VANGUARD PENSION SIPP UK REVIEW (2020 UK) - Is it a Game Changer? Should we be excited?

[@HowardWimshurst]

Every financial question I have, you have an answer for. Your channel is so helpful! Thank you!

[@sme8499]

I'm a huge fan of Vanguard and their Life Strategy funds. I prefer the flexibility of having money in a Stocks & Shares ISA vs a SIPP as it gives me 100% control of what I do with the money, as opposed to not being able to access it until a specific date in the future.

[@christopherflynn843]

Also worth noting that you are only covered for £85,000 in a SIPP. Also, this covers your ISA too. If anything happened to Vanguard (not likely but fraud has brung down more than one big company), then you would only get £85,000 back from all your investements with that company. To my knowldege, someone correct me if Im wrong.

[@slayerrocks2]

@@100mountaingoat don't forget, if it is salary sacrifice, it can reduce your NI costs by hundreds of pounds as well.

[@FreeyourFinance]

I was so excited when Vanguard introduced their SIPP's! They are such a great company, and definitely the one I choose to keep my money with!

[@BillY-tw8xc]

Wow u didnt know that the tiniest of fees make a massive difference like that. Nice video!

[@stuartsumner6945]

Another brilliant video Jennifer. I was watching your pension bee video yesterday. What is your preferred platform between pension bee and Vanguard.

[@frederickwoof5785]

I had an email from vanguard today, announcing their drawdown is active. Looks promising.

[@iansimmonds9076]

Brilliant - thank you so much. You make it so much easier to understand.

[@JenniferAMThomson]

You are so welcome!

[@aniahampton824]

Drawdown is the best. Been using the Hargreaves Lansdown drawdown SIPP for several years.

[@Sabhail_ar_Alba]

I have pension investments with Vanguard and the diversity of the funds is the key for me. UK workplace pensions that invest in the London Stock exchange (most of them) will never provide good returns (based on investments over the last two decades).Almost 1 in 3 UK based pension funds invest in BP but where's the growth in oil companies.

[@michaelbartlett4961]

I set up Vanguard SIPP about 8 weeks ago. Really easy to used and so far so good.

[@JenniferAMThomson]

Great to hear!

[@tokyodoru]

@@JenniferAMThomson im in my 20s self employed so im setting this up thanks for the video

[@chrisgoudge2262]

what fund did you go for?

[@gileschalk212]

Nice vid. I have opened one for myself and my wife.

[@EuanCopeland]

100% the state pension probably won’t even exist in 30/40 odd years! I haven’t opened a vanguard pension yet... but I’ve opened a private pension using Moneybox alongside my work place pension! Definitely think it’s worth taking control and not risking that the government will be able to support you down the line! 🙂

[@conorm2524]

Even if it's still going it'll not be enough to live on. More people need to take responsibility. I wish I did it sooner.

[@nataliecat98nc]

What are the interest rates for the moneybox pension? I have a LISA with them. I don't think I'd recommend it for saving a pension though - I figured out that if I save up to pension age and max it out it'll be around £130,000.

[@jackpilkington6770]

Money box fees are really high. Would recommend transferring

[@conorm2524]

The lack of A Vanguard LISA is disappointing. I have one with AJ Bell then a SIPP and ISA with Vanguard. It would be nice to have it all under one roof.

[@Themystergamerr]

I know I wish the had a LISA too - I have mine with nutmeg but the fees come to 0.98% so I’m thinking of switching to Hargreaves lansdowne. What do aj bell charge you? I find it too confusing to pick an index fund with them. Any advice?

[@fredblair8230]

I know it's easier to have 1 company but there can be some advantages to having accounts with different companies, helps to protect you against any unforeseen events with any one company, and also can be used to separate different types of investment more easily so you can see how your portfolio is balanced. From using different company and having different accounts within each company(ISA etc.), I am able to separate bond funds, property funds, stocks, and international funds into their own accounts so making it a bit easier to know exactly what Ive got.

