WEBVTT - The Easy Explainer on Combining Your Pension Savings 0:00:01.650 --> 0:00:04.350 Hello, I'm Iona Bain, and welcome to A Little Bit 0:00:04.350 --> 0:00:07.410 Richer brought to you by Legal & General. Now today, we're 0:00:07.410 --> 0:00:10.080 talking about a topic that might not make your heart 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.960 race, but honestly it's the question that I get asked 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:15.750 the most when I'm out and about, talking to people 0:00:15.780 --> 0:00:19.530 up and down the country. Should I combine my pension 0:00:19.530 --> 0:00:24.390 pots? Yes, today we're talking about pension consolidation. Time and 0:00:24.390 --> 0:00:27.510 again I hear things like, " Should I do this? Where 0:00:27.510 --> 0:00:30.720 do I even begin? Is it worth the hassle?" So 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.240 today, we're going to blast through this and prove that 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:36.690 it's actually easier than you might think because even just 0:00:36.690 --> 0:00:39.690 having an awareness of where all your pension pots are 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.360 will go a long way to making you feel more 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.000 in control of your pension savings. And by doing a 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:47.010 wee big about them now, it's going to give you 0:00:47.010 --> 0:00:50.460 a much clearer view of your financial future. So joining 0:00:50.460 --> 0:00:53.700 me today to cut through the jargon is Mike Crossley. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.029 He heads up the Workplace Pension Consolidation Team at L& 0:00:57.030 --> 0:01:00.960 G, so he's just the man for this job. Welcome, 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:01.260 Mike. 0:01:01.350 --> 0:01:01.740 Thanks. 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:05.520 So let's just set the scene. Why do people end 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:07.470 up having more than one pension pot? 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:11.220 So loads of people, as they move around between different jobs, they'll 0:01:11.220 --> 0:01:14.459 typically get enrolled in a new workplace pension each time they 0:01:14.459 --> 0:01:17.819 start a new job. So I've known people who've got 0:01:17.819 --> 0:01:21.240 to the age of 30 and had three, four, sometimes 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:24.660 five pensions really early in their career. And of course, 0:01:24.660 --> 0:01:26.819 you've also got people who might be self- employed who 0:01:26.819 --> 0:01:27.959 might have opened a SIP. 0:01:28.170 --> 0:01:31.830 So people can end up with all these pots, and 0:01:31.830 --> 0:01:36.209 yet they don't know how easy it is to move all of 0:01:36.209 --> 0:01:39.180 them into one place. Talk us through that process. How 0:01:39.180 --> 0:01:40.110 straightforward is it? 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.510 Yeah, it's a lot more straightforward than I think a 0:01:42.510 --> 0:01:44.790 lot of people assume. I think when you talk to 0:01:44.790 --> 0:01:47.340 people about transferring a pension, they assume it's going to 0:01:47.340 --> 0:01:49.950 be pages and pages of forms to fill in, but 0:01:49.950 --> 0:01:53.700 the reality couldn't be further from that. Most pension providers 0:01:53.700 --> 0:01:58.170 now will allow you to request a transfer online, and 0:01:58.230 --> 0:01:59.940 most of the time that can go through without a 0:01:59.940 --> 0:02:01.290 paper form in sight. 0:02:01.590 --> 0:02:05.340 Oh, really? Could you do that theoretically through an app 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:05.910 as well? 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.610 Yeah, most pension providers now will have an app that you 0:02:08.610 --> 0:02:10.769 can log into, and often you can start the pension 0:02:10.770 --> 0:02:14.790 transfer process there. Now of course, it does vary from 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:17.520 who your old pension provider is, how it works, but 0:02:17.790 --> 0:02:21.030 I've known transfers complete in as little as three working 0:02:21.030 --> 0:02:22.950 days from that initial online request. 