Mis Sold FSAVC? BT Final Salary Scheme.

vussey

Hello all, I wonder if you can help. I was sold a FSAVC by General Portfolio in 1994. At that time i had been working for BT for 10 years and was a member of the final salary scheme. I left BT in 2001 and continued to pay into my FSAVC and final salary schemes up to that point. I believe i would have been better off buying extra years in my final salary scheme (this option wasn't discussed) and I may have a valid claim. What do you think? And if so how would I go about making such a claim without going to some kind of agency, the FSAVC scheme is now owned by Windsor Life...Thanks is advance, Russ

dunstonh

I believe i would have been better off buying extra years in my final salary scheme (this option wasn't discussed) and I may have a valid claim. What do you think?

Buying of added years is an option but its has pros and cons as does the FSAVC. Also, if you bought from a tied sales rep, they dont have to consider all the options available to you. They have to recommend the best product within the product range. The conventional comparison was AVC vs FSAVC and not added years.

What is it about added years that makes you feel that option is more suitable for your needs than the FSAVC? (it will help us see which option is more likely to be right for you)

Did you have plans to not stay with BT?
Did you have a desire to retire earlier than the scheme retirement age?

Were added years available as a monthly contribution option or single cost only?
Was the amount you were paying into the FSAVC enough to allow you to buy added years?
What was the benefits comparison for the amount you wanted to pay?

vussey

Hi thanks for the reply,

I believe the rep was tied to one company, at that time I misguidedly thought I could retire at 50 (lots of folks were in BT at that time) and this scheme was to enable extra funding for that, although I now realise that it's unlikely that I would be able to take the company scheme at 50.

At the time i was planning to stay with BT for the duration of my career. I have done some research this morning and I would have chosen the in house AVC rather than added years as I could have in theory completed 40 years service, this advice was not forthcoming from the rep.

That being said, it would be a comparison of BT in house AVC versus the FSAVC sold to me by General Portfolio. I assume that i would have been better informed and better off financially by contributing to the BT AVC rather than FSAVC with all it's extra charges.

The contributions were monthly as per BT and i was paying around £100/month for 8 years.

As of now I don't know how to compare the benefits, if i make a complaint, would it be Windsor Life who would have to make the calculations.

Thanks.

Regards, Russ

dunstonh

I believe the rep was tied to one company, at that time I misguidedly thought I could retire at 50 (lots of folks were in BT at that time) and this scheme was to enable extra funding for that, although I now realise that it's unlikely that I would be able to take the company scheme at 50.

That would make an FSAVC more appropriate than added years as the FSAVC would allow you to commence benefits as the link would have been broken at that time. Added years would have seen the main scheme enhanced but you would have been stuck with the scheme retirement age and there is no guarantee that they would have allowed an earlier retirement age. The same goes for AVC. AVCs had to match scheme retirement age. FSAVCs didnt.

I have done some research this morning and I would have chosen the in house AVC rather than added years as I could have in theory completed 40 years service, this advice was not forthcoming from the rep.

Before 2006 you would have possibly got an upheld decsion on an AVC vs FSAVC complain. However, rule changes in 2006 made most FSAVCs more attractive than AVCs.

As of now I don't know how to compare the benefits, if i make a complaint, would it be Windsor Life who would have to make the calculations.

No. However, they would want to know why you believe you have been mis-sold. I was just wondering if you knew what the differences and that was why you thought you were mis-sold.

To be honest, your problem in a complaint is that FSAVC was typically the best product for those wanting to retire at a different age to scheme retirement age. That was the whole point of them before they were abolished in 2006.

vussey

Ah, that means they sold me the correct product...thanks for your sound advice...

The 20 quid a month that it's worth should come in handy. lol

All the best, Russ