IFA for pension consolidation

[fivetriangulartrees]

Does anyone have experience of consulting an IFA before pension consolidation?

I have at least six very small pensions from previous roles. None of them are defined benefit schemes as far as I remember, but at least one of them requires evidence that you've consulted an IFA before transferring out.

If I find an independent financial advisor to advise on pension consolidation, approx how much are they likely to charge?

More importantly, how much admin do I need to do in advance? Do I need all my policy numbers, contact details for all the pension providers, most recent statements etc?

I don't want to waste a first appointment with them asking me for paperwork I don't have because I've moved house so many times and haven't managed to keep up with them all.

OTOH if they can sort out changes of address for all of them and find out what they're all worth, I'm happy to pay someone else to do that admin for me.

What's been your experience? Thanks!

I started looking at this and think they charge a percentage of your fund rather than a fixed rate.

Then found out our work has a deal with an advisor which is £690 for the year and I am considering it.

Don't think they do the admin for you, just advise on whether consolidating is the right thing to do.

Thank you! Any more perspectives on this before I resign myself to a lot of phone calls?

Check the total of the pensions because some IFAs only deal with high net worth. When I did mine I googled 'IFA's in X town' and then emailed via their websites rather than calling so as not to spend ages on the phone.

No DC scheme can insist that you've consulted an IFA before a transfer out. If they are insisting then it's not a pure DC scheme. More likely, though, they strongly suggest it but you can ignore that suggestion.

If any of your schemes include safeguarded benefits such as Guaranteed Minimum Pension, or a Guaranteed Annuity Rate, you will need to take advice.

An IFA would ask you to sign Letters of Authority so they can speak directly to each scheme to gather full details, so not vital that you already have the most up to date information but recent statements are helpful. As part of that exercise they could then sort out the change of address thing for you.

Fees for advice may be a flat rate covering the work required for the advice, or may be quoted as a percentage of the total value of the pensions being advised upon. This will depend on the adviser's own charging structure and what's likely to be involved. What's perhaps more important is that you work with someone you like and trust and can feel has your best interests at heart.

Fees could be maybe £1500+ as a rough idea. These can often be paid directly from the pension pots, which is also tax efficient.

Thanks @Sunseed that's very helpful. I took today off work and gathered as much info on each pension as I could find, so I'm not in a bad position to approach an IFA now.