What is the Best Private Pension in 2020?

Personal Pensions Explained

Private pensions are a type of defined contribution pension scheme. They’re essentially pots of money that you pay into during your working life, which you then use to provide yourself with a retirement income.

There are two main types of pension plan to consider when setting up a private pension: a stakeholder pension and, for the more experienced investor (and generally those with a larger pension pot), self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs).

Personal Stakeholder Pensions

A stakeholder pension allows for flexibility when it comes to the size and regularity of contributions. Stakeholder pension providers also tend to cap charges and, if you’re unsure about the investments you’d like to make, offer a ‘default’ fund that’s designed to suit as many people as possible.

Self-Invested Personal Pensions

A self-invested personal pension, on the other hand, offers much more freedom and flexibility when it comes to managing your investments. With a SIPP, you or your investment manager is free to manage the funds as you see fit.

There’s a far wider range of investment choices available in SIPPs compared to stakeholder pensions. However, fees and charges aren’t capped by law as with stakeholder pensions, meaning they’re the more expensive option of the two.

Which is the Best Private Pension?

Finding the right private pension requires careful consideration. After all, you’ll hopefully have a long and happy retirement, but you’ll need to fund that somehow. Achieving your financial goals for post-work life is possible, but it requires you to lay the groundwork today with good pension planning during your working life.

It’s here that the help of a financial adviser can be invaluable. There are a huge array of options available if you’re starting your own pension, which makes it hard to know if one provider offers a better personal pension than the rest.

You’ll also have to consider your investment choices and possibly commit to managing them. Again, this is an area where a pensions adviser can be of huge assistance, especially for a new investor or someone with limited time to dedicate to their pension investments.

No two people are the same…

Everyone’s pension requirements are different. Just because one option works out as the best pension for a friend, family member or colleague doesn’t mean that same personal pension will automatically suit your needs.

Compare Best UK Pension Providers

Below is a list of some of the top investment management firms; however, there are many other providers available out there in the wider market.

AJ Bell

AJ Bell was founded in 1995. As well as SIPPs, AJ Bell is also an award-winning provider of ISAs and dealing accounts. The AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP is the company’s execution-only, low-cost variant of a personal pension.

• No set-up fee on the AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP
• Charge on shares: 0.25% (capped at £25 per quarter)
• Charges on funds (e.g. unit trusts, OEICs etc.):
  • 0.25% on the first £250,000
  • 0.1% on the value between £250,000 and £1m
  • 0.05% on the value between £1m and £2m
  • No charge on the value of funds over £2m

Open AJ Bell SIPP →

Hargreaves Lansdown

Based in Bristol, Hargreaves Lansdown was founded in 1981. It offers ISAs, pensions, investments, financial advice and share dealing services.

• Hargreaves Lansdown Vantage SIPPs are free to set up
• Charge on shares: 0.45% (capped at £200 per annum)
• Funds carry a tiered fee structure of:
  • 0.45% on the first £250,000
  • 0.25% on £250,000-£1m
  • 0.1% on £1m-£2m
  • 0% on over £2m

Open HL SIPP →

Fidelity

Fidelity International was founded in 1969 as the international arm of Fidelity Investments, a financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. It became independent from Fidelity Investments in 1980.

Fidelity’s SIPP is a low-cost variant that charges a combination of percentage and flat-rate annual service fees depending on your investments.

• Investments of below £7,500 carry an annual service fee of £45 if you don’t have a regular savings plan or 0.35% if you do.
• Between £7,500 and £250,000 Fidelity charges 0.35%
• For investments of between £250,000 and £1 million the fee is 0.2%.
• No further service fee is levied on assets above £1 million.

Open Fidelity SIPP →

Alliance Trust Savings

Alliance Trust was founded in 1890 and provides full SIPPs, as well as ISAs and investment dealing accounts.

• Alliance Trust SIPP charges are £17.50 a month (+ VAT) while you’re still saving
• These charges buy you four free online trade per year; dealing fees apply after you exhaust those four trades.

