Pension Choices.

[dothawkes31]

Hi
I would like to start paying into a pension via work now that I am in a new job. I have just had my annual pension statement from the House of Fraser, who i worked for in the late 1970s. There is a transfer value of £3000. I also have another stakeholder pension that i stopped conributing to 10 years ago which has a transfer value of a similar amount.
I have tried to read up on pensions and I know that I can transfer these two amounts (hopefully without costs), into a new pension scheme that i can then add to each month via my salary.
is there a scheme that would be worth investing in at all?

[S_C]

contact an independant financial advisor as they will deal in this sort of thing every day they will have the up to date information and being independant they wont push you towards any particular scheme.

[dothawkes31]

Thanks for your suggestion and I understand that an IFA is probably a good idea, would they charge me a fee for sorting it out, or would they get a commission for selling me a product. I would rather not pay anyone in banking a fee for looking after my money,

[S_C]

IFA's tend to gather their money from commissions . however making sure it is an >> Independant << FA will hold its own rewards.

i would also check with them if putting all your eggs in one basket is a good option.

personaly i dont believe in none work related pensions as there income compaired to the outlay i think is poor. however having said that there are plenty who put money into work pensions and find they go under to.
i would say saving the money over your lifetime could be the answer however with teh recent bank problems even that option isnt that good.
You seem my point im sure .

good luck with what ever you choose to do .

[buildersmate]

The best pension for employees is often their employer's one because the employer will make contributions into it. Most company schemes (for new employees) are defined-contribution schemes now - where the outcome is dependent on performance of the investments in which the pension funds is made. But they are still worthwhile because one gets tax-relief on the contributions.

One doesn't have to move existing pensions into a new one - they can stay where they are. Any advisor has to be an IFA to advise you on specific schemes.

[dasherman]

You should be able to transfer these pensions by yourself - just get in touch with the respective companies pension departments. But whether it's the best thing to do is questionable.

If they are final salary pensions it's generally best to keep them where they are. If they are defined contribution/money purchase schemes then transferring everything into one place isn't a bad idea,but watch out for charges - especially if your in a 'with profits' fund.

Going to an IFA will cost money as they charge either a flat fee or commision and will have a big impact on your £6000.