Penfold Pension Review: A Guide

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In recent years, the pension landscape has undergone a significant transformation, with the rise of digital pension providers offering innovative and user-friendly solutions for individuals to plan for their retirement. 

Among these new players, Penfold Pension has emerged as a prominent name, catering specifically to the needs of the self-employed and those seeking a more flexible and straightforward approach to pension planning. 

Since its inception in 2019, Penfold has been committed to helping individuals take control of their retirement savings, providing a platform that is both accessible and easy to use. With its focus on managed funds, low minimum investment requirements, and competitive fees, Penfold Pension has made itself as a reliable and trustworthy option for those looking to secure their financial future. 

In this article, we will delve deeper into the world of Penfold Pension, exploring its features, benefits, and what sets it apart from traditional pension providers.

What is Penfold Pension?

Penfold is a digital pension provider that offers a range of pension solutions designed to help individuals take control of their financial future. The company provides a user-friendly platform that allows users to set up, consolidate, save, invest, gain tax relief, track, and top up their pensions all from one app.

Key Features:

  • User-Friendly Interface: Penfold’s platform is designed to be easy to use, making it accessible to individuals who may not have prior experience with pensions.
  • Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP): Penfold offers a SIPP, which allows for flexible investing and gives users control over their pension investments.
  • Consolidation: Penfold allows users to consolidate multiple pensions into one account, making it easier to manage their pension portfolio.
  • Tax Relief: Penfold’s pension plans offer tax relief, which can help individuals save more for their retirement.
  • Investment Options: Penfold offers a range of investment options, including a choice of four main plans, managed in collaboration with fund managers BlackRock and HSBC.
  • Flexibility: Users can pause or stop contributions at any time, make one-off top-ups, or set up regular payments.
  • Security: Penfold is a part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects the value of the pension up to £85,000 per individual.

Who is Penfold for?

Penfold is designed for individuals who are self-employed, freelancers, or small business owners who want to take control of their pension planning. The platform is also suitable for those who want to consolidate multiple pensions into one account or those who are looking for a user-friendly pension solution.

How does Penfold work?

Penfold is a modern, flexible, and faff-free pension setup that allows individuals to manage and track their pensions online or through a smartphone app. Here’s a detailed explanation of how it works:

Setting Up a Penfold Pension

To set up a Penfold pension, you’ll need to provide some basic information, including your national insurance number, UK bank account, and UK address. This process typically takes less than 10 minutes and can be completed on the Penfold website or app.

To set up a Penfold pension, users can follow these steps:

  1. Sign up for a free account online or through the app.
  2. Add legal information, including employment status, National Insurance number, title, and gender.
  3. Add an existing pension: transfer and combine old pensions from other providers to keep everything together in one, easy-to-manage fund.

Transferring an Old Pension

If you already have an existing pension, you can transfer it to Penfold. This process is straightforward and can be done online. Penfold will handle the transfer process, ensuring a smooth transition.

Contributing to Your Pension

Penfold allows you to top up, change, or pause your contributions at any time, instantly and online. You can choose from a range of payment methods and there are no restrictions on how much or how frequently you pay in.

Expert Support

Penfold’s friendly team of experts is available to answer any questions you may have about your pension. They promise to use plain language, avoiding jargon, and are available to assist you through various channels, including chat, email, or phone.

Is penfold pension safe

Penfold Pension is a digital-only pension provider that has received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in May 2019. This means that the company is subject to a wide range of controls and procedures approved by the UK’s financial regulator to keep your pension safe and secure.

Additionally, Penfold partners with Seccl Custody Limited as its custodians for managing payments and added security. This ensures that your money is kept secure.

Pros and Cons

Here are some pros and cons of Pension penfold:

Pros

  • Penfold offers a number of benefits, including improved organization, easy readability, and a clear structure for presenting information.
  • Bullet points can help to quickly convey key points or highlights, making it easier for readers to scan and understand the content.
  • Done well, bullet points can be an effective way to organize and present information, making it easier for readers to follow and understand the content.

Cons

  • Using too many bullet points can make the content look cluttered and overwhelming, making it difficult for readers to focus on the main points.
  • If bullet points are not used consistently or are not clearly labeled, they can be confusing and difficult to follow.
  • Bullet points can only provide a brief summary of information, and may not be suitable for presenting complex or detailed information.

What are penfold pension charges and fees

Penfold offers a transparent and straightforward fee structure, with a single, all-in fee that covers all costs and charges. Here’s a breakdown of the fees:

Annual Fee:

  • 0.75% to 0.88% per year, depending on the average value of your pension pot
  • This fee is calculated daily and deducted monthly
  • The fee includes the cost of administering your pension, as well as the fund management fee paid to BlackRock or HSBC

Administration Fee:

  • 0.58% (or 0.23% for pension pots over £100,000)
  • This fee is calculated daily and deducted monthly
  • The administration fee covers the cost of administering your pension, including setting up your pension, ongoing administration, regulatory reporting, and carrying out certain transactions

Fund Management Fee:

  • 0.17% to 0.30% per year, depending on the fund manager (BlackRock or HSBC)
  • This fee is deducted by the fund manager directly from your investments

Other Fees:

  • There are no charges for:Pausing, stopping, increasing, decreasing, or consolidating pension pots
  • Transferring pensions (although your old provider may charge an exit fee)
  • Salary sacrifice consultation and implementation
  • Combining pensions into one account
  • However, there may be rare circumstances where additional fees apply, such as:Postal and administrative fees for paper documentation
  • Exit fees from your old provider

Penfold customer reviews

Overall Rating: 4.3/5 (based on 1051 reviews)

Positive Reviews:

  • Many customers have praised Penfold’s customer service, citing helpful and knowledgeable staff, quick responses, and easy communication.
  • The app has been praised for its user-friendly interface, making it easy to set up and manage pensions.
  • Customers have also appreciated the flexibility and transparency of Penfold’s pension plans, allowing them to easily change or stop contributions and move fund choices.
  • Some customers have mentioned the excellent customer support team, who have gone above and beyond to help with issues and provide personalized assistance.

Negative Reviews:

  • A few customers have reported issues with transferring pensions away from Penfold, citing long wait times and poor communication.
  • Some customers have mentioned that the customer service can be slow to respond to emails and phone calls.
  • A few customers have reported issues with the app, such as broken links and difficulty navigating the website.

Conclusion

In summary, Penfold Pension is a digital pension provider that offers a range of features designed to help individuals take control of their financial future. With its user-friendly interface, flexible investment options, and tax relief, Penfold is an attractive option for self-employed individuals and small business owners looking to plan for their retirement.

Some Questions

How can I pay into my Penfold pension?

It’s easy to pay into your Penfold pension. Simply log in to your account, by clicking on “Add Money” and select the option to “Pay in some cash” either as a one-off or recurring monthly payment. Decide if you want to make a personal or business contribution, and then follow the steps on screen.

How is my pension kept safe?

Your pension is kept safe by being held in a secure account with a highly regulated custodian bank for a short period before being used to buy into your investment plan, managed by some of the world’s largest money managers. 

Your savings are separate from Penfold and belong entirely to you, protected up to a maximum of £85,000 per individual.

How does Penfold Pension compare to traditional pension providers?

Penfold is an online provider of pensions that enables users to quickly set up a pension and manage it online or with its app. 

With Penfold, you can start a pension in under 10 minutes and talk to an expert advisor on the phone if needed. Penfold charges 0.75% for a pension, and its investments are managed funds.

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