0:02:23.070 --> 0:02:26.820 Okay, so that's very encouraging. The question is why should 0:02:26.820 --> 0:02:29.070 we bother? We've all got a hell of a lot 0:02:29.070 --> 0:02:32.880 to do in our lives, so why add consolidating your pension 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:34.500 pots to that to- do list? 0:02:35.130 --> 0:02:37.889 So the first thing I'll probably say is the clarity 0:02:37.889 --> 0:02:42.270 it can give you can be really powerful. If you've got three, four, five different 0:02:42.270 --> 0:02:45.540 pensions, it can be tricky to understand how much have you 0:02:45.540 --> 0:02:47.820 saved, are your savings on track to give you what 0:02:47.820 --> 0:02:50.520 might be a good income in retirement. So bringing them 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:54.389 together can be a really positive first step towards getting 0:02:54.389 --> 0:02:56.040 on top of your retirement savings. 0:02:56.340 --> 0:03:00.690 So it's a question of not forgetting that you have pension pots, and 0:03:00.690 --> 0:03:04.320 therefore being able to maximize what you have much more 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:04.950 effectively? 0:03:05.310 --> 0:03:07.800 Yeah. It's really important not to be one of those 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.320 people whose lost an old pension and it can happen 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:14.010 so easily. As people move house and stuff, they forget 0:03:14.010 --> 0:03:16.440 to tell their pension provider. And then when you try 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:18.419 and remember, "Oh, what was that pension I had five, 10 0:03:18.419 --> 0:03:22.080 years ago," really easy to fall into that trap. So 0:03:22.230 --> 0:03:24.690 bringing them together perhaps after you've just changed job and 0:03:24.690 --> 0:03:26.490 you've got a new pension is a great way of 0:03:26.490 --> 0:03:29.550 keeping on top. And actually, reducing your life admins. You're 0:03:29.550 --> 0:03:32.639 not then needing to tell five different pension providers each 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:33.270 time you move. 0:03:33.540 --> 0:03:36.780 That's a very good point. Often, when we are reluctant 0:03:36.780 --> 0:03:39.510 to do something in the short term, actually we're just 0:03:39.510 --> 0:03:42.060 storing up more problems for the longterm. It could actually 0:03:42.060 --> 0:03:45.810 save us time in the long run. So younger workers 0:03:45.810 --> 0:03:48.360 in particular might end up having quite a lot of 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:52.440 small pension pots, but is there a pot that would 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.260 be too small to make all this worthwhile? 0:03:55.260 --> 0:03:58.650 The short answer is no. Even if you've got a 0:03:58.650 --> 0:04:01.680 really small pension pot, let's call it £ 200 maybe from 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:05.700 that café job you did for six months, it's still 0:04:05.700 --> 0:04:09.420 worth transferring that across, consolidating it into your pensions and 0:04:09.420 --> 0:04:13.860 not losing it. Because £ 200 today might not feel like 0:04:13.860 --> 0:04:15.960 very much money in a pension, but actually it's going to 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.810 be worth bringing that across because that's going to add a small extra bit of 0:04:18.810 --> 0:04:22.410 money. And of course, it might grow for another 20 or 30 years and be 0:04:22.410 --> 0:04:24.060 worth something a bit more by the time you actually 0:04:24.060 --> 0:04:24.570 retire. 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:27.990 And when we're talking about the different values of pension 0:04:27.990 --> 0:04:31.050 pots, and you mentioned large pension pots and small pension 0:04:31.050 --> 0:04:32.880 pots, how much are we talking here? 0:04:33.570 --> 0:04:37.229 I've seen pensions being transferred worth as little as £ 50 and worth as much as £500, 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:42.930 000 and everything in between. As little rule of thumb, 0:04:42.930 --> 0:04:46.080 maybe I'd think of a larger pot being £ 50,000 or 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:46.380 more. 0:04:47.010 --> 0:04:50.010 And is the process the same regardless of the value 0:04:50.010 --> 0:04:50.460 of your pot? 0:04:50.940 --> 0:04:53.969 Yeah. The underlying process is exactly the same whether it's £50, 0:04:55.110 --> 0:04:57.540 50,000, or even £500, 000. 0:04:57.779 --> 0:05:00.359 But I imagine if it is higher value, then you're 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:03.089 going to want to take financial advice perhaps? 