Pensions

Transferring to another pension

If you’re considering transferring your pension plan, we’ll be happy to help. It’s important to note that once you’ve told us what you’ve decided to do, you may not be able to change your mind. Please be sure you understand all your options, and the effect of any changes you make. There are a few things you should think about before you make any decisions.

If you have any questions once you’ve read this summary, or need any help understanding your options - just call us on 0345 640 1000 or +44 178 644 8844 if you’re calling from abroad.

How a pension plan works

There’s a variety of pension plans available. They’re designed to provide a tax-efficient way of helping you to build up a pension pot to provide for your retirement.

Pension plans offer tax relief on your payments, subject to certain limits, with any growth in your plan being largely tax-free. In most cases you can take up to 25% of your plan tax-free and the remainder will be taxable.

Tax rules are complex and require careful consideration and the impact will depend on your individual circumstances. Taxation, legislation and HM Revenue & Customs practice is liable to change without notice. You may want to seek advice.

Your options

If you’d like to transfer to a different pension provider we can help you. Transferring may not be an option for all plans – we’ll be able to tell you if this is available if you call us.

Pension transfers are a complex area of financial planning, getting the decision wrong could have a significant impact on the benefits you receive from your plan. You can call us for more information, and you should seek financial advice.

Things to consider before making your decision

• There may be an exit charge for leaving your plan.
• Any guarantees, benefits, options and features under your existing plan may be lost and this could affect the benefits you receive.
• The features and investment options of the new plan may differ. Will they meet your needs and requirements?
• Charges may be higher or lower from those you pay now.
• There’s no guarantee the new plan will perform any better than your current plan.
• Transferring out of the With-Profits Fund could result in a market value reduction can reduce the value of any withdrawals taken from the fund.
• It can take time to transfer between plans causing a potential loss of investment growth while the transfer is completed, as your money won’t be invested.

In some cases, you may not need to transfer your whole plan. If you’d like to know more, just give us a call.

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the amount that you put in.

Protecting yourself from pension scams

According to Action Fraud, the UK’s fraud and internet crime reporting centre, an estimated £1.2bn is lost to investment scams every year. So if you’re thinking of reinvesting the money from your plan, take a minute to find out more, and stay ahead of the scammers. There is also some very useful information available from The Pensions Regulator.

What to do now

Transferring your pension is a big decision. You should speak with a financial adviser first. If you don’t have one, you can get details of financial advisers on pru.co.uk and selecting ‘contact a financial adviser’. You may be charged for their services.

Give us a call on 0345 640 1000 or +44 178 644 8844 if you’re calling from abroad. We can’t give you advice or make your decision for you, but we’ll be happy to help you understand your plan and talk you through all your available options and their possible implications.

We’re here 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday and happy to help in any way we can. Please make sure you have your plan number to hand when you call.