Moving a UK Prudential pension to a lower cost provider

[MontanaProf]

Hi all!

I have a UK Prudential Personal Pension Plan, and is in a with-profits fund, that has annual management fees of 0.93%

Being an avid reader of Jonathan Clements (www.HumbleDollar.com) I like to follow the strategy of having my money where it is in an index fund and has incredibly low fees.  My US pension funds are in Vanguard.

I have been in the US for 25 years, and as a UK citizen I am just not up to speed on how to move UK pension funds to a cheaper provider, or even if there is a cheaper provider.

So, I am looking for advice here, please!

1) Is the UK Prudential pension fund the lowest cost provider?
2) Can I move my UK Prudential pension fund?  I have 100% vested or full transfer value funds in it.
3) I'd like to follow an index fund, either UK or Europe or ideally both.  What's the best, lowest cost provider of these?

Many thanks!

[daverobev]

See if somewhere like AJ Bell YouInvest can/will take you. They are about the cheapest SIPP I know of.

Inside that, were you to get it set up, you can just buy VWRL.L (global stock ETF) + some bond fund, or a LifeStrategy fund (certain percentage of bonds, tends to have a 'bit much' UK in though). You're better off with ETFs because AJ Bell charge a capped amount (£100 on £40k invested; it is 0.25%/year below that - for funds there is no cap IIRC).

[MontanaProf]

Thank you Magnum Stach!

I see that I am WAY out of touch with terminology, and am going to need to do some studying. 

"SIPP"
"IIRC"

Cheers!

[daverobev]

Thank you Magnum Stach!

I see that I am WAY out of touch with terminology, and am going to need to do some studying. 

"SIPP"
"IIRC"

Cheers!

IIRC = if I remember correctly!

SIPP = Self-Invested Personal Pension - ie you choose what to buy yourself. Just a type of UK pension scheme, you should be able to transfer into one (I think).

[cerat0n1a]

Prudential will definitely not be a low cost provider, and it should be possible to transfer your pension from there to a self-invested pension plan (SIPP) relatively easily, although money laundering regulations can be a bit of a pain if you need to prove your address etc. to an institution in the UK. Your statement from them should tell you what the transfer value would be.

Exactly which SIPP provider is the cheapest will depend upon your precise circumstances - how big the fund is, how often you plan to add money, how soon you plan to start withdrawals etc. AJ Bell is a good choice; Vanguard themselves have just started offering SIPPs in the UK too.