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.700 Yeah, I think I would certainly be reading the paperwork 0:05:05.700 --> 0:05:08.159 a little more closely on one of those larger pots 0:05:08.430 --> 0:05:09.089 than a small one. 0:05:09.630 --> 0:05:12.839 But also, is there a reason to transfer your pensions 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:16.589 into one pot because of how your investments might perform, 0:05:16.589 --> 0:05:18.540 or maybe because you can get lower fees? 0:05:18.810 --> 0:05:22.620 So if you've got different pensions, it's really worth having 0:05:22.620 --> 0:05:25.650 a look at the different fees that you might be paying on them 0:05:25.980 --> 0:05:28.860 because what might look like a really small difference, like 0. 0:05:29.460 --> 0:05:33.570 5%, can actually add up to something really substantial over 0:05:33.570 --> 0:05:36.750 the years. So checking that difference before you transfer is 0:05:36.750 --> 0:05:40.680 definitely on the list. Aside from the fees, it's also 0:05:40.710 --> 0:05:43.830 worth understanding that different pensions could be invested in different 0:05:43.830 --> 0:05:47.700 ways. So each pension you've got via your employer will have 0:05:47.700 --> 0:05:50.669 probably gone into a default fund unless you've chosen your 0:05:50.670 --> 0:05:53.969 own funds under there. So as well as differences between 0:05:53.970 --> 0:05:57.900 default funds in different pension schemes, there's also different ranges 0:05:57.900 --> 0:05:59.880 of investments that you can choose if you're interested in 0:05:59.880 --> 0:06:00.570 doing it yourself. 0:06:01.110 --> 0:06:04.589 So you can definitely take more control of your pension 0:06:04.589 --> 0:06:06.330 and how it's invested if you want to? 0:06:06.510 --> 0:06:07.200 Absolutely. 0:06:07.500 --> 0:06:10.320 And also, if you're a bit younger, could you choose 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:14.190 maybe to have your pension invested in a more adventurous 0:06:14.190 --> 0:06:14.610 way? 0:06:15.540 --> 0:06:18.690 Yeah. Many pension providers will try and have their default 0:06:18.690 --> 0:06:21.960 fund allowing for that. So they'll usually be set up 0:06:22.050 --> 0:06:24.330 to give you growth in your early years and want 0:06:24.330 --> 0:06:27.150 more protection as you get closer to retirement. But if 0:06:27.150 --> 0:06:30.570 you feel confident and you know what you're doing, you can absolutely 0:06:30.570 --> 0:06:33.510 navigate through the fund range available and choose something that's 0:06:33.570 --> 0:06:36.300 appropriate for your appetite for risk and growth. 0:06:36.900 --> 0:06:40.680 That's good to know. And what do competitive fees look like on 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:41.220 a pension? 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:46.680 Most pension providers will charge on a percentage basis of 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:50.700 the total value of the pension pot. Sometimes it splits 0:06:50.700 --> 0:06:53.310 into what's known as an annual management charge, the cost 0:06:53.310 --> 0:06:56.040 of running the pension, which is separate to a fund 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.370 management charge, which is the cost of the underlying investment. 0:06:59.670 --> 0:07:02.850 Other providers will just have a single all- in fee 0:07:02.850 --> 0:07:06.839 that combines the two. So listeners might see differences in 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.540 the fee structure between their different providers, but of course 0:07:09.540 --> 0:07:11.220 it's quite simple to add the two if they are 0:07:11.220 --> 0:07:15.630 separate and compare them to one overall fee. Now, what's 0:07:15.630 --> 0:07:20.550 competitive. Workplace pensions are actually capped, so they shouldn't ever 0:07:20.550 --> 0:07:24.720 cost more than 0. 7%. But often, they'll be less than 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.420 that, particularly if you've worked for a big employer who 0:07:27.420 --> 0:07:30.840 might have negotiated a much lower fee even you'd typically 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:32.730 be able to get if you came to a pension 0:07:32.730 --> 0:07:36.210 provider directly. So sometimes I can be as low as 0. 2% 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:41.370 for all of the fees combined. Now, if you think 0:07:41.370 --> 0:07:44.700 about that then, perhaps you've got one that's 0. 7% and 0:07:44.700 --> 0:07:47.670 another one that's 0. 2, and you're starting to think, " 0:07:47.670 --> 0:07:50.220 Well, does that make much difference?" Let me give you 0:07:50.220 --> 0:07:53.460 an idea. So if you've got about 25, 30 years away 0:07:53.460 --> 0:07:57.720 from your retirement and you've got a £10, 000 pot, moving that 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:03.150 from a 0. 7% to a 0.2% one could make as 0:08:03.150 --> 0:08:07.290 much difference as £ 2000 by the time you get to retire, 0:08:07.710 --> 0:08:10.560 assuming the underlying investment performance is the same. So it 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.450 can make a substantial difference. 