentages of everything I would put into a pension and imo very high costs for simple tasks like moving a small pension I have into another pension they would advise on.

I would really prefer just to pay someone a fixed price for some basic advice of the most efficient way to pay into it.

I am a member of IPSE so can get a pension with Aegon at 0.43% but I need guidance on the most efficient approach.

Does anyone know of a service that can provide me with this basic advise for a fixed cost? I was thinking of calling a pension provider themselves (maybe Aegon) but obviously they'd have their own agenda, right?

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

Jonny

[fannyadams]

Aegon provide a SIPP platform - you make your own investment choices. (I think the IPSE scheme has a 'default' fund, but I don't believe you're restricted to that).

Have a look at HL Hargreaves Lansdown | ISAs, pensions, funds and shares - there is lots of good advice and investment ideas for new investors, and they also provide a 'managed portfolio' option if you really just want to bung it in and forget. They're not the cheapest platform, but you can use them for your advice then make your investments elsewhere if you want. (I use HL despite them not being the cheapest, because it's such a user friendly platform, although I do keep telling myself I should move it)

[Fred Bloggs]

Take a good look around here, it has been covered loads of times. When you've done your research, come back and ask informed questions, then you'll get better advice.

Forgot to say - There is a sticky thread up there about pensions ^^^^^^. Starting there would be a great idea.

[SueEllen]

To summarise:
1. You want a SIPP that you can sort out yourself.
2. You want tracker funds spread around the globe
3. You need to choose your provider carefully due to fees
4. There is a sticky above will help

[SimonMac]

There are usually two trains of thoughts when it comes to pensions:

Simple, pricey but usually effective.
Complex, cheap potentially risky.

If you are after something simple then it comes down to trying to find the best rate for the funds you want to invest in as they do vary, this is an example from 2015 on the differences in the main ones, but can show you the differences in price



If you are after something cheap, you are looking at doing your own homework, picking the shares yourself and the fees are much lower (I pay £200 a year with HL total, but do everything myself)

[malvolio]

One other suggestion - don't ask SJD for help. On anything...

[northernladuk]

I found an IFA to help me with mine in the beginning. It was one of the guys at my rugby club so did trust him which is half the battle to be fair. There were charges above and beyond doing it yourself which I wasn't overly pleased with at first but his advice has been spot on and it's grown very well over the years so the charges have been worth it. Because it worked for me I'd still say find yourself an IFA you trust, swallow the charges and let them do the work if you are unsure. You can switch out in the future once you are confident

[rl4engc]

If you are after something cheap, you are looking at doing your own homework, picking the shares yourself and the fees are much lower (I pay £200 a year with HL total, but do everything myself)

The Fidelity SIPP looks good, 0.35% up to £250,000 but what I do like is all the "No Charge" so they don't claw it back in other areas:

https://www.fidelity.co.uk/investor/...nd-charge.page

Account charges Fidelity
Set up charge No charge
Annual charge No charge

Account closure No charge

Dealing charges (phone, online and paper)
Switching charge No charge
Selling charge No charge
Transfer charge No charge
Tax relief re-investment into funds No charge

Other charges
BACS payment No charge
Printed valuation statement No charge
Exit fees No charge

Annual admin charges per capped drawdown account No charge
Annual admin charges per flexible drawdown account No charge
Transfer out to UK scheme No charge

Transfer out to overseas scheme No charge
Arranging death benefits No charge
Triviality payment No charge

Pension splitting on divorce No charge

[SteelyDan]

The Fidelity SIPP looks good, 0.35% up to £250,000 but what I do like is all the "No Charge" so they don't claw it back in other areas:

https://www.fidelity.co.uk/investor/...nd-charge.page

<snip>

Useful info thanks

[Fred Bloggs]

If you are considering Fidelity, look at Cavendish. They are on the Fidelity platform but, I think, a bit cheaper. Fidelity, IMO, are totally useless at admin too. So it might pay to use Cavendish for that reason alone. IIRC Cavendish charge 0.25% per annum.

Another % based provider I recommend is Close Brothers. Again, 0.25% annual fee. I recently set up three ISA/SIPP accounts with them.

For a flat fee alternative, I recommend Interactive Investor. Being flat fee based, they are cheaper for bigger portfolios than % based providers.

You may care to note that these platforms don't have the spit and polish of Hargreaves Lansdown's website. But they ARE MUCH cheaper. All the functions are there on their platforms, just not so super whizzy like the HL one is.

It is worth commenting that apart from actual buying/selling, all the features on the HL website are available without an account. Free and open to use. I like that fact very much now that I do not pay HL anything, but that is another story.