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Personal pension transfers

Why transfer my personal pension?

Like many people, you may already have a pension scheme in place.  We advise that you seek fee-based financial advice from an independent financial adviser before deciding whether you should do anything with it.  Everyone has a unique situation, so you may or may not benefit from a pension transfer.  Pensions advice is important because any mistakes are expensive to undo. 

There are situations where it makes good financial sense to transfer to a new or different scheme.  For example, your existing company scheme may be in the process of being wound up or you might have a personal pension that has high fees and you would like to transfer it to one of the newer low-fee personal pensions, or you may want access to a wider range of investment funds.  Alternatively, you might wish to add your existing personal pension to an occupational pension scheme to benefit from lower fees or employer contributions.

I have an existing personal pension.  What should I do?

Companies such as Bluebond Financial Planning only offer a fee-based financial planning service, rather than commission, as we believe it gives you the best independent financial advice and service on the initial investment advice.  The fee is a ‘transparent’ fee.  You will know exactly what we will charge and what we are charging for before you decide to proceed.  If you do not require on-going investment management, we will not charge you any annual commission charges for your pension once it has been put in place – this can potentially save you a substantial amount of money.

With regards to your personal pensions you have a number of choices:-

  • Do nothing – Remain with your existing provider and retain the existing plan
  • Remain with your existing provider and switch to another investment fund
  • Remain with your existing provider for the existing investments and switch all new contributions to a new plan
  • Switch your existing investment values and any new contributions to a new provider

Which is the right choice for me?

The initial and ongoing costs and charges will play a part in any decision you make, however, they are not the only criteria that you and your independent financial adviser should consider.  Other aspects such as the plan features, the options that are available, the potential performance and your existing investment portfolio are equally as important.  You must remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

After drawing up a financial plan with you, we will understand your current situation and pension schemes and will be able to work out whether you will actually benefit from transferring your pension.

You have four plan and fee options available to you if you choose to use Bluebond to arrange your investments:-

  1. Stakeholder pensions without any fund switch advice
  2. Personal pensions without proactive fund switch advice
  3. Personal pensions with regular proactive fund switch advice
  4. Personal pensions placed with a wrap provider with regular proactive fund switch advice

Although this is the most expensive option, we believe it will offer you the best overall return due to our unusually proactive investment service

Any questions about personal pension transfers?

If you are a millionaire or a small business owner, this is an important area for you to consider fully and a financial planner will be able to help you.  If you have any questions, please call us on 01582 839280 or Email us.