Bestinvest

Bestinvest was founded in 1986. It provides execution-only investment services as part of the Tilney Group, including a low-cost SIPP.

• No set-up fees on the Bestinvest SIPP
• Tiered annual management charges:
  • 0.3% on the first £250,000
  • 0.2% on funds of £250,000-£1m
  • No charges on funds of over £1m
• Additional £100 (+ VAT) administration fee per annum, payable in quarterly instalments

Rowanmoor

Rowanmoor is the UK’s largest independent small self-administered scheme (SSAS) provider and a provider of bespoke self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs).

• Setup fees for Rowanmoor’s SIPP are £310 for the full investment option and £105 for the single investment option.
• Annual administration fees are £525 for the full investment option and £265 for the single investment option.
• To ensure fees are paid in a timely manner, Rowanmoor requires you to hold at least £2,000 in cash, or other easily realisable assets, to meet any liabilities.

Standard Life

Standard Life – known as Standard Life Aberdeen since March 2017 – is a Scottish investment company headquartered in Edinburgh. In March 2017, Standard Life agreed to merge with the investment company Aberdeen Asset Management and became Standard Life Aberdeen.

• The Standard Life SIPP is free to set up.
• Administration charges vary depending on how much is in your SIPP and how much you invest.

Information in this table correct as of 23/8/2019

The above table is a list of top UK SIPP providers; others are available in the market. Also available on the market are stakeholder pensions, a lower-cost alternative to SIPPs. The best UK pension provider for you will depend on your individual needs and circumstances. That’s where the value of pensions advice comes in.

How Much Does a Private Pension Cost?

There are a number of different options you’ll have to consider to ensure you find the best pension for your needs and circumstances. There’s no shortage of pension funds available on the market, either, so if you’re going it alone you’ll need to do a lot of shopping around to compare pension schemes.

Make sure you compare the fees pension providers charge for any funds you’re interested in. Not only might you have to pay fees for managing your investments — known as annual management charges or AMCs — but there may also be charges for transferring your investments, as well as other fees.

Any pension fees you pay will affect the overall pension you receive when you retire.

Are Your Pension Contributions Affordable?

Although it’s important to build up a good pot of pension savings to see you through retirement, ultimately your pension payments must be affordable during your working life.

Some pension funds may impose a minimum contribution at regular intervals, which might not be suitable if your income is irregular, such as if you’re self-employed.

On the flipside, if you’re fortunate enough to come into some extra cash you might want to contribute a lump sum to your pension. It’s vital to find out whether your personal pension allows lump sum contributions as well as regular payments for additional flexibility.

What are the Best Investments for My Pension?

The biggest thing to consider when it comes to setting up a pension is your range of investment choices. It’s important that you pick a pension fund or funds that match with your objectives and offers a degree of investment risk you’re happy with.

When investing your pension pot, these are some of the options you might want to consider:

• How do you feel about investing your pension in emerging markets?
• Would you prefer to invest in mostly UK equities or also include investments on foreign stock exchanges? And, if so, what should the balance be between the two?
• How safe do you want to play it with your pension investments — do you want to hold some in cash and take on inflation risk? If so, how much?
• When it comes to risk, what’s your overall risk appetite? Would you like to aim for investments with high growth potential but at the risk your pension fund might make a loss, or would you prefer safer investments with lower prospects for returns?
• Does investing your pension fund in commercial property appeal to you?

While you might be able to stick with the default fund in a stakeholder pension if you’re unsure or new to investing, this might close off some of the avenues available to you and therefore limit your returns.

With so many investment options available when you’re setting up a new personal pension, it makes sense to entrust the process to an expert adviser whose job focuses on investment management every day.

The team here at Drewberry is well-placed to discuss your needs and marry them with your appetite for risk to ensure you put your money into a pension that works for you.

