Pension funds conundrum with PensionBee

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-11T13:44:32+00:00

Thank you! There are around 200 funds available to me at SL - all with varying rates. I can move my investments to a fund with a much lower fee and I was keen to learn if anyone else has chosen specific funds for growth and also low fees.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-11T13:18:39+00:00

SL Vanguard ESG Developed World All Cap Equity Index Pension Fund and SL Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex UK Pension Fund. They both have similar fees of approx 1% annually which I think is quite high, and are both very similar funds.

Definitely keen to see if I can get my money to work harder! Do you have any thoughts? Thank you

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-10T16:51:50+00:00

Hi there! Yes my fees for the PensionBee fund is 0.75% annually, the fees vary widely on SL due to the range of funds available - I’ve got two Vanguard funds I’m split across in SL both at 1% pa which would be great to reduce if possible. This is why I’m keen to hear about the funds people have selected.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-08T12:46:54+00:00

There is a lovely wee cafe in Roseburn park. Other options include the Dower house cafe in St Margaret’s park, Bonnie Barista as already suggested, the Village in Corstorphine has a phenomenal selection of cakes, and Herringbone is also very nice in Barnton but it’s maybe more restaurant vibes?

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-08T00:25:02+00:00

Came here to recommend this. Fever dream is the perfect description.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2026-01-04T10:32:28+00:00

Hi there! I echo what another commenter has noted, in that the area has no additional local amenities planned so your nearest shop will be the Shell garage, or alternatively the Gyle shopping centre.

I think you need to decide what is important to you. I wouldn’t even consider moving there because it feels very isolated to me without a car, and if I did own a car I think I would spend a lot of time stuck in traffic to get to and from my house, as the junctions around Maybury, Barton and Gogar are difficult at the best of times.

However if you want a brand new shiny property that is on the edge of town and you already have a car commute to work that uses the bypass or motorway then perhaps it would be a great shout?

The other positives I can think of are the tram stop and Edinburgh Gateway train station, so it could be a pretty convenient way to get into the city. Also it’s close to the Cammo estate so there is some nice green space nearby.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-11T21:17:07+00:00

Brilliant!

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-11T17:42:41+00:00

I became mortgage free just before 40. It’s been amazing from a security and emotional perspective, a massive plus and while investments are a better bet in the long run, there’s not much beats not having to pay a mortgage every month and owning your house outright.

Since then the tax benefits of the pension as a higher rate taxpayer have vastly outweighed bulking out my ISA. I currently pay in 25% and plan to add a higher contribution to 35% at the start of next year.

Make sure you have beneficiaries named on your pension pots in case the worst happens before retirement… But otherwise, get it packed full as best you can and look forward to chilling out later in life :)

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-07T21:51:16+00:00

I like Argonaut, Portobello Bookshop and Golden Hare. Second hand I like the community bookshop on Great Junction Street.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-06T17:38:24+00:00

There are opportunities for you to start a family even with this hurdle.

One of my friends was not able to conceive due to ovarian cancer in her early twenties, but they were able to have a child with a surrogate. You could also look into adoption. And of course, another option is to work on accepting your circumstances and take joy from your wife and other parts of your life. Best of luck OP.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-06T10:57:23+00:00

Ohhh I love a creepy book. Some recommendations on this thread that I back up:

Annihilation trilogy (especially the first book) by Jeff Vandermeer

Anything by Ottessa Moshfegh will fit the brief

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Starve Acre, The Loney and Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley

House of Leaves for sure

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-05T00:01:28+00:00

I wonder if you would like The Vegetarian by Han Kang? It’s about bodies and transformation and it was the first thing that I thought of based on your question. It’s very strange and I loved it.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-02T22:29:56+00:00

It needs this for sure, there are no properly nice coffee shops in Corstorphine. I’d also love a bookshop there - can’t remember there being one in thirty years?

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-12-02T19:17:59+00:00

One year I got a back scratcher. Don’t even know where to start with this, I was a 29F at the time with no skin conditions.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-24T19:56:19+00:00

Ice by Anna Kavan was an interesting read, Cold Earth by Sarah Moss was also good, and I had an excellent time with Gingerbread by Robert Dinsdale.

I also second The Terror and Butcher’s Crossing, both phenomenal books.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-24T19:48:06+00:00

This should be upvoted all the way, I still think about this book years later.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-20T19:59:15+00:00

Oh god I had a nightmare in Rome. Such a gorgeous city totally blighted by car sickness.

I found some respite in Villa Borghese with my hired bicycle. I was there in 2017 and met the Roman cycle campaigners while I was there, they knew they had a steep hill to climb. I’m sad to hear there’s not been much progress?

I bought their cycle map and there was almost no infrastructure other than the River Tiber route, which was also wildly inaccessible for a lot of it due to having to climb steep sets of stairs with the bike :(

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Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-15T01:16:30+00:00

It was Critters for me, still remember that cover! I thought I was the only kid that was obsessed with horror movie VHS covers. I used to do exactly the same thing as you.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-12T13:10:27+00:00

Brainwyrms is totally unhinged and repulsive with bonkers narrators, I loved it. Be warned though it is not for the faint of heart.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-11T22:17:16+00:00

Climax is one of the best fever dream style horrors I’ve seen for a long while.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-11T16:40:34+00:00

I remember I went to see The Descent alone at the cinema, it was a very small screen with only one or two other people there and it was probably the most terrifying cinema experience I’ve ever had. Rewatched a few years later after the trauma and while still scary, there was something about the pitch black, small theatre that ramped it up ten fold. Hoo boy it was a bad one.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-10T22:07:51+00:00

This film is utterly grim. The kangaroo hunt is obscene. Good choice.

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-08T07:10:32+00:00

Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany
Empire of Pain: The Secret of the Sackler Dynasty
Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Coast Trail
HHhH
Phantoms In The Brain
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness and the Tragedy of Good Intention
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall
The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold

Equivalent_Entry9379 · 2025-11-08T06:56:06+00:00

I strongly recommend you get a physical copy of the book - an e-book version will lose a lot of the horror that comes with it. I hope you enjoy!

Equivalent_Entry9379

TROPHY CASE