Phoenix Life, the pensions company that specialises in taking on other insurers' historic savings plans, has dropped exit fees for 150,000 customers who have benefits worth less than £5,000. The move will make it easier for such savers to transfer savings to another pension provider moving their money into a larger pension fund held elsewhere, for example.
Phoenix Life's decision is significant because it looks after thousands of savers who have ended up with it after their plans were transferred from other companies. In recent years it has taken on policies from large insurers including Standard Life, AXA, Abbey Life and Sun Life.
Some savers have money invested with other providers in plans opened more recently, and would benefit from being able to consolidate their savings. The move also follows pressure from regulators on exit fees. The Financial Conduct Authority has banned pension providers from charging exit fees of more than 1%.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
UK-US trade deal announced: US cuts tariffs on UK car imports to 10%Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have announced a UK-US trade deal, but the US president has refused to lift baseline tariffs on most UK goods. What does it mean for the UK?
-
How to use mid-caps to diversify from the USMedium sized companies are overlooked by investors but could offer an attractive ‘sweet spot’. We consider the case for mid-caps amid market volatility.
-
Common pension scams to watch out forAdvice As the government introduces new measures to tackle fraudsters, we highlight the common pension scam tactics they employ ‒ and how to avoid them.
-
Transferring out of your final salary pension could cost you dearAdvice Thinking about transferring out of a final salary pension? It could cost you a lot more than you might think, says David Prosser.
-
Pensions drawdown: don't take too much money out of your pension fundAdvice New evidence suggests people are depleting their pensions too quickly – and they risk running out of cash in retirement.
-
Don’t be tempted to transfer out of your final salary pension schemeAdvice Switching out of final-salary schemes is very rarely a good idea, no matter how much money is on offer
-
The pension income-drawdown time bombFeatures Some pension savers being paid a regular income from their retirement funds could be heading for disaster.
