Pension

[Jezzballs2000]

I would like to start up a new pension with an old work pension with Scottish widows, from a job I left after 14 years. So the majority of my whole pension! I could really close to going with SJP but the fees put me off and I read that an automatic pension will most likely give me the same return after 20 years (about when I am likely to retire). I have another workplace pension I am currently adding to each month with Royal London. Advice much appreciated. Thank you!

What type of pension do you have with Scottish Widows? Is there any type of guaranteed income? Are there any fees for switching?
You are correct that fees can have an impact on the growth and performance of your of your investments.

Thank you for the reply!
Scottish widows was a group personal pension. Nothing I can see about guaranteed income and no fees for switching as far as I am aware. It was a work one started before auto-enrolment became a necessity thing so a slightly weird structure I think.

Have you considered talking to Pensionwise. They maybe able to help.

It sounds as if there is no impediment to you moving the pension?
What kind of provider are you looking for?

As you have mentioned fees, and automatic investing, I would begin by investigating two providers to start with:

Vanguard - simple low cost investing with a limited range of Vanguard funds.

Wealthify - a subsidiary of Aviva.
It uses an automated process to create an investment plan based on your attitude to risk, investment amounts, and timescales for savings goals. A simple set of questions are presented for them to determine this online.
Investments are managed by algorithms and monitored by an investment team to keep them on track. The automated process keeps fees low.

I think these two would be a good starting point to see how they approach investing, and which one would suit you (if either). Their websites are both easy to use, and minimum contributions are low (£50 for both I think, either one off payments or regular investing).

If you are relatively inexperienced and don't want to choose your own funds, Wealthify will do this for you. Its site is slick and easy to use, with plenty of information and not too overwhelming.
They often have bonus offers for transfers at the start of the financial year - so perhaps have a look now, and wait to see what the offers are in April for an added boost to your balance if you decide to go down this route.

(Please do your own research, as I'm not a IFA. These are just my own ideas and experiences).

Obtain full plan information for both your ScotWid and RL pensions. Compare annual charges, and compare the available fund choices. Look at the past performance of each of your investments.

I would expect RL to probably be the better value one. Check if it accepts transfers in (not all do).

If you want to pay for some proper retirement planning advice then SJP are probably going to be more expensive than a local independent pension adviser. They will also push you into their own products and funds, and they have not yet completely got rid of their exit penalties.

Thank you this is really helpful and interesting. I'll do some research and report back!