0:08:12.570 --> 0:08:13.860 That could pay for a holiday. 0:08:13.980 --> 0:08:14.700 It could, indeed. 0:08:14.700 --> 0:08:17.520 A very nice one. So what about people who are 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.820 not sure if they have an old pension or they 0:08:20.820 --> 0:08:23.040 don't know how much might be in there? Where can 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:23.701 they go to find out more? 0:08:23.701 --> 0:08:26.370 So the first thing is to have a look through your 0:08:26.370 --> 0:08:28.590 old paperwork and see if you can find any old 0:08:28.590 --> 0:08:31.380 statements with policy numbers on or whatever else. If you 0:08:31.380 --> 0:08:34.380 can find those, you've made a really, really good first 0:08:34.380 --> 0:08:38.160 step. If you haven't got any even little traces of 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:39.809 a pension, but you think it might be there, the 0:08:39.809 --> 0:08:43.589 government actually has a free tracing service that's available online. 0:08:43.590 --> 0:08:46.829 So you can go on there, search for your employer 0:08:46.830 --> 0:08:49.829 and see who that pension might be with. Private pension 0:08:49.830 --> 0:08:52.559 providers sometimes offer pension tracing services that can help you 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:53.189 do that as well. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.940 So even if you can't remember what the name of 0:08:56.940 --> 0:08:58.890 the pension provider is, so long as you can remember 0:08:58.890 --> 0:09:01.110 who you worked for, that could just give you enough 0:09:01.110 --> 0:09:03.089 of a clue to go hunting for that lost pension? 0:09:03.150 --> 0:09:03.840 Absolutely. 0:09:04.020 --> 0:09:06.480 So that's really good to know. And are there some 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.910 types of pensions that you wouldn't transfer? 0:09:09.630 --> 0:09:14.130 Yeah, this is a great point. So if you've been working in the public sector 0:09:14.130 --> 0:09:17.010 and you've maybe got something like an NHS, Armed Forces, 0:09:17.010 --> 0:09:20.610 or civil service pension that might be a defined benefit or 0:09:20.610 --> 0:09:25.589 career average type pension, those work fundamentally different to a 0:09:25.590 --> 0:09:28.260 defined contribution you might have got through a private company. 0:09:28.980 --> 0:09:31.199 So some of those pensions, you won't even be able 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:33.179 to transfer even if you wanted to. 0:09:33.359 --> 0:09:34.828 Right. So it's not even an option? 0:09:35.309 --> 0:09:37.320 Most of the time, it's not even an option. Some 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.200 defined benefit schemes will let you, but you do need 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.380 to take advice from a specially- trained financial advisor. So 0:09:43.380 --> 0:09:46.290 that's off the cards for most people, it won't normally 0:09:46.290 --> 0:09:47.760 be in your interest to do that. 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.910 But if you have a defined contribution pension, then it 0:09:50.910 --> 0:09:53.819 is something that's still worth considering? Or are there certain 0:09:53.820 --> 0:09:56.550 situations where even then, you have to be a bit careful? 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:59.040 Yeah, I think that's a good way of thinking about 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:01.860 it. Most of the time, particularly if your pensions been 0:10:01.860 --> 0:10:04.080 set up in maybe the last five or 10 years, 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.929 it's unlikely to have any sort of special benefits that 0:10:06.929 --> 0:10:10.800 you might lose on transfer. But some older defined contribution 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.699 pensions have what we refer to as safeguarded benefits attached 0:10:14.700 --> 0:10:17.040 to them. So this could be something like a guaranteed 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:20.429 annuity rate that you get more when you retire, or 0:10:20.429 --> 0:10:22.980 it might even be invested in a with- profits fund 0:10:22.980 --> 0:10:26.250 where there could be a significant penalty for not seeing 0:10:26.250 --> 0:10:29.700 it through to maturity. Now, if you've got any doubt 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:31.530 at all as to whether you might have any of 0:10:31.620 --> 0:10:33.870 those old or special features, you can always call your 0:10:33.870 --> 0:10:36.900 provider and check. They'll always tell you if that's