Merging pots - follow on post
I recently asked what information would be useful from me before asking anything about my pension situation, and now I have pulled together all of what was suggested.
I have 3 pots as shown below, with C being the pension related to my current employment.
I am 50 years old, and earn just over £80k. Retirement age is logged as 63/65, but this may not be realistic following a divorce a few years ago and increasing the term of my mortgage in order to buy out my ex.
My initial intention was to combine all 3 pots into my current one, but now I am thinking otherwise...
Given that the fees for Pension A are lower, and Pension C is still being added to, I think I will keep both of those and merge pot B into one of them. My question was going to be whether to add it to Pot A or Pot C (lower fees vs seemingly better performance), but I have just heard today that I cannot add it to Pot A.
So with that decided (add pot B to pot C), I guess my questions are:
- Is this advisable? Seems like a no-brainer?
- Should I look to change the funds that Pot A and Pot C are invested in?
My understanding isn't what it probably should be, but I gather that Pot A may be invested in slightly lower risk than pot C, but that Pot C will begin shifting to reduce risk over the last 15 years (ie now).
I have read that if I intend to draw down rather than get an annuity (which is advisable right?) then I should probably keep the risk up a bit for longer with Pot C? As you can tell i'm a bit uneducated in these things, but really want to make sure I'm doing the best thing having left it so late to act on this.
Any thoughts?
| REF | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Legal and General | Scottish Widows | Aviva |
| Balance last year (on statement date) | £103,942.39 | £15,209.86 | £51,535.46 |
| Balance this year (on statement date) | £122,643.91 | £19,347.06 | £75,719.70 |
| Contribution last year | £0.00 | £0.00 | £10,925.90 |
| Annual Increase | £18,701.52 | £4,137.20 | £24,184.24 |
| Annual Increase % | 17.99% | 27.20% | 46.93% |
| Annual Increase Excluding Contributions | £18,701.52 | £4,137.20 | £13,258.34 |
| Annual Increase % (excluding contributions) | 17.99% | 27.20% | 25.73% |
| Annual Charges (with type) | £194.19 investment management charges during the year.Administration charge £0.00.Fund charges reflected in fund prices;IBM PP Growth Plus (weight = 64.8%) : 0.15% chargeIBM PP Future World Global Equity (weight = 35.2%): 0.11% charge | Total Annual Fund Charge:1.00% p.a.. Includes Annual Management Charge plus other expenses less discounts. Includes a discount of £44.23 during the year. | Annual Fund Charge (AFC):0.29% p.a.. Transaction costs:0.02%. FMEC:0.00%. Total charges deducted during year: £196.85. |
| Transfer Value (on last statement date) | £122,643.91 | £19,347.06 | £75,719.70 |
| Transfer charge info | No transfer charge or exit penalty disclosed. Transfer value equals fund value. Needs confirmation from provider if transferring. | Scottish Widows explicitly states: "We won't charge for transferring your plan." | No transfer charge disclosed. Transfer value equals current fund value. Needs confirmation from Aviva if transferring. |
| Investments | IBM PP Growth Plus Fund (£79,481.40); IBM PP FW Global Equity (£43,162.51). Invested via Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy. | Scottish Widows Pension Portfolio Two Pension (Series 2) – 100% of fund (£19,347.06) | Aviva My Future Focus Lifestage. Current holdings: Av MFF LongTerm Growth S6 (£75,719.14) and Av MFFocGrowth S6 (£0.56). |
| Retirement Age | 63 | 65 | 65 |
| Age I can access | Statement references access from age 55 if no longer employed by IBM. General pension minimum age rules will apply. | Normally age 55; age 57 from 6 April 2028 unless special protections apply. | Not stated in this statement, but standard DC pension rules apply (currently 55, rising to 57 in April 2028 unless protected). |
| DC or DB | DC | DC | DC |
| Protected Pension Age? | Not mentioned. Unknown / needs provider confirmation. | Not mentioned. No evidence of a protected pension age. | Not mentioned. No evidence of a protected pension age. |
| Guaranteed Annuity Rate? | Not mentioned. Assume none unless provider confirms otherwise. | Not mentioned. No evidence of a GAR. | Not mentioned. No evidence of a GAR. |
| Protected Tax Free Cash? | Not evidenced. Statement only refers to the standard "up to 25%" tax-free cash. No indication of protected tax-free cash. | Not evidenced. Statement refers to normal 25% tax-free cash and notes that higher amounts may apply in some circumstances. No indication this plan has protection. | Not mentioned. No evidence of protected tax-free cash. |
| Non-Standard Terms / Safeguarded Benefits | None identified in statement. No GAR, protected tax-free cash, protected pension age or other safeguarded benefits disclosed. Needs provider confirmation before any transfer decision. | No safeguarded benefits identified. Statement repeatedly warns that transfers may lose guarantees/features, but none are disclosed for this plan. | None identified from statement. Standard workplace DC arrangement. |
| Lifestyle / Default Strategy | Lifecycle to Drawdown Strategy | Available but not currently being used. Statement says you currently choose your own investments. | Aviva My Future Focus Lifestage. Automatic switching begins 15 years before retirement. |
| Projected Value at Retirement | £179,000 at age 63 (illustration only) | £28,500 at age 65 (illustration only) | £294,000 at age 65 (illustration only) |
| Projected Annuity Income | £20,500 per year (illustration only) |
Posted Jun 23, 2026, 10:32 AM UTC