Pension Transfer Companies
 

Hi,

Can anyone recommend pension transfer companies, for transferring pensions from UK to NZ? Had a chat to BDHStirling today and because my wife and I between us have 10 private pensions he quoted £12000 to transfer them all to NZ (£3000 for the first one and then £1000 for each subsequent one). This seems very steep, especially since some of the pensions aren’t very big, so want to get a few quotes.

Thanks,
Mark

Re: Pension Transfer Companies
 

Any chance of amalgamating the pensions in the UK before the transfer?

Small ones you might consider cashing up then transferring the money to NZ if you are in the zero income tax window.

Note that I am not a financial adviser.

Re: Pension Transfer Companies
 

That’s the other thing we are considering, but there will be fees to do that, and fees for any financial advisor as well.

Re: Pension Transfer Companies
 

Contact chc4me. Dai has helped many of us with our pension and financial issues.

Re: Pension Transfer Companies
 

Hi to all, I've PM Framps69.

To add to the conversation, the cost of transferring has increased significantly over the last few years, although the cost mentioned in the original post is quite high. One of the main issues for any pension transfer is the type of pension ie Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution. A Defined Benefit Scheme (Final Salary) is based on the number of years worked for the company and your salary at that time. These types of schemes are common amongst Nurses, Teachers, Banking sector, Government and Local Authority pension schemes to name a few. Most employers have phased out Defined Benefit Schemes due to the cost to the company of running them.

Before transferring a Defined Benefit Scheme, it is a UK Regulators requirement that a FCA Adviser Report is obtained so that the Pension Holder can make an informed decision on what is best financially (to transfer or not to transfer). The cost of these reports ranges between £3,000 and £4,000 and must be completed by an UK FCA Adviser.

Defined Contribution schemes are more straight forward and do not require an FCA Adviser report, therefore the cost is a lot lower.

From a NZ Adviser point of view, we will often discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a transfer, the differences between the UK and NZ pension systems, the tax position and an opinion on how to proceed before any cost is incurred. Hope that's helpful,