the case. 0:10:36.929 --> 0:10:39.420 That's a good piece of advice. If in doubt, find 0:10:39.420 --> 0:10:42.960 out. Now, Mike, you've promised that this is actually a 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:45.390 lot more straightforward than people think it might be, so 0:10:45.390 --> 0:10:47.730 I'm going to hold you to that. Talk us through 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:53.309 what the transfer process actually involves, and what you need to look out for, and what you need to bear in mind. 0:10:53.309 --> 0:10:56.100 So if you've got an old statement in your hand 0:10:56.130 --> 0:10:57.780 for one of your old pensions and you've got the 0:10:57.780 --> 0:11:00.329 policy number, the first thing you might do is go 0:11:00.330 --> 0:11:02.520 on the provider's website, see if you can log in. 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.309 Check the value, check the charges, have a look and 0:11:05.309 --> 0:11:08.100 see if there's any sort of special features there. Once 0:11:08.100 --> 0:11:11.490 you've done that and decided that transferring is the right thing 0:11:11.490 --> 0:11:14.819 to do, go to your new pension provider's web portal 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.819 or app and see if you can start the process online. 0:11:17.820 --> 0:11:21.329 That's usually going to be the simplest way. Most of 0:11:21.330 --> 0:11:23.490 the time, all you'll need is the name of your 0:11:23.490 --> 0:11:26.939 old provider and a policy number, complete the online form, 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.880 read all the risk warnings carefully of course. And what 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.190 then happens is lots of stuff behind the scenes which 0:11:32.190 --> 0:11:34.290 you don't necessarily need to worry about, but can be 0:11:34.290 --> 0:11:38.100 useful to understand. So your new pension provider will then 0:11:38.100 --> 0:11:41.069 contact your old provider on your behalf. If the old 0:11:41.070 --> 0:11:43.860 provider goes, " Yeah, we've got a pension for you," what 0:11:43.860 --> 0:11:46.710 they'll do is they'll actually sell down any investments that 0:11:46.710 --> 0:11:49.980 you're holding in that old pension scheme. Once it's in 0:11:49.980 --> 0:11:52.860 cash, they'll send it across to your new provider. Your 0:11:52.860 --> 0:11:56.580 new provider will usually automatically invest it in line with 0:11:56.610 --> 0:11:59.819 how your pension's already invested, whether that's the default fund 0:11:59.820 --> 0:12:02.670 or something that you've chosen yourself. So it can be 0:12:02.670 --> 0:12:05.220 very, very straightforward in terms of it coming across and 0:12:05.220 --> 0:12:07.500 you might just get a little SMS after five days 0:12:07.500 --> 0:12:09.809 or a couple of weeks saying it's all done. You 0:12:09.809 --> 0:12:11.700 log in and you see it there. 0:12:12.780 --> 0:12:15.540 That's very reassuring because I think a lot of us 0:12:15.690 --> 0:12:17.819 do believe that it's going to involve, as you were 0:12:17.820 --> 0:12:20.010 saying before, lots and lots of paperwork and it was 0:12:20.010 --> 0:12:21.750 going to take a long, long time, but that might 0:12:21.750 --> 0:12:22.319 not be the case. 0:12:22.530 --> 0:12:25.650 Now, it can really vary by who your provider is. 0:12:25.650 --> 0:12:28.319 There are still some old school providers out there who 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:31.920 insist on having a paper form and it will take 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:34.199 a little bit longer. But what I'd probably say is 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.230 persist with it, don't be put off by that big 0:12:37.230 --> 0:12:43.741 envelope and long paperwork because once you've done it, you only have to do it once, and then your pensions are together. 0:12:43.741 --> 0:12:46.200 True. You've just got to embrace the admin, Mike, that's the 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.320 message here. And also, I think people will be thinking, " 0:12:49.740 --> 0:12:52.620 Actually, I don't know whether it's a good idea for 0:12:52.620 --> 0:12:57.090 me to transfer my pension across." Is there any kind 0:12:57.090 --> 0:13:00.270 of safeguard in place there to ensure that people are 0:13:00.270 --> 0:13:01.770 not making the wrong decision here? 0:13:01.890 --> 0:13:05.040 Yeah, pension providers definitely put some safeguards in there to 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.760 stop you doing something really reckless or that might not 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.569 be in your interest by accident. So for example, if 0:13:12.570 --> 0:13:15.150 you've got