[@lithuanianabroad]

I think you need to have quite a large sum of investment to benefit from it. We have nearly £3000 in 80/20 Vanguard blended funds. It is really up and down - one week we lost £60 and other week we made it back. I think once you have above 20k, that's where you can see a bit more profit.

[@DSRM01]

It’s nothing to do with the amount you have as you would always be up and down that amount of percent regardless it’s about how long your money is in the market to compound. Your £3000 on average would be worth £6000 in 10 years if you invested in the S&P 500 ETF.

[@P9o1]

Just riding the rollercoaster, hows it doing now?

[@darrunn]

I've only just started using vanguard recently and I'm already a huge fan. I really hope they do start a lifetime ISA soon as I have one and I agree that's the only thing they're missing.

[@Themystergamerr]

Same here- I want all my ISAs with them

[@mrjones29]

I'm already paying a AFC 1% charge of almost £400 with Aviva Pension and I've got nowhere near £250,000 in my pension pot. I'll transfer out but will take IFA first.

[@durhamsteven6930]

Great video. Thank you.

[@56510]

Hi Jennifer, would you recommend vanguard for someone starting out with investing? What are your favourite vanguard products? Thank you in advance. X

[@Themystergamerr]

She likes their life strategy funds. I copied her and I love them too 🙂

[@mmaqboolfarooq]

@@Themystergamerr how did you copy her in vanguard account ?

[@tejimogu]

Another great video. Thanks a lot .

[@JenniferAMThomson]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@MatthewEng2593]

Contractors tend to opt out of the nest pension because they have to pay both the employers and employees contributions from their pay.

[@sg123iscool]

Gonna put my entire pension in Tesla and bitcoin. We will see how it goes

[@JenniferAMThomson]

It is a risky solution for sure, but everyone has to make the best decisions they can with their money.

[@zzhughesd]

Interactive Investor SIPP Shares is £9.99 per month and no percentage. I'm very new to this

[@nataliam9764]

My workplace chose Scottish Widows as the provider. I’d rather burn my money than giving it to them. I’ll contribute to my SIPP instead.

[@cryptobatman1050]

Active funds are doing better than the Life strategy funds.

[@conorm2524]

But at what cost to the investor?

[@ADHDNurse79]

Am i better off maxing out the S&S isa with vanguard before i add to Vanguard SIPP? Or have both running alongside each other? I also invest in Target retirement fund in ISA-how does this differ in this or the SIPP?

[@prash0000000000000]

I am thinking of opening the Sipp with vanguard Life Strategy 60% just because on the way the market is behaving due to covid. If normal trade I would have gone to 100%. What will be your view?

[@bhagawathcumararumugham7863]

Well explained and very clear, what will happen if I start private pension with vanguard and die before my retirement age???

[@zzhughesd]

HoneyBee penfold vanguard / any other - How to choose where to start? Thanks

[@eezy251able]

I worked out it was better for me to invest in an ISA than to match my employees contribution towards my SIPP, mainly because of how much I would of got taxed and the access to the money.

[@madysarr8845]

You get higher return on SIPP because the government tops up 25%.

[@capocuocovitafinance8187]

But are you allowing for growth? You say original investment, but with growth on basic index funds of around 7.7% yearly and dividend accumulation, the dividends alone cover the costs up, but nobody should be paying over 0.7% especially on passive index funds. Anyone paying 2.5% needs to stop. Lovely video.

[@petert3343]

Target retirement 2020 fund still has 49% equity which means you are still at risk of stock market falls.

[@thephantom9136]

Can you buy shares in the vanguard sipp as in could I buy apple shares?

