# Transfer pension investment to cash?



## Beamie (4 Jul 2011)

Hi,

A work colleague has just passed on some advice he got from a financial advisor to move his pension fund from shares to cash.  Seems he was strongly advised to make this change.

I have my pension savings all in balanced fund.
Appreciate any input on this advice, whether I should move some/all of my pension savings to cash.

We are both in the same defined contribution pension scheme.  
Both have pension bonds purchased when the scheme in a previous company was wound up.

Sorry if this is a dumb question or already asked multiple times.

Thanks,


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## Sunny (5 Jul 2011)

It's not a dumb question. Did the financial advisor give a reason for the advice? It really depends on a number of factors including age and risk appetite. A friend of mine moved all his pension into cash back before the financial crisis struck. We all laughed at him at the time and he was told by his financial advisor that he was mad because he was in his mid 30's. None of us are laughing now! That's not advice by the way.


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## Complainer (6 Jul 2011)

It's not a dumb question, but be careful about taking advice that was meant for somebody else. It's a bit like taking the medicine that the doctor prescribed for your mate. It may or may not be good for you, depending on your own situation.

Do you want to give more details of your own financial situation, age, employment etc?


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## Beamie (7 Jul 2011)

*Thanks & more details*

Thanks for the replies.  I was a bit worried and now I am less so.

Good point about being cautious of advice given to / intended for someone else.

My colleague is a little older than I am.  He is mid-50's and I am 50, so maybe the advice is more suited to him, possibly related to reducing risk as he starts to approach retirement age.

I need to ask him what reason was given with the advice he got.

I was away for the past 3 days and I wanted to do a quick check whether it was generally advisable at the moment to move pension investment to cash.  I should give that more thought and research, but no immediate panic.

Thanks again.


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## Ravima (8 Jul 2011)

As you head closer to retirement, the general advice is to become more conservative so that by the time you do retire, you actually have a pot.


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## Greta (10 Jul 2011)

I'd move some of the pension pot into cash, but just how much - 5%, 50% or 100% (or anything in between) depends on your situation, attitude to risk and what you think is going to happen to the value of your pension funds in the short-term.

One of the important considerations is when you are actually planning to retire? If your colleague is planning to retire in 5 years, for example, while you are planning to work for the next 15 years, then his need for the security of cash is much stronger than yours.


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