one of those old pension policies and it's 0:13:15.150 --> 0:13:19.470 got a guaranteed annuity rate or something like that, as 0:13:19.470 --> 0:13:21.360 soon as your new provider goes through to your old 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:23.490 provider, the old provider will raise a flag and go, " 0:13:23.490 --> 0:13:27.809 Sorry, there's a safeguarded benefit here. This pension can't be 0:13:27.809 --> 0:13:30.270 transferred without advice," and they'll knock it back to your 0:13:30.270 --> 0:13:32.790 new provider who will probably drop you a message or give 0:13:32.790 --> 0:13:34.709 you a call and let you know. There's some good 0:13:34.710 --> 0:13:38.160 safeguards in there to stop people making a really big mistake. 0:13:38.220 --> 0:13:39.840 That comes as a relief I'm sure to lots of 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.959 folks listening and watching. And the other question is does 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:43.770 it cost anything? 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:48.600 Now, transferring your pension is normally free with most providers. 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.510 So you shouldn't be charted either by your old provider 0:13:51.510 --> 0:13:55.410 for transferring out, or from your new provider for transferring 0:13:55.410 --> 0:13:55.589 in. 0:13:56.100 --> 0:13:59.250 And people might be wondering if they need to get 0:13:59.250 --> 0:14:03.300 financial advice in order to transfer their pension. Is that 0:14:03.300 --> 0:14:03.870 the case? 0:14:04.410 --> 0:14:08.340 The simple answer here is that financial advice can be very worthwhile, but 0:14:08.340 --> 0:14:11.340 it's probably not relevant for most people just thinking about 0:14:11.340 --> 0:14:15.179 bringing their old pension pots together, particularly if all you've 0:14:15.179 --> 0:14:18.570 got are five or six quite low value pots from 0:14:18.570 --> 0:14:21.840 your early career. Now, if you've got a really big 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.270 pot where the difference in charges is going to make 0:14:24.270 --> 0:14:26.940 a big difference or you're concerned that maybe you have 0:14:26.940 --> 0:14:29.910 got some special benefits, but you can work out whether 0:14:29.910 --> 0:14:33.180 they're worth keeping or whether you should transfer, a financial 0:14:33.180 --> 0:14:35.940 advisor can be really, really helpful in helping you make 0:14:35.940 --> 0:14:38.760 sense of all that and make a sound decision. You just 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:40.680 need to be aware that they will usually charge for 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:41.610 their services. 0:14:42.300 --> 0:14:44.940 I can imagine, Mike, that pension providers have really had 0:14:44.940 --> 0:14:47.640 to up their game in terms of making it easier 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.880 for people to consolidate their pensions because gone are the 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.360 days when people would have a job for many, many 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.270 years, if not for life. And therefore, this issue of 0:14:57.270 --> 0:14:59.640 people having lots of pension pots and not really knowing 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.460 what to do with them, that's something the pensions industry 0:15:02.460 --> 0:15:03.810 has had to really respond to, hasn't it? 0:15:04.770 --> 0:15:07.020 That's right and so much has changed around this in 0:15:07.020 --> 0:15:09.990 the last 10 years. Lots of that's been driven by 0:15:09.990 --> 0:15:11.970 digital, so being able to do a lot more stuff 0:15:11.970 --> 0:15:15.360 via apps and online portals. But you're absolutely right, there's 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.970 a lot more pension pots out there, lots more people 0:15:17.970 --> 0:15:20.820 wanting to do it. And the really nice thing actually 0:15:20.820 --> 0:15:23.430 is that the people who have completed it are often surprised 0:15:23.430 --> 0:15:27.060 at just how easy it was. I have seen people 0:15:27.060 --> 0:15:31.230 transfer sometimes seven, eight, nine different pensions and they've been 0:15:31.230 --> 0:15:33.270 amazed at the fact they could just do it all 0:15:33.270 --> 0:15:35.370 online and how quickly it's all come together. 0:15:36.090 --> 0:15:38.730 Yeah, I can imagine that must feel very satisfying as well, 0:15:38.730 --> 0:15:41.370 not thinking that there are all these different pension pots 0:15:41.370 --> 0:15:43.560 in all these different places, and just knowing it's all 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.290 there in one place. I definitely have that kind of 0:15:46.290 --> 0:15:48.960 personality where I like that kind of order in my 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:50.580 life and I'm sure lots of other people are the 0:15:50.580 --> 0:15:50.910 same. 0:15:51.180 --> 0:15:51.330 Yeah. 