[@jamesolojo787]

Thank you for your very informative video. Vanguard will never be my choice, l need complete independence in my choices .For example, complete freedom of the stock market. The whole ldea of a SIPP in my opinion. Is to remove the control of these middle aged fund managers in suits controlling your pension choices. To be restricted to vanguard funds l might as well remain in my work pension. Or look at Freetrade which gives you complete and total freedom. Also the idea of having your ISA , general account and Sipp under one umbrella ☔ is that wise. Just curious , because l realise you are smart and very knowledgeable. I do get the convenience factors but is it worth the risk.

[@selwynsivagumar]

Why not just do both? Invest as well as having a SIPP? Don't think there's a rule....? Main benefit is that £375 limit/year, but if you're a bit more of an esoteric investor, then this isn't for you.

[@Oggiesilverfitness]

I have laid off transferring to a SIPP as my private pension with Aegon is doing very nicely. I really don't know what the difference is between the two to be honest.

[@EddiesSoulSounds]

The amount of fees you pay = The amount of money you lose over the lifetime of the investment. Thousands of your £'s!

[@klang180]

Not sure why you would pick life strategy 100% over the global all cap? Both would be 100% stocks but the LS portfolio is less well diversified than the global all cap.

[@JenniferAMThomson]

I like the US/UK biased on the LS100 personally but I also have some global trackers separate too.

[@XweirdozXroxX]

Does anyone know whether you are charged a penalty fee if you don't make the minimum £100 monthly deposit for a Vanguard Pension?

[@CMAV8202]

Great video! I'm thinking of setting up a Vanguard SIPP but not sure on whether I should diversify. What I mean is, my S&S isa is in Life strategy 100, I thought about opening a SIPP with this too but would it be too risky as I'm putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak? Also thought about using their Global all cap index fund but not sure whether I would need to worry about using a different fund as the lifestrategy is so diversified in the first place

[@jackpilkington6770]

S&P 500 tracker fund for your SIPP. This is Warren Buffets advice to all and what he's doing with his wealth when he dies.

[@samr8603]

The problem with ISA's and Pensions is alot of them are buying shares in the same company (especially US shares). This is in my opinion not ideal but a lot of workplace pension funds do not indicate what the shares are invested in.

[@samr8603]

I mean with Index and mutual funds not buying individual shares. :-)

[@nataliecat98nc]

I find so many companies to be vague and mention the percentages that go to different areas like real estate etc but I wish they were more transparent about which companies they get stocks Anne shares from. This would help if people want to make more ethical investments as well.

[@klang180]

Never ever choose a managed fund or think you can beat the market. Only ever invest in index funds.

[@jamesolojo787]

What a poor attitude. I will also back myself to beat index funds. Where the heck is the contest and challenge?

[@IrishRanger2452]

I understand you cannot give financial advice so just asking if this is a good idea and is this the way you would consider saving for retirement. My son who is 32 y/o is in a well paid manual job and is able to save approx £800 per month. He is self employed so no workplace pension. Would I be correct in advising him to open a Vanguard SIPP @ £600 p/m and a Stocks and Shares ISA @£200 p/m? He is planning to retire in his early £50s and will not have a mortgage or any other debt. Thank you in advance.

[@marurik6956]

i just opened vanguard UK account today and im getting confused how to buy and sell on stock market i cant get through can you help me

[@Themystergamerr]

Could you elaborate on your question? I’ve opened an account with them and might be able to help

[@calebkjohnston]

She mentioned being okay with the risks....I seem to have missed what risks she mentioned? What risk would there be with setting up a Vangaurd SIPP?

[@JenniferAMThomson]

The risks are the same with any time we invest - your capital is at risk as you could make profit or loss based on what you choose to invest in, time you invest, the stock market performance etc.

[@calebkjohnston]

@@JenniferAMThomson Ahh I see. Thanks for the response!

[@abc908]

I've just decided to transfer both my wife's and my pension out of final salary schemes due to my wife having cancer. Between us we have a large amount yo invest. We are considering a pru fund, I know the charges are high but wanted something safe as I anticipate drawdown in less than 2 years. Any thoughts. Thsnks

[@Oggiesilverfitness]

Good luck to you both.

