How often does your financial advisor contact you?

[Fortune]

couldn't even speak to an advisor about my pension fund with Zurich

Did you try to contact your advisor?

Maybe because it was a change request

They need it in writing to prove it was requested.

What if I was an idiot or ill informed , I got no advice or discussion

They're not your advisor

I would have "appreciated" some discussion around it incase there was information unknown to me.

That's what your advisor is for

 

[Marsupial]

You must be joking

My sense of humour may be somewhat quirky, but it's not that weird!

 

[Steven Barrett]

Just a " we are happy to change it , just send an email"


but I would have "appreciated" some discussion around it incase there was information unknown to me.

A 5 minute chat wouldn't go astray is all

The request for an email was so they have an audit trail in case there is a mistake. They should have discussed it with you further though.

 

[ClubMan]

The request for an email was so they have an audit trail in case there is a mistake.

With my broker and underwriters (PRSA, PPP and BOB) many instructions need to be made in writing - e.g. form printed off by me, signed with a pen, scanned and emailed back (or posted). I suspect that fund switches may not require this paperwork but I haven't done any in a long time.

 

[Evie1962]

I’ve found Irish Life better than Zurich. I’m about two years out from retirement and have a preserved pension with Irish Life from a former employer. They’ve contacted me on an annual basis over the past few years to advise on switching funds to a lower risk. They’ve also sent some helpful advice on retirement and fund switching. If you were a bit in the dark with how pensions work it wouid be helpful.
I’ve had to chase Zurich to organise an AVC - they just didn’t seem to be interested in my relatively small contribution. I’m on a low enough salary so pushing as much as I can into the pension based on my age- 63.
I wish I had maximised my pension contributions years ago but for the first eight years of my employment with Bank of Ireland women didn’t pay into the pension fund. It was catch up after that with four kids and college etc.
I don’t think I’m alone

 

[ClubMan]

They’ve contacted me on an annual basis over the past few years to advise on switching funds to a lower risk. They’ve also sent some helpful advice on retirement and fund switching. If you were a bit in the dark with how pensions work it wouid be helpful.

Depending on one's wider circumstances, advice to switch to less risky/volatile funds in the run up to retirement age might actually be inappropriate or unwanted.

I wish I had maximised my pension contributions years ago but for the first eight years of my employment with Bank of Ireland women didn’t pay into the pension fund. It was catch up after that with four kids and college etc.
I don’t think I’m alone

I presume that you're aware of what you might need to do to secure a state old age contributory pension - e.g. 2,080 PRSI contributions/credits reckonable for pension purposes?

 

[Evie1962]

I’ll be fine for the contributory pension - I got my statement from Socisl Protection.

 

[Steven Barrett]

With my broker and underwriters (PRSA, PPP and BOB) many instructions need to be made in writing - e.g. form printed off by me, signed with a pen, scanned and emailed back (or posted). I suspect that fund switches may not require this paperwork but I haven't done any in a long time.

Some companies will accept fund switches on a broker's instruction. A broker will only do a fund switch on a client's instruction, so we need a copy of their instruction on file. I have had a few instances over my career where the wrong fund has been selected (one life company, instead of seeking clarification, went ahead and switched to a completely different fund) and given the amount of money that can be involved, it doesn't take long for there to be cost of thousands to fix it, something the broker will pay for if we make the mistake.