Found IFA to Do Transfer - Does This Sound Reasonable

fjh - Assuming that your pension transfer is a DB to DC arrangement then you'll do well to find any IFA who charges less than 1% for a transfer that said it would be possible for a lower amount if the fund is exceptionally high.

IFA's not only have to be paid for time, advice etc but in the case of DB to DC transfer, as soon as that business is written then their PI Insurer will start looking at raising their insurance costs for the following year which can be dramatic as this is high risk business for IFA's. Afterall, there will undoubtedly be a call for a "have you transferred your pension and lost money" campaign in the near future which will inevitably lead to some clients claiming they've been mis-advised to transfer and lo and behold the large pension pot you transferred is a liability on the IFA,

Those reputable IFA's with solid procedures have nothing to worry about but much like the bad builder or plumber, there's a bad IFA out there too.

You need to do your research, get recommendations and shop around. Whilst your CETV is only initially available for 3 months, it may be worth spending a few hundred quid to get another after this should you still be on the lookout for a quality IFA in your locality for total peace of mind and ensuring the advice given is correct and right for you.

Good luck!

i am contemplating same too...looking at fee of 1% for CETV of over £400k...personally i wouldn't pay any more than £4,200 for this.

And would likely DIY the sum of this and my existing SIPP


I didn't pay for TVAS ...and whilst have had figures back it in no way advocates proceeding with the transfer...it simply addresses a comparison whether CETV invested ...and a named Insurance company was given by way of example...would provide drawdown equivalent to the DB at a certain date.

And it was via an "outsourced" organisation to my IFA who's not licensed to do this sort of work.



i read the analysis ....queried some of assumptions and when i spoke to the person after the TVAS stage they indicated that , purely on comparison alone , they would be able to recommend proceeding.

The report was almost certainly produced by inputting the data provided by the DB Admins into software ...there was no risk analysis , personal questionaire at this stage. My gut feel was that it was a 50/50 decision to transfer...i am agnostic about it and not desperate to get at the PcLS. I wonder how long it took to produce as the Admin report appears structured to deliver inputs into other IFA software.

I suppose i'm writing this because i'm not sure that the TVAS analysis in itself is sufficient to direct my final decision...that it lacks in itself any personal directive ..perhaps i need a second opinion too.

And certainly not averse to paying a fee to proceed...but for one of several thousand pounds it needs to have given me something more than i can get from time spent on cfiresim or similar.

I've seen a figure of 1% quoted elsewhere too, with a minimum of £2k spend.

i wonder if i could get some advice and get it done for £3k !!
I wouldn't pay more than 5k for any amount of money...a requirement to do so would be high on a list of cons in the matter.

It's a tricky call though.

@hennerz


On the "free" valuation this was on the basis , i suppose , that in some cases potential clients would proceed with a transfer, and that some might use in house invesments.
However no obligation at all on either count.

I challenge the extrapolation that might db scheme would pay c. £17k when i'm 63....at date of deferment in 2012 it as £12.3k, and i'd had several updates since (at April 2015 it was £13.3k)...so i would have guessed c. £15k at 63, not £17k as in the TVAS.

I'm 57 presently.

However i accepted that the projection was made from the original 2012 valuation for payout at 63 using possible a fixed RPI value.

The CETV value was £422k.

Current DB scheme linked to RPI capped at 10%, 50% spouse & 50% dependants pension at death.

The critical yield was 12.6% based on no PCLS, matched against an unspecified Royal London Pension , but that i assume was based on the rather high value assumption of the DB value at aged 63

5% growth was assumed raising fund to £513k at 63.

Lastly the fund required to purchase an annuity to match the original TVAS ,with benefits to match DB scheme was £737.3k

When i first read and re-read the output, apart from thinking the DB projection was high at £17k at aged 63, for my part i couldn't see overwhelming case ....it looked to me a close call.

As i said i'm entirely agnostic over how to go forward...i don't believe the 1% charge is outrageous per se, i'm just not sure in this case , what i would be paying for, as a tacit (unwritten) nod to proceed appears to have been assumed at this stage.

I was put on guard by the high DB projection value , and thefore values used would make the Critical yield overly high too...although i'm thinking a redo of the calc. would bring the critical yield % down from 12.6% and thus make a more compelling case.

Finally of course i accept i'm the editor of last resort on all this.