[@tamsinwood2]

Just read your comments. Hope your wife gets better. Cancer has touched my life too. All the best.

[@ianstobie]

You may have already done this, but read the rules on your final salary schemes first. You may well be able to take 25 per cent tax free lump sum from them immediately at age 55, and possibly earlier in case of ill health. There may be other useful stuff in the small print, as final salary scheme may be run by a committee that has a lot of discretion. Often the rules have been negotiated between employer and workers over the years, and can be much more favourable to pensioners than standard commercial schemes. Re charges if you transfer, zero drawdown fees and maximum flexibility likely to be helpful to you, while high fund fees and annual platform charge much less of a concern than usual. As you're doing, look for a provider you can trust. Difficult of course in this industry 😾 😡 😾

[@TM-vg4mx]

so this will be in addition to our work pension not to replace it, right? thanks for the great video

[@slayerrocks2]

See my reply to Lydia. Partial transfer can allow you to have both.

[@jaypo7]

Hi Jen, great video. At present I have a nest work pension (free money :) ) and going to start a SIP as a support fund. I have already started a new cash ISA this tax year. Is it still possible to open the VG sip as well? The plan is to move 100% of the cash isa over to VG too, just waiting for the cashback sign up bonus to arrive. You have a sub! J

[@jackpilkington6770]

Yep, you can have a SIPP and an ISA

[@geordiegirlltd9282]

If youre self employed, would you say it makes more sense to pay into something like a Vanguard Life Strategy Fund, or a SIPPS? X

[@Themystergamerr]

I know you’re asking Jen but I should think a SIPP

[@lildoc]

When you open a SIPP with Vanguard, they give you the option to choose how you want to invest your funds. You can then invest in one of their Life Strategy funds if you wanted.

[@lydiagandaa1771]

Would it be good then to withdraw a company pension and transfer to somewhere like Vanguard if the fees are high? Thanks

[@slayerrocks2]

Ask you workplace pension provider if they allow partial transfers. I've just started moving mine (Scottish Widows). The Vanguard "open account, transfer" function, asks if you want a full or partial transfer. If I was to start the process now, I would make sure all my investments in my SW pension were in the same thing, then it wouldn't have been delayed while they asked which investments I wished to sell. Really useful, if you wish to keep getting employer-matched contributions.

[@birdsaloud7590]

What’s better, a SIPP or a General Account?

[@JenniferAMThomson]

Both for different access to your money - Gen account you can access now, SIPP is for retirement age only.

[@clair233]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but is paying into your private pension included in your £20k max allowance for investing before being taxed?

[@rockhunter123]

No. That 20k is for across your ISAs. You can invest 100% of your salary or 40k per year into your pension regardless of how much of the 20k you've put in your ISAs

[@TM-vg4mx]

for whatever reason if I need to withdraw or close this pension account, can I do that? thank you

[@samandchar2004]

You’d only be able to transfer to another pension, until the retirement age (currently 55 but its going up, as it’s state pension age - 10 years).

[@trevorgosling]

Loved the video. I’ve already got a Vanguard ISA and so far very happy with it. One question - I’m already in receipt of a work and state pension and am 69. Is it worth me investing in a SIPP and if so how much can I put in as I’m retired already? Any advice would be great. Many thanks

[@gordont9042]

Hi. I’m not a qualified advisor so this is your decision but my understanding is you can put in up to £2880 and HMRC will gross it up for you automatically, ie you get the tax back that you would’ve paid and it goes into your SIPP. By the way, I believe you can put in more than that but the extra does not get grossed up. A big benefit of a SIPP is that it is outside your estate and can be passed on tax free to your spouse and/or children when you die. Again - please check carefully before you invest!

[@AshleighMiddlemass]

Can they loose your money?

