We recently looked at the advice some firms have given consumers to transfer money from their pensions to a new personal pension or self-invested personal pension (SIPP). We found that in most cases people were given suitable advice, but in a small number of cases people were wrongly advised to transfer their pension.

If you have been advised to transfer to a personal pension or SIPP, and are concerned that it may not have been a suitable recommendation, here are some questions to help you decide whether the advice you received was right for you.

If you're not happy with the answers to any of the questions, or you don't feel your adviser explained these issues properly, you may be affected.

Is my new pension more expensive than my old one?

If your new pension costs more, check that you are content that you are paying more for good reason. For example, if your adviser recommended the new pension because it would give you access to more funds than your old pension, was this something you needed?

The cost of the new pension will be in the Key Features Illustration (KFI) that your adviser should have given you. Make sure that this refers to the actual funds and investments that you are using in your new pension.

Should my adviser have recommended a stakeholder pension?

The cheapest pensions available are often stakeholder pensions. If your adviser did not recommend this option to you, find out why not. If it was because you or your adviser thought a pension with more features (for example, more funds) than a stakeholder pension would be better for your particular circumstances, make sure that you need the extras and that you are using them or planning to use them soon.

Some stakeholder pensions now provide access to quite a wide range of funds. So, even if you were looking for some flexibility in your investment choices, there may well have been a stakeholder pension to suit you.

Should I have put all my pensions together?

If you put several existing pensions that you had into one new pension, check that you were aware of any additional costs to do this.

Your adviser should have informed you of any additional costs, and you should have confirmed that these were acceptable to you.

You may not have needed a new pension to do this; if one of your pensions already met your needs and objectives, it might have been possible to transfer your other existing pensions into that.

Might I have lost any benefits?

Your old pension might have had valuable benefits that you lost when you transferred out, such as death benefits or a Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR) option. A GAR is where the insurance company guarantees to pay your pension at a particular rate, which may be much higher than the rates available in the market when you retire.

Check whether you lost any benefits when you transferred out of your old pension and make sure that you are happy that any loss was justified.

Might I have paid a penalty when I transferred out?

Some pensions may apply a penalty on transferring out. These can be significant – sometimes several thousand pounds (depending on the size of your fund) – so it is important to have checked if one applied in your case.

Your adviser should have told you about any penalties on transfer. If you incurred any penalties, are you happy that your new pension justifies these charges?

Are the investments in my new pension right for me?

It is important that the investments chosen were appropriate for the level of risk you were prepared to take.

If your adviser recommended how to invest your money in your pension, they should have explained the risks and potential benefits of different funds and investments and helped you decide the level of risk you were prepared to take.

You need to be sure that your adviser explained why the investments recommended were suitable for you.

Do I need ongoing advice?

If you took advice about your pension investments, it may be important for you to have ongoing reviews. Some selections of funds may need to be reviewed from time to time.

It is also possible that the amount of risk you are prepared to take could change over time too – for example, if your financial situation changes, or as you get nearer to retirement.

If you need ongoing advice, your adviser should have explained this to you and may have offered an ongoing service. If you're not sure if you need it or if you are able to get ongoing advice, contact your adviser to find out.

Remember that you may have to pay additional charges to your adviser for ongoing advice. And if this is paid for through the pension, it will increase the cost of your pension. You may however be paying for this service already through the charges on the new pension.

If you aren’t satisfied or are unsure of the answers to any of these questions, it does not mean that the advice you were given was definitely wrong. But it may be wise to follow-up on your concerns.

Check the information the adviser gave you at the time or contact the adviser or firm that gave you the advice. Ask for an explanation of the advice. Make sure that you understand why you were advised to transfer your pension and you were told what this would involve.

It may be helpful to take this information with you if you meet the adviser, or use it as a checklist when reading any of their written recommendations.

Make sure you understand the answers and are content with them. (Note that unless you have already agreed to pay for ongoing advice from the adviser, you may be charged more money to discuss your pension now.)

If, after discussing your concerns with your adviser, you are still worried, or you think that the recommended pension may not meet your needs, this may mean you have been given the wrong advice and you should think about making a complaint – see Making a complaint.