Do you have multiple pensions?
If you are thinking about retirement in the future and have had more than one job, there is a good chance that you have more than one pension.
Why would I have more than one pension?
The Office of National Statistic report that more than 100,000 defined contribution pensions* have been created each year since the introduction of automatic enrolment which means that people who have had multiple roles at different companies could have potentially many different pension pots. Remember, all eligible workers should have been automatically enrolled in their employer's workplace pension scheme by 1st February 2018.
What does this mean?
Many people who invest through company schemes may have been given a range of choice, risk and result for their investments - and some people may have significant amounts saved in a number of different pots. Multiple pension pots can be confusing so you may wish to seek advice from an independent financial adviser such as our trusted partner, Wren Sterling, to understand your options at retirement.
Things to consider when you have more than one pension
You may wish to consider taking advice on whether consolidating your pensions would be appropriate, as having all of the funds you have in one pot can make things easier to manage and could possibly reduce the fees you are paying to the plan managers.
However, some pension plans contain guaranteed benefits and others may charge an exit penalty if the plan is moved before retirement. It is therefore always best to take professional financial advice as these are the sort of things that a financial adviser will help you to discover and will consider before making a recommendation to you.
Barrie Storm from our independent financial advice partners, Wren Sterling provides the following guidance:
"Be aware of all the guaranteed benefits before moving anything. Your financial adviser will make checks to see if there’s a risk of any valuable guarantees or rights being given up, like whether there are defined benefits in a final salary scheme, for example."
Pension documentation
It is very important to review your pension situation regularly and to keep documents related to your schemes safely together.
Barrie continues: "When using an adviser, you'll need to get hold of up-to-date documents from each provider so that they can decipher it with you."
Do you need to trace a lost pension? We have all the steps that you need to take to track down a lost pension.
If you’re a qualifying** member of The Nottingham and feel like pension consolidation is something that you would be interested in talking to an expert about, our financial advice partner Wren Sterling are there to help at any of our branches. You will also receive exclusive access to independent and personal financial advice from Wren Sterling who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Wren Sterling can recommend the most suitable products to suit your needs.
The value of an investment and income from it can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
*Occupational Pension Schemes Survey, UK 2018
**If you have a savings balance of at least £500 and have either held one of our savings accounts for at least the last 12 months or currently have a Nottingham Building Society mortgage, you can benefit from a range of offers. Visit your nearest branch or call us on 0344 481 0912 to find out more.
Nottingham Building Society, Nottingham House, 3 Fulforth Street, Nottingham NG1 3DL, is an introducer to Wren Sterling for Financial planning, including investments, pensions and protection. Wren Sterling is a trading name of Wren Sterling Financial Planning Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; registered No. 665653. 13-19 Derby Road, Nottingham, NG1 5AA. Registered in England No. 09157918.
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