[@fha7232]

Having a SIPP does that effect my work pension? do i need to transfer all my work pension over to Vanguard pension account? or can i just start over with my SIPP vanguard pension ISA without nothing being effected from work pension?

[@JenniferAMThomson]

A SIPP and Work pension can be two very different things, you don't need to merge them and probably best you don't move over any work pensions unless you leave that company (need to be aware of moving fees etc). A SIPP you can just start the same way you do with an ISA from scratch.

[@fha7232]

@@JenniferAMThomson thank you, love your channel , you are one of the best and you interact ... god bless you :)))))

[@yaz4011]

Our works pension has gone with legal and general. Im 36 and worry to sick what i might get when that time comes in. So , is it best for me to switch now to Vanguard or stay with legal. Its a tuff one

[@JenniferAMThomson]

Don't make any decisions in a panic! Look to see what you are invested in with L&G and work out if that matches your goals and how much money you would like when you retire. If you feel you wish to switch to invest in other platforms or funds - only do it once you have looked at the numbers and also what you feel is right.

[@slayerrocks2]

Ask if L&G allow partial transfers, that allows you to keep your subsidised, workplace pension open. If they do, you can tell Vanguard to request partial transfer, to the amount you stipulate.

[@professionalgambler74]

I have always opted out of a work pension. Would you still get a pension if your work company went bankrupt?

[@colonelvector]

How come? Most work pensions force your employer to add contributions on top of yours. For example mine adds about 50% on top of what I contribute, plus it's pre-tax. Better than any rate of return you'd get on investing that same amount of money elsewhere.

[@conorm2524]

Yes. The money will go to a pension investment company. Not connected with your work company. Normally.

[@rockhunter123]

I'd opt in again asap as they have to match a % of what you contribute so it's free money even if their choice of provider is rubbish. Even if you just do the minimum it'll add up to a nice amount! As the guys above say, the money is with the investment company not the company you work for so if your employer goes bust, your money saved is still safe. There were a lot of scandals in the past with the issues you mention but thankfully we've moved (slowly) away from this.

[@tamsinwood2]

Opt back in. Your employer will partly your pension. It's free money. You can always start a SIPP on your own.

[@VoiceOfThe]

@@rockhunter123 Yes. When this auto-enrolment came in several years ago, I didn’t have a clue how it all worked, even after they explained it to me. All I heard was they were reducing my weekly pay! I’d heard so much negative stuff about pensions in the 90’s growing up I didn’t trust who was going to ‘manage’ my money and thought I might not see it again etc, so I opted out. Then 18 months or so later I opted back in.

[@markfilby9]

Great video and helped alot, just wondered can you add randomly to a sipp or does it have to be either £100 a month or £500 lump sum? Could I add £100 one month and £200 month after? Thanks for any help

[@robbiegreen]

After the initial £500 you can add any amount any time. Or just leave the £500 only and never pay more into it.

[@beautifuldreamer8803]

I find that Vanguard has no UK contact details, that worries me. Is that a red flag or not? I wanted to call and speak to them before joining, not only read the website.

[@caroltan8718]

Beautiful Dreamer There’s a number on their website, 08005870460. I phoned them recently, very friendly staff 👍🏻

[@beautifuldreamer8803]

@@caroltan8718 Thank you very much.

[@tamsinwood2]

Yes, theres a number and the staff are helpful. They wont give you financial advice but will help with the products.

[@cincolobitostiene]

Can you please explain about the tax benefit? Will vanguard top up the fund with the tax savings of 20 per cent (basic tax rate payer) or is it something you have to do through the income tax returns? What about self employed? Do the same benefits apply?

[@jdnetwork-reselling]

they claim the 20% for self employed people on your behalf and add it to your account once a month usually

[@tomreviews9668]

I have a employer pension (ex-employer) with Scottish Widows. My then employer appointed a third-party management firm to monitor all staff pensions. My last statement shows they're charging around 2%. I'm horrified by the video's projection figures after 30 years (I have 32 to go). Does anyone here think I should sack this management firm and ride the wave alone?

