Pension Transfer Gold Standard Advice Questionnaire
Published / Last Updated on 17/05/2021
We suspended accepting defined benefit transfer advice clients on 10/09/2020. We have removed our FCA permissions to offer this advice due to costs and not because we do not have insurance cover. It is due to the fact that our professional indemnity insurance renewal in September 2020 moved our professional insurance premiums up 5 x fold and excesses up 5 x fold when compared to our renewal 3 years ago. These costs are the equivalent of one or two employees salaries. Whilst we still have cover to protect both us and clients for past defined benefits advice works, we cannot justify ever higher premiums for new clients and therefore the fees that we would need to charge for new advice works. We know of just 1 or 2 firms that still offer advice in this sector but the restrictions are huge: e.g. Over 54.5 years old only etc and the fees involved for some advisers start at a minimum of £10,000. WE DO STILL OFFER ADVICE ON SAFEGUARDED RIGHTS FOR GUARANTEED ANNUITIES and/or PROTECTED TAX FREE CASH but not for DEFINED BENEFIT or GUARANTEED MINIMUM PENSION (GMP) SCHEMES.
We do have contact with other advisory groups that do still take on DB transfer advice works. If you complete our questionnaire below and would like us to discuss your position with them and potentially introduce you.
The Pension Transfer Gold Standard: Empowering you with knowledge on pension transfer pros, cons and risks before proceeding with defined benefit (DB) or safeguarded rights pension transfer advice.
Important Note: It is usually not in most people's best interests to give up defined benefit or safeguarded pension rights and we will only do so where there are valid and overriding reasons to transfer out. Our starting position is that most people should remain.
Triage Guidance Initially: It is a requirement of this firm, before we take on any client to potentially introduce you to a firm for defined benefit or safeguarded rights pension transfer advice, that we guide you with further knowledge on pension transfer pros, cons and risks, discuss all of these with you to then be in a position to enable both you and us to decide whether to proceed with defined benefit (DB) or safeguarded rights pension transfer advice or not. In short, assessing and diagnosing whether 'treatment' i.e. advice is suitable before committing to or incurring any fees (this is known as Triage).
Before completing this questionnaire: Please ensure that you read/watch all of our Pension Transfer Gold Standard Videos. In addition, if you have not done so already, download the PFS Consumer Guide to Pension Transfer Gold Standard and visit their consumer website.