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.390 And people watching and listening might have heard of something 0:15:54.420 --> 0:15:57.240 called the Pensions Dashboard and they'll be thinking, " Well, when 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:58.830 that comes along, I'll be able to see all my 0:15:58.830 --> 0:16:02.040 pensions in one place." So why should people still be 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:05.820 thinking about pensions consolidation even if or when that happens? 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.180 Yeah, this is a great question. So we're expecting pension 0:16:09.180 --> 0:16:12.990 dashboards to be available from late 2026 and that will 0:16:12.990 --> 0:16:15.390 be a fantastic resource for people to see all their 0:16:15.390 --> 0:16:18.300 pensions in one place, and it should give you real 0:16:18.300 --> 0:16:21.359 clarity on how much you've saved and where is it. 0:16:22.230 --> 0:16:25.170 However, it doesn't mean that bringing your pensions together isn't 0:16:25.170 --> 0:16:28.560 worthwhile because there's still those factors like the differences in 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:32.160 charges potentially or the difference in investment. And of course, once 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.050 you can bring them all into one place in a 0:16:34.050 --> 0:16:37.470 single pension, it can still be better for clarity and 0:16:37.470 --> 0:16:38.340 planning for the future. 0:16:38.460 --> 0:16:41.310 So you've given us a really helpful whistle- stop tour 0:16:41.310 --> 0:16:43.590 there, Mike. I wonder if we can finish off with 0:16:43.590 --> 0:16:48.300 your top three tips for anyone whose thinking about moving 0:16:48.300 --> 0:16:49.770 their pension savings? 0:16:50.670 --> 0:16:54.060 Number one, do not be put off by the potential 0:16:54.060 --> 0:16:57.090 hassle. It is going to be easier than you think 0:16:57.270 --> 0:17:00.330 and you'll feel a lot better when it's done. Number 0:17:00.330 --> 0:17:04.080 two, take those few minutes before you press go just 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:07.440 to read through, check the charges in particular because that can 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.080 make a difference especially when it's over a 20 or 30- year 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.109 period to retirement. And the last one is look out 0:17:13.109 --> 0:17:16.080 for those scammers. So if someone calls you out the 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.710 blue or starts offering you incentives to transfer, you just 0:17:19.710 --> 0:17:22.679 need to ask yourself, " Why is this person so keen 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:26.490 to make me transfer?" So just pause, think about it, 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.140 and if it looks like it might be too good 0:17:28.140 --> 0:17:29.580 to be true, it probably is. 0:17:29.850 --> 0:17:33.030 That is absolutely excellent advice, Mike. Thank you very much. 0:17:33.210 --> 0:17:33.660 Thank you. 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:37.859 Well, I hope that's helped clear the muddy waters on 0:17:37.859 --> 0:17:40.619 pension consolidation for you and inspired you to take on 0:17:40.619 --> 0:17:43.440 a bit of life admin. If this episode has made 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:45.990 you feel empowered to get a hold of your pension 0:17:45.990 --> 0:17:49.590 savings, then why not share the podcast and help others 0:17:49.590 --> 0:17:53.399 get a little bit richer too? Next time, we're breaking 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:57.210 down tax with Accountant Tim Paul and lots of easy 0:17:57.210 --> 0:18:00.210 wins to help you legally reduce the amount of tax 0:18:00.330 --> 0:18:03.750 deducted from your salary. This podcast is brought to you 0:18:03.750 --> 0:18:06.000 by L& G. You can keep up with the show 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:11.340 on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram @legalandgeneral. And if you have a question 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.130 or a topic you'd like answered on the show, then 0:18:14.130 --> 0:18:16.740 you can get in touch on our socials. We'd love 0:18:16.740 --> 0:18:19.619 to hear from you. Until next time, thanks for listening, 0:18:19.740 --> 0:18:20.580 and see you soon.