Whereas SIPPs offer a transparent and low rate of account administration charges the same cannot be said for traditional pension schemes.

A small sounding 3% annual management charge can erode the value of your final pension pot, for example, from £300,000 to just £150,000. Shocking isn’t it? Hidden charges and incentives for pension management teams to switch your pension monies in and out of various funds will allow them to earn money whilst you do not.

The cumulative effect of ‘trail commission fees’ payable to the advisor who sold you the scheme over many, many years will also impact the amount of your money that is invested to earn you money. The purpose of trail fees being to compensate your advisor for future advise and pension reviews given to you – if you feel this is good value then great, but many people don’t – not seeing their ‘advisor’ from one year to the next.  Such is the impact that trail commission fees make upon the final size of your pension that a (traditional pension ‘insider’) company has just broken ranks promising to find and rebate 80% of trail fees deducted from your pension. To say he is not popular with the traditional pension industry for doing so is an understatement.

The SIPP Zone brings together a unique gathering of pension ‘whistleblowers’ with free seminars and 1-2-1 advice at Excel London13th- 15th October.