If you’re considering a pension transfer, then these tips could help you in the transfer process.

1.Find an Independent Pensions Transfer Advisor

Pensions law and regulation is so complex and changes so rapidly, that you really do need good advice when it comes to transferring your pension. An independent advisor isn’t tied to any particular product, and has access to all the information you need to make an informed decision. In addition, they will be aware of the latest changes to the pensions regulations, ensuring that your transfer falls within the rules. They can check the current value of your existing pension and compare it to the performance of other similar schemes on the market. Don’t transfer your pension without consulting an expert.

2.Check Benefit Levels

Each pension scheme has a different level of benefits. Whilst some are very generous, others are not, and you want to be sure that you are transferring to a pension that has equally good, if not better, benefits than your current scheme. Your pensions advisor can help you to check benefits levels and talk you through which are the most important to hold onto.

3.Growth Levels

If you are transferring a pension, there may be a period where the new scheme needs to grow to the size of your original pension fund. For this reason, you should ask your pensions advisor to check growth levels to see which funds are likely to return your investment to its current level the quickest.

4.Nominations

Make sure that you can nominate one or more beneficiaries for your pension scheme and that the pension fund manager will honour your nomination. If you die before retirement, your pension entitlement will be paid to your nominated beneficiary or to your estate. To make sure that your pension goes to the people you want it to, your nominations need to be accurate and, if necessary, you should reinforce them in your will.

5.Retirement Age

If you are transferring your pension less then 10 years before retirement, make sure that your new scheme gives you the same rights as your old one. If you are intending to retire early, ask your pension advisor to check the value of your existing scheme and the scheme you want to transfer to. This will help you to ensure that you have a good income on your retirement.

6.Management Fees

The pensions industry is competitive and one of the key areas where pensions schemes compete is the management fee. This fee is usually applied annually and is calculated as a percentage of your funds. Many people choose to transfer their pension in order to obtain a lower management fee, so you should make sure that the scheme you choose has a management fee you are happy with.

7.Review

If you are considering transferring your pension, ask a pensions advisor for a review of your current situation. Once you have transferred your pension, it may be worth asking for a regular review, particularly as you approach retirement age, so that you can be sure that your pension is working for you.

8.Administration

You will need to ensure that you have all the paperwork relating to your existing pension scheme before you transfer. This paperwork is important when it comes to any contact you have with the company operating your pension scheme, and your pension advisor will need it in order to effect the transfer. Similarly, when you get the paperwork for your new pension scheme, keep it in a safe place so that you can access it easily when you are coming up to retirement.

9.Target Income

If you are transferring your pension scheme when you are still a long way from retirement, you may want to look at the level of contributions you are making. Talk to your pensions advisor about your desired target income, which will help them to work out the payments you need to be making into your new pension scheme.

Opting for a pension transfer is something you can do at any stage of your working career.

Like many investment decisions, though, the timing of a pension transfer is crucial, and it’s for this reason that you shouldn’t transfer your pension without consulting a pensions expert. There are several factors to take into consideration when you are thinking about transferring your pension:

Why do you want a pension transfer?

For most people, thoughts of pension transfer occur when they are moving jobs. The majority of companies offer pension schemes as part of their benefits package, and although you are unlikely to see the details of the new scheme before you join, the fact that a good pension scheme acts as an incentive to prospective employees. If you start work at a new company and join the pension scheme, what happens to your old pension?

In many cases, you can transfer your pension in order to take advantage of better annual management rates, or better benefits than your current scheme offers. This means that the money you have invested will be working harder for you when it comes to retirement. Alternatively, you may want to transfer your contributions to a scheme where you can continue to contribute throughout the rest of your working life, ensuring a continuity of benefits and a more valuable pension pot when you reach retirement.

When should you transfer your pension?

Every pension transfer in the UK falls under FSA regulation, and you should only transfer your pension after you have taken independent specialist advice. The pensions market is notoriously complex and, in order to ensure that you are getting the best deal, you need to speak to a pension transfer advisor who knows the market well and can give you the advice you need.

Don’t rush into transferring your pension. If you get it wrong, you could end up with an inferior pension scheme to the one you came out of, and you could end up paying higher charges to transfer, or a higher annual charge than you need to. Make sure you have done some research on the types of pension that may suit you best, and that you consider all the pros and cons of transfer before you commit yourself.

Everyone knows that the younger you are when you start paying into a pension, the more you’ll receive when it’s time to pay out on your retirement. Nevertheless, there are still many who delay making that start and a frightening number of people who believe that their entitlement to a basic State pension will be enough to see them comfortably through old age. While they might be right about the entitlement to a State pension, they are most unlikely to find that the State pension alone will ensure anything like a comfortable retirement. But if taking care of your own pension arrangements is to be an option, where do you go for the best pension advice?

Even a cursory look at the subject of pensions will tell you that it can become a pretty complicated topic, with a bewildering range of different products, to suit different ends and purposes. For example, you might be aware that your employer runs a pension scheme and, indeed, you believe that the employer contributes to your pension on your behalf. But is this an occupational pension scheme. If it is, do you know whether it is salary-related or whether it is a defined contribution or money purchase scheme?

Alternatively, is your employer offering a stakeholder pension scheme or running a group personal pension scheme? You have heard that it is possible to set up your own stakeholder pension. How would this differ from your having your own personal pension arrangement? Is one or the other – a stakeholder or a personal pension scheme – something you should be setting up for yourself?

These are all perfectly reasonable questions, but how on earth do you go about answering them? It’s very much a specialist subject and the ground rules seem to be changing all the time. You have might also have heard, for example, that the government is introducing changes requiring all employers to offer a pension in the future and to make contributions to the schemes set up. This can be the employer’s own scheme or the government’s new central scheme that is being established.

Yet further changes will affect the minimum age at which you can start drawing your pension benefits. Subject to the rules of your particular scheme, the minimum age is currently 50, but this will go up to age 55 by the year 2010 (though you will no longer need to stop working altogether to be able to draw the pension, provided continued employment is allowed by the rules of your particular scheme). To phase in the higher age level, pension fund managers have been given the period from April 2006 until April 2010 to raise the age limit. Clearly, you will need to know when it applies to you.

All in all, therefore, it is clear that questions about pensions can become quite complicated. They are further complicated by your need to know exactly how your own individual circumstances should affect your pension options and decisions. A pension is a long-term investment, which accumulates many thousands of pounds of your hard-earned cash – it’s important, therefore, that you are guided towards the right decisions.

Given the importance of getting it right, the sensible course of action is to consult an independent financial adviser about your existing and future pension options. This will ensure that your decisions are based on the best, professional and expert, independent pension advice.