Is there anywhere you can get a summary overview of your finances?

Is there anywhere you can get a summary overview of your situation, like the sort of advice in the newspaper "money makeovers" - for a nominal sum? I'd pay up to around £200-£300 for three or four written paragraphs of guidance. I once had exactly this for free in a single session when I took redundancy. But advisers I've come across all want to drill down into the minutiae of every detail and charge loads for it.

Last year I paid £1,500 to an FCA-registered IFA for a review of my pensions, and they recommended overall that I should switch everything into their favoured scheme - which involves much higher charges (platform fee, fund fees, investment manager fee and the IFA fee). I did switch one of my five pensions to them but I didn't feel I was getting truly independent advice.

They would also charge me several hundred pounds more to advise me on any further switches and on ISA funds - but it feels like I would be constantly paying out, which would be a big blow to my savings.

Is there any sort of adviser who for a small fee would take a superficial look and advise me on a switch?

I understand your question and why you are asking. However, I don’t have a simple answer I’m afraid and the main reason is that we live in a litigious world of complaints so more and more providers cover their backs in case they get a complaint if something goes wrong. Finances can be complicated and if they don’t have the full picture, they might miss something important. Giving advice based on a ‘superficial look’ can go wrong.

That said, I do have a few ideas for you to consider, and some feedback.

If the adviser you saw in the past had a favoured scheme, they were probably part of a larger group which could be what we call ‘restricted’ or ‘vertically integrated’. So they only have one range to use as you say.

There can be benefits to this and being restricted is not necessarily a bad thing – there can be economies of scale, or simply that this choice of a range is a result of very careful due diligence which means you’re getting the market’s best. But sometimes it’s more murky and commercially motivated than this. All readers should feel able to ask their adviser about the range of choices they have and whether they are still truly independent or restricted.

This is particularly true these days because the world of financial advice is consolidating fast as it becomes harder for smaller players to remain commercially viable. So many independent advisers are being acquired by larger restricted groups and I don’t think this is always communicated as well as it could be.

To your immediate need, and no, I don’t think you will find anyone reputable to give you the guidance you want in a few paragraphs for a few hundred £. Because from a regulatory perspective, you are asking for advice not guidance. You want a personalised recommendation.

I can suggest some ideas and some rules of thumb. Like being very careful about potentially moving any defined benefit pensions or any pension with any sort of ‘guarantees’ which can be very valuable. If you’re not sure, you could phone the provider and ask if they are defined benefits or have any guarantees. Or do they have exit charges? Guarantees are often very well worth keeping. And exit charges can make it financially silly to move.

In my opinion, for those with smaller defined contribution pensions, it can often make sense to consolidate these from an administrative and management perspective. It makes it easier to stay on top of them, to know what you’ve got and where it is, and to make a decision about a single pot, rather than multiple small pensions. Read the previous advice you were given by the person you did see who you paid for a review – if they advised you that consolidation was OK, then you should be able to assume that they checked all of this for you, and found no disadvantages to you doing so. So that should give you some comfort.

One option is you can opt to consolidate and do this yourself. There are lots of good DIY pension providers who would do all the admin for you if you ask them to. You should make sure any new scheme would not charge above the odds. Typically you should pay about 0.35% -0.45% a year for a pension and then an extra 0.25% - 0.8% a year for the investments which go inside it. So up to about 1.2% maximum all-in for a DIY pension with no advice attached. Advice on top is usually another 0.5% - 1% a year on an ongoing basis. Our pension comparison table might help you search for a new DIY provider.

A second option, if you decide you want a bit more hand-holding, is that there are a few fixed-fee options or lower-cost digital advice options. For example, Charles Stanley offer a one-off £900 fee for a Retirement Plan service, while NetWealth will do a comprehensive Financial Planning ‘MOT’ for £400 (or £600 for a joint plan). Destination Retirement have a hybrid digital advice service which allows a mostly online experience but enables you to speak to a human along the way, for advice on managing your pensions in the run-up to retirement.

Or finally, you could ask a truly independent adviser for an opinion - but you should probably factor in paying nearer £1000 for this rather than the smaller sums you mention. If you do go down this path, I’d suggest making sure you see an independent to remove that niggling question mark around bias.

You can look for an adviser on Unbiased or VouchedFor. And look for one who will take on fixed fee business and who is independent.

Sorry. I hear your pain. But pensions can be messy and complicated so looking for a cheap, quick fix can backfire.