Should I switch pension?

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

I WILL be 60 next May, and wish to retire in 2004 when I will be 63. I have various personal pension totalling £180,000, most of which are in managed funds. Bearing in mind that my total funds lost a lot in value in the last year, and I don't have sufficient time to make up the loss, would now be a good time to switch my money from managed into cash funds? PA, Oxford.

Nikki Foster, independent financial adviser at Chase de Vere says: This is hard to answer because we do not know what will happen to financial markets over the next three years, but we feel you should leave your money where it is at present.

Usually we would advise people to transfer their investment into cash funds when they are only two or three years away from retirement but if you move them into cash now you rill simply crystallise you losses.

We think, based on the views of fund managers and market analysts, that there is a chance the market will stabilise and perhaps even rise. In the six months following disasters markets have historically rallied. So hold on for now but keep a close eye on the situation and be ready to move when things look better.

Most watched Money videos