Avoid Pension Scams

Sadly, the wealth people work so hard to build in their pension funds makes them tempting targets for fraudsters and thieves. There’s even a risk that you might become a victim when setting up your first pension fund.

So just how do you avoid pension investment scams? Below is a checklist to follow that could help you avoid scams and invest your retirement savings safely and securely.

Sounds Too Good To Be True? It Probably Is…

It’s natural when searching for the best private pension that we look for the highest promised returns, but these can sometimes be fake opportunities.

Well-known unregulated investment scams are often overseas and might involve foreign hotels, vineyards or other construction projects.

While there are plenty of legitimate overseas investments, particularly if you’re happier to take a higher degree of risk, always be wary of such opportunities and do your homework to make sure you know what you’re getting into.

You should take advice on all investments from a regulated financial adviser, but this is especially true for investments promising big returns as these are probably carrying a high degree of risk.

A genuine, registered financial adviser should lay out the risks of investing your money in these areas rather than simply promising huge rewards for doing so.

Check the FCA Register

The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Services Register is totally free to use and is fully searchable, so you can discover if the company you’re thinking of investing with is authorised / registered by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and / or the FCA to conduct financial business in the UK.

The register has recently been updated to include firms reported as providing regulated products or services without the correct authorisation, as well as those known to be running scams. A search for such a company will throw up its entry on the register with prominent warnings totally clear.

Slow Down

Deciding on a private pension is a big decision. You’re choosing one of the investment vehicles that will see you through your old age. Take as much time as you need to find the right pension for you.

Unscrupulous firms will use high-pressure sales techniques, such as offering tempting investment opportunities for only a short space of time.

Don’t allow yourself to be swept along with such tactics.

Some fraudsters won’t let you call them back at a later date, perhaps because they have no inbound telephone service. That should also arouse immediate suspicion.

Looking for the Best Pension Advice?

When it comes to pensions, investments and wealth management, getting professional financial advice really can pay for itself.

That’s not just financially, but also in terms of the peace of mind you get from knowing your investments and ultimately future security are in the hands of an experienced professional.

While there’s nothing wrong with managing your pensions and investments yourself, the reality is that doing so — and doing it well — takes up a lot of time, time that most of us simply don’t have to spend.

Once you’ve engaged a pensions financial advisor, you can sit down with them at regular intervals to discuss your investments, their performance, and whether your pension investments still suit your needs.

That way, your pension fund can stay abreast of changes in the markets even without your constant oversight, minimising the risk of poor performance.

Your Financial Plan: Build A Better Future

A good financial plan can help you make the right decisions when it comes to your finances. Make the right decisions today to build a more prosperous future.

Good financial planning with clear goals can increase your retirement income by as much as 53%. Old Mutual Redefining Retirement Survey

Why Speak to Us…

We started Drewberry because we were tired of being treated like a number and not getting the service we all deserve when it comes to things as important as planning our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to let us help.

• See your financial future
  We use sophisticated financial modelling technology to visually show you your financial future. A living financial plan where you can clearly see what you can achieve depending on the decisions you make – read more
• Achieve the retirement you deserve
  Can afford that dream round-the-world trip? Can you help your children onto the property ladder? We’ll model your goals and build your financial plan to help you achieve them.
• Our expertise saves you time and provides peace of mind
  Organising your pensions, investing your assets, managing risk and making the most of your tax allowances is all taken care of as part of your financial plan.
• We’ve got bargaining power on our side
  This allows us to negotiate better rates for you than dealing with providers yourself.
• You’ll speak to a dedicated expert from start to finish
  You will speak to a named expert with a direct telephone and email. No more automated machines and no more being sent from pillar to post – you’ll have someone to speak to who knows you.
• Benefit from our 5-star service
  We pride ourselves on providing a 5-star service, as can be seen from our 2386 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5.
• Gain the protection of regulated advice
  You are protected. Where we provide a regulated advice service we are responsible for the decisions we help you make. Doing it yourself or going direct to a provider won’t provide this protection, so you won’t benefit from these securities.