Pension fund questions

So I have recently left my (first) job of 10 years and I am looking to cash the money in. My previous employer has been paying 10pct of my net salary in the pension and on the policy it says that employee contribution is optional. I have never personally made any contribution (unless there was a default one) such as salary/bonus sacrifice. So I am not sure if I personally contributed at all or if all the money is 100pct company’s contribution? HRMC states that if yhe company contribute more than the total required the employee can contribute less...if my pension is 100pct emloyer contribution (if that is even possible), does this mean I cannot cash in any of the money as of today?

That's really going to depend on the actual pension fund first and foremost. You're going to have to speak to the fund management company about it.

You can not access your pension fund until you are atleast 55.
At which point you can take 25% tax free lump sum and usually you would use the rest to buy an annuity for retirement income.
You can cash it all out then but you will get tax ed at your marginal rate. Or you can draw down as and when needed.
There's is also various rules for people with various small pension pots. Which is common these days as job for life is rarer.

Does anybody have any experience with moving their private pension fund to The Netherlands?
Or a putting them in a place where you can draw in Euros that doesn't cost a lot of £££?

So far it seems to be hard if it is not on the approved pension list. Mine is not.

Option so far: Malta/Hong Kong (expensive / may not be covered by protection schemes)
Leave it in the UK (assuming there is no brexit deal that fucks that up so badly I can't draw it)
Move to NL, pay tax on it is a move of capital (which isn't as high as income tax but I rather avoid it if I can)

Would be nice to avoid having to pay the move tax as it is not exactly a gazillion pounds.

Does anyone on here have any experience of paying into a pension via their limited company? I'm self employed through my own company and I've never paid anything into a pension, I'm 35 so think I better start sooner rather than later. I understand how it works with regards to tax etc but I'm completely clueless with regards to providers and how safe your money is? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all any pensions nerds on here? I have three small pensions from previous public sector jobs, each very small (around £200 per year I think, I was only in the roles short term). Should I try to combine them into the pension in my current role? I see the NHS one has lost loads of value the last couple of years!

Have a look at the Investing thread, standard advise is usually to move to Vanguard SIPP or similar

Thanks!

Check if you have any exit fees on those small pots.

In the future, if you reach the extra tax charges incurred at over £1 million then it can be useful to have some small pots. You're allowed up to three pots below £10k each and they won't count towards any extra tax charges.

Consider talking to a financial advisor as they'll most likely save you time and money.

Typically up to £85,000 per person per institution is fully protected (FCA).

I'd either start with one of the big providers (Vanguard, Hargreaves Lansdown, etc). Or one of the easy-access ones (Nutmeg, Nest, etc).

Is there a good 'how to pension' somewhere for self employed? Somewhere I can read everything under one roof - tax implications (my accountant will sort this but good to have an idea of things) / safe vs risky places etc. Basically identical story to @Gewürzt 3 years ago (any pearls of wisdom to share?) Someone was talking to me about PensionBee yesterday but I suspect as if they refer they get a cash incentive.

self employed?

ltd (and director) or sole?

Both really, my wife is ltd/director and in same boat, I'm sole trader.

any pension advice borders on financial advice and very personal but with limited as others have said in IR35 thread dont flirt with the limit of £40k with ltd and director setup

Ooh, I think I've discovered a new thread to read. Sort of thanks.

Ha, 3 years on I still haven't done anything about it.

ha! Excellent.

I have three pension pots with Aviva (one current) and two from previous jobs.

Is there any reason to consolidate them?

Maybe... look at the fees on each. If they're the same then I can't think of a reason to consolidate (or to not consolidate). If they're different then that's the reason.

I've just moved mine from Aviva to Vanguard for the slightly lower fees.

The two old ones are at 0.35% - nothing being paid in. Total value is less than £20k
Current employer one is 0.4% and is being paid into. Total value is just over £60k

Really no point in doing anything then...

Not loads, but also I'd imagine it's very quick to do if it's easier to see things in a single place.
The Aviva -> Vanguard transfer was all done online without any faff. About 5mins to get the various reference numbers and then it transferred over in 2 days.

True. They're all currently available to see on a single screen in the Aviva app so I guess I might try to consolidate the old two if I have some time but nothing really to gain from it...

I'd have a look and see if you have any option to select a different fund, through your existing platforms, with a much lower annual charge. I expect there will be a passive tracker <0.2%.

Once you have worked out an alternative fund, run the numbers of your current fund and this new alternative through https://www.candidmoney.com/calculators/investment-charges-impact-calculator and decide if worth effort in switching. Likelihood is yes.

Can I ask what you did in the end? I'm in the same boat, multiple pensions in £ from my time in London but now live in Ireland. Had always assumed I'd just take the full sum when it comes time and transfer to € but I'd not factored in Brexit...

Hi we didn't move in the end.

UK to ROI may be easier as there are preexisting agreements, but I fear it will be paid specialist advice potentially.

No doubt there's a helpful forum somewhere :)