Pension question, any advice gratefully received - thank you

[SaraVC]

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Hi, I have a small workplace pension with Fidelity, apparently it has been invested as a medium risk. My company then switched to Scottish Widows, in which I have another very small sum. I thought the funds would be automatically transferred across by my company but they weren't, hence having two with two providers.
My company closed down at the end of last year so neither pensions are being contributed into currently. ( I am looking to take the funds out at 55 so am not thinking about long term,
My questions are;
Should I put the funds into one company rather than having them in two? And how on earth do I choose which one to go with? I have just spent the last couple of hours on the phone to both but have come away none the wiser to be honest.

They mentioned a personal pension instead of a workplace pension. Should I transfer to this or leave my funds where they are?

Does anyone have any advice on whether Fidelity or Scottish Widows are better? I don't really want to take any huge risks. It turns out that my Fidelity pension lost nearly £2,000 in the last year, which when I have such a small amount is a big hit to take.

I appreciate I cannot just move it into a savings account (although ideally I would rather do this) as it was explained all pensions are investments accounts.

Any advice on the above from anyone who has experience of either very gratefully received. I will be 55 next year and am looking to take my pension out then so need it to be as healthy as possible.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Are you looking to take the whole sum as there are tax implications is you take more than 25%.

Have you tried contacting this service:

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise

You need a proper financial advisor to help you here, not just random Mumsnetters.

Will try that, thank you

True, but you never know, there could be some mums on here who have had similar experiences who could offer advice,

You should speak to an IFA. If you're planning on taking it next year there's no time really to recover your losses. Do you actually need it next year?

Well I had a pensions problem after my divorce, complicated to go into here but some similarities, I went with Scottish Widows and I am so, so pleased I did. They've been brilliant, I would go with them every time.... But please be aware my experience is only based on my dealings with them, I'm not qualified to give proper financial advice in any way.

How old are you? Not investing is also a risk, in that investments will always out perform cash over time.

Shares have gone down, of course, but shares, in say M and S, will go back up in the medium term.

I will do, I know you have to pay IFA's for pension advice and just wondered if I could work it out myself with a few views from others too. Yes, I do need to take it out next year.

Thank you so much

Nobody can answer this because past performance is no guarantee of future performance and you should only get advice from a regulated adviser. Pension Wise do not offer advice only information. You can merge them if you want but there is something to be said for not having all your eggs in one basket. Also look at charges applied by both providers which may help you make up your mind.

It doesn’t matter that much if they’re in one place or two, just slightly easier for you to administer.

To compare the two, you would need to know the details of fees / charges / performance.

You might be charged to transfer which might not be worth it.

It’s not advisable to take pensions any earlier than you need to so please be really sure this is your only option. And, as PP said, this will affect your ability to build more pension in future.

But everyone's position is different. What has worked for me, with the money/pensions/savings available to me could lead to a different solution for you. You really do need to get proper, professional advice.