[@ianstobie]

I wish I'd ditched Scottish Widows (and Phoenix Life - even worse!) years ago. But too lazy to read up on all this stuff. By making it boring the pension industry has been able to get away with pocketing high fees and doing very little for their customers in return. If you are paying two per cent they are taking half the gain in your pot if the market goes up four per cent. Which of course it may struggle to do in turbulent times. You are also losing out on the compounding effect that will build up over the next 32 years. Low charges, low fees can make a huge difference over time to what you'll end up getting.

[@neil1408]

2% is horrendous !! Get rid of them and move your pot of cash over to someone like Vanguard, easy to use and exceptionally low charges.

[@VoiceOfThe]

@@neil1408 Low fees aren’t the be all and end all though. I’d rather pay a little more in fees if the returns from a particular platform continually outperform others.

[@JManners10]

Is anybody self employed on here that has signed up to it?

[@JenniferAMThomson]

🙋Me!

[@JManners10]

@@JenniferAMThomson Ah great! I noticed at the end of your video you said you have a company pension so I didn't know if you were Self employed or not. Fantastic video by the way, very informative and has definitely helped persuade me to use vanguard over other options. I was just going to ask a few questions though and feel free to tell me where to go if it's too personal :) As a self employed person would you be using vanguard to take advantage of the extra benefits that a company owner/employer would take as well as the employee, such as paying straight from the business account into the vanguard account, and then also putting some in from your own wages? I'm not really sure how it would work as I'm not sure if you are a limited company or a sole trader. In the situation of a limited company owner I was hoping to put money straight from the business account into a private pension account and save tax on it which would also in turn help the "employee" (still yourself) by paying a high percentage from the business account and a low percentage from the wages. I was hoping this would save the business tax on profits, and also the employee money every month by not having to pay in as much? You could also save tax as "the employee" by not paying as much into wages and having the company pay into the pension pot... I'm just trying to get my head around it and see the best way to save a load of money and try to stay between the lines legally but at the same time make the most of the guidelines, any info would be great! Thank you!

[@stEVEN_SMARTER]

Hope they're giving you a good kickback for this review 😉

[@JenniferAMThomson]

Nothing in it for me, just an honest review.

[@sarahhicks3971]

Thanks Jen! Another great video and now I need a SIPP too :)

[@baijuthomas3716]

Can you have 2 SIPP accounts with different brokers ? , i have a SIPP with HL but want to open one with VG and transfer my old work pension into this, separate from my HL SIPP

[@hattiebrazeley3351]

Paying attention! My pension has just lost 25% value and I don’t have much faith in the co managing it

[@conorm2524]

Do not crystallize that loss. Warren Buffet's two rules!

[@christopherflynn843]

Hi Hattie, investements go and and they go down. The worst thing you can do is panic, if you sell or chage your stratergy you lock in the losses. Stick with it, over the years it will increase. Its completely normal to have peaks and troughs. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment which affects the stock market and in turn you pension and ISA's. If you look back at historic prices you will see markets continually increase in price but its a rocky road. Close to 50% was wiped off the value of the markets after the 2007 crash but it recovered and in 2016/17 markets rocketed. Stick with it. Over the years/ decades, you will be glad you did.

[@websurfer1585]

I want to transfer my private pension pot to a sipp that enables me to pick my own individual stocks and investments, rather than funds, is that possible with any of the well known platforms?

[@JK-qi5dm]

Thats what I was looking for. AJ bell does if im not mistaken and Freetrade will be launching soon but am not sure about leaving big lump sum of money on Freetrade for 10 or 20 years

[@gordont9042]

Most of the major investors allow this - Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, AL Bell. Watch the fees - there’s plenty on KZbin about fees. You an hold Vanguard AND direct equities AND many different funds, investment trusts etc etc on most of the big platforms, if that’s what you want to do. Good luck!