Is it just me, or do you feel aggrieved too?

dunstonh

Off topic - What ever happened to those pure "with profits endowment policies"?

All of them paid out surpluses but they were a product of their time.

Now the reason I'm sharing this is everyone is saying about how the middle men are the ones making the money etc but he wasn't charged a penny by them and they were at the end of the phone whenever he needed them.

Yes he was. As I have already given an example on this thread on an open market option, the adviser earns from these. The annuity income is affected by the fee taken by the adviser from the pension annuity. So, agreeing fee and using the commission system to pay that fee (with no more/less) is actually better than going commission without you agreeing how much (as your friend obviously did by thinking he didnt pay towards it)

brianrhill

savingssaver wrote: »

The problem I think is no one understands pensions, annuities or whatever other term there is for them and people really can get ripped off especially at the minute with interest rates so low. I mentioned on another post that my dad was at the mercy of these markets and didnt have a clue what to do, I don't know if it will help anyone on here but he got help from a company called My Pension Expert, their website is www.mypensionexpert.co.uk and he was overjoyed, they actually got him much more pension income through an enhanced annuity (whatever that means i don't know all I know is that he is a bit of a drinker and smoker).

Now the reason I'm sharing this is everyone is saying about how the middle men are the ones making the money etc but he wasn't charged a penny by them and they were at the end of the phone whenever he needed them. Sorry if nobody finds it useful but he couldnt fault them and he normally finds faults with any company so I hope someone finds it useful if they are like suzy feeling a bit aggrieved at the minute.

I'm glad that he had a good experience.

Disappointed that he thought it was free, because it certainly wasn't.

And the link to the company you have provided shows limited products from limited providers.

So did he get independent advice for free? It doesn't look like it!

savingssaver

brianrhill wrote: »

I'm glad that he had a good experience.

Disappointed that he thought it was free, because it certainly wasn't.

And the link to the company you have provided shows limited products from limited providers.

So did he get independent advice for free? It doesn't look like it!

When I mean free he wasn't charged anything upfront or at the end, it was all in black and white how much commission they were going make from the sale, but as far as I'm aware the providers don't offer dual pricing so their advice and help didn't affect the quote at all. Anyway he is certainly the biggest of moaners believe me and he was extremely happy with them and they definitely do search all of the providers as he asked this question. Anyway I hope it's not going to start an argument I just wanted to help someone who might find the info useful as according to my dad they are extremely good.

gadgetmind

savingssaver wrote: »

When I mean free he wasn't charged anything upfront or at the end

That's sometimes the most expensive kind of free: as a wise man once said, "TANSTAFL", which means There's No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.

dunstonh

When I mean free he wasn't charged anything upfront or at the end, it was all in black and white how much commission they were going make from the sale, but as far as I'm aware the providers don't offer dual pricing so their advice and help didn't affect the quote at all.

Yes they do. The figure can either be enhanced via economies of scale (which do not affect annuity rate) or the adviser can pick the figure they want to take. Ideally, the figure picked is the agreed fee. However, if it was on commission basis then the adviser is free to take what they want and the annuity rate will reflect that.

Anyway he is certainly the biggest of moaners believe me and he was extremely happy with them and they definitely do search all of the providers as he asked this question.

Its good he is happy but it is just the sort of bread and butter transaction any local IFA can and will do. Its probably best not to promote the services of just one firm as you are a new poster and it may look like this is a spam. Especially as its not the first time you have mentioned them.

savingssaver

Sorry I was only trying to help. I don't know why you are so against them? What's wrong with recommending somebody that my family have had a good experience with, isnt this the idea of forums, for help and advice? Ive also recommended moneysupermarket.com so i suppose I am 'spamming' them too?

SallyG

"he wasn't charged a penny"- you'd think they'd trumpet this free service on their website but there's no mention of fees/how they make a living - are they a charitable organisation?

savingssaver

wish i'd never said anything now! So I take it their service must be so bad that they have over 70 facebook likes looking at their website? I'm also pretty sure that if my dad had a good experience other people will too, hence my original comment, to try and help people. Why are people so pessimistic?

gadgetmind

savingssaver wrote: »

wish i'd never said anything now!

I don't think anyone is taking a pop at you, and I do hope you don't let it put you off.

Why are people so pessimistic?

They say that a pessimist only sees the dark side of clouds, the analyst sees both side, and the optimist doesn't see them at all as he's walking on them.

I think what everyone was trying to say, and maybe we could have said it better, is that just because they can get a good outcome doesn't mean that someone else can't get an even better outcome.

dunstonh

Sorry I was only trying to help. I don't know why you are so against them?

They are doing something that 20,000 other IFAs do. This site isnt for the promotion of one particular firm.

What's wrong with recommending somebody that my family have had a good experience with, isnt this the idea of forums, for help and advice?

Promotion of firms is not generally liked by the board. Especially from new sign ups. Some of whom only sign up to promote that firm as they work for it.

So I take it their service must be so bad that they have over 70 facebook likes looking at their website?

It may be just me but the thought of a firm being considered good because of the number of facebook "likes" does not give me any confidence at all. Santander UK have 180 likes on their facebook page.

The bottom line is that this sort of transaction is one that an IFA can do with their eyes closed. The paperwork is messy and time consuming but its not an area that will push an IFA's knowledge. This firm isnt doing anything any other IFA wouldnt do. Apart from perhaps taking an unknown commission amount when it may have been better to agree a fee instead.

I get what you are saying in that using an IFA is common sense as if you dont use one, then the annuity provider will keep their default commission for themselves despite doing none of the work or having any of the liability. However, it is not free. What if this firm took 5% on the annuity against another IFA who may have agreed a figure that equates to 0.658% as they did it on fee basis? Both firms would have beaten the existing plan but the one on fee basis would have the higher annuity rate.