• Can I open a Ready-made pension if I already have another type of pension?

  If you’ve got another type of pension with another provider, for example a personal pension, a stakeholder pension or a SIPP (a self-invested personal pension), you can still open a Ready-made pension.

  The AJ Bell Ready-made pension is currently only available to new AJ Bell customers. We're working on making this available to existing customers as soon as we can. But do keep in mind that you will only be able to hold one of our personal pension accounts. So if you already have an AJ Bell SIPP, you will not be able to open a Ready-made pension and vice versa.

• Are you able to help me choose the AJ Bell fund for my Ready-made pension?

  When you open a Ready-made pension, you’ll choose to invest your pension in one of four AJ Bell funds.

  We can’t give you any advice on which fund to choose for your Ready-made pension. If you need advice, please consult a suitably qualified financial adviser.

  One of the AJ Bell funds you could choose is our standard, low-cost AJ Bell Balanced Fund, also known as our Pension Builder fund, which is designed to help you save for retirement.

  Managed by our in-house experts at AJ Bell, this low-cost fund aims to achieve consistent growth over the long term by mixing more defensive assets such as bonds with more aggressive assets such as company shares.

  It could be right for you if:

  • You’re aiming for steady investment growth, without taking on higher risk
  • You want to invest your pension cash but aren’t sure where
  • You’re after a ‘hands-off’ pension investment managed by us, for you
  • You’re prepared to invest for the long term
    

  You can read more about the fund here. By providing you with the Pension builder fund, we aren’t giving you personal advice. Keep in mind that with all investments, performance isn’t guaranteed and there’s a chance you could lose money as well as make it.

• How do I pay into my Ready-made pension?

  You can easily pay into your Ready-made pension by:

  • Debit card – just remember that your card must be registered in your own name and to your home address.
  • Direct Debit – set up monthly payments into your account from your nominated bank account. Payments will be debited from your bank account on the first working day of the month, and take between 3–5 working days to show in your Ready-made pension.

  To make a debit card payment, log in and select ‘Single payment’. To set up a regular Direct Debit, select ‘Regular payments’.

  Once we’ve received your payment, it will automatically be invested in your chosen AJ Bell fund. This deal will usually go through within one working day of when the cash is added to your Ready-made pension.

  Only you can pay into your Ready-made pension. We can’t currently accept payments from your employer or another family member on your behalf.

• Can I switch my investment to a different AJ Bell fund?

  You can change your AJ Bell fund at any time. Just keep in mind that we'll need to sell the fund you currently hold first.

  That’s because you can only hold one AJ Bell fund in your Ready-made pension at one time. Then, when you add new cash add to your Ready-made pension, it’ll automatically be invested in your new fund.

  If you want to change your AJ Bell fund, please get in touch with our Dealing services team on 0345 54 32 600. They’ll take care of the switch for you.

• How do I track the progress of my pension searches?

  Just log in and go straight to your Pension finder dashboard to check in on how your searches are going. We’ll also keep you up to date with regular emails letting you know how dedicated pension assistant is getting on.

• How long does it take to find a pension?

  Once you’ve submitted your pension search, we will start looking for them. It usually takes 6–8 weeks, though response times can vary depending on the pension provider. You can keep tabs on our progress by visiting your dashboard.

  We’ve partnered with pension specialist Raindrop to help with your search. We’ll keep you up to date throughout the process and let you know once we’ve finished the search by sending an email from the address: ajbell@myraindrop.co.uk.

• What pensions can’t you help me find?

  We can look for a wide range of pensions for you. But there are a couple of pension types we can't help you find.

  First, we can’t look for public sector pensions, such as the NHS, councils and so on. That’s because these pensions usually only deal with you, the pension-holder, directly – and not with third parties.

  We also won’t be able to help you find any pensions for jobs you left before 1990. Pensions from this long ago are unlikely to exist – for example, because auto-enrolment was only introduced in 2012.

  Keep in mind that if you’re currently paying into a pension, you won’t be able to transfer it to AJ Bell.

• Who is Raindrop?

  Raindrop is a UK pension-finding specialist. We have partnered with Raindrop to power our pension-finding service. All activity relating to the transfer and automatic investment of the pensions found by Raindrop will be handled by AJ Bell.

  After you submit a pension finding request, you’ll receive emails from both AJ Bell and Raindrop – the latter will come from the address: ajbell@myraindrop.co.uk. Raindrop will also get in touch with your pension providers and previous employers for letters of authority during your pension search.

  Raindrop is a trading name of Raindrop Technologies Holdings Ltd (FRN: 931052) an Appointed Representative of Resolution Compliance Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 574048).

More FAQs