F.A. included me in Pension w/o my permission.

BobQ

buel wrote: »

Many thanks but that isn't my primary question, my primary question is would the FA have deliberately signed me up before the new rules regarding fees and advice came in to force? And do I stand to lose out regarding any commision he may make now that I would officially be signed up as 'joined and then suspended contributions'?

If 8 months ago your FA signed you up to something you then disputed it was an illegal deduction from wages. The employer obviously agreed as they repaid it. You had no claim on the pension fund at that point, whatever the FA's motives or the law about fees. All concerned agreed it was a mistake.

You signed up when you actually asked them to sign you up (a point of fact) under the fees you agreed when you signed up.

Now you are saying that you signed up eight months ago and became classified as 'joined and then suspended contributions'.

I am frankly confused about what you have signed up to, and get the impression you are confused as well. It does seem odd that you signed up via email and have no idea of the fees you joined up under nor are you certain when you joined.

jamesd

buel wrote: »

Many thanks but that isn't my primary question, my primary question is would the FA have deliberately signed me up before the new rules regarding fees and advice came in to force?

The work scheme will probably be a group personal pension and the terms for that are likely to be the same now as last year. Those existing terms would apply to new members as well as earlier ones.

buel wrote: »

And do I stand to lose out regarding any commision he may make now that I would officially be signed up as 'joined and then suspended contributions'?

No.

buel

BobQ, Jamesd is not confused and answered my question brilliantly.
Thank you Jamesd.

PS- BobQ, I don't see the confusion when I posted this:
Hi,
Please could I have some advice? Last year I spoke to the financial adviser who deals with my works pension. He briefly explained that he did not get trail commision and that my employer will match the minimum 3% contributions I make.

I explained that I would think about it and perhaps go ahead when I had sorted out a few matters with my finances. We did not discuss my attitude towards risk.

That same month I noticed that a pension contribution had been taken from my wages. I complained to him via email and informed my employer that I had not agreed to this. The pension provider, scottish Widows, sent me some documentation as if I had joined.

Yesterday I told my employer that I would like to join the pension (I had emailed the FA two months before Christmas to explain that I would like to join the pension but he never replied). My question is would the FA have deliberately signed me up before the new rules regarding fees and advice came in to force? And do I stand to lose out regarding any commision he may make now that I would officially be signed up as 'joined and then suspended contributions'?

buel

Jamesd (or anyone, for that matter),
Please can I ask is it possible for the FA to not have any trail commision from this type of policy?

fiesta04

Only you can answer this as you have all the documents.

F4

jamesd

buel wrote: »

Please can I ask is it possible for the FA to not have any trail commision from this type of policy?

Yes, it's possible. The employer could do something like paying the pension contributions by salary sacrifice, so the employee and employer both save NI. Part of the saved employer NI could be used by the employer to pay the IFA a fee, without having to increase the employer total cost at all.

dunstonh

Please can I ask is it possible for the FA to not have any trail commision from this type of policy?

Pension funds dont pay trail commission. That only happened on unit trust/OEIC funds.

With pension funds, the advising firm agrees their remuneration with the employer. Some employers will pay everything. Some will leave it to the pension holder to pay it. Depending on the type of pension set up, the remuneration agreed by the employer may involve the adviser paid an amount with each contribution made or a single amount up front, a it may have the annual management charge increased to pay the adviser a percentage of the overall pot (that is similar to trail but is not naturally priced. It can involve factoring. e.g. it may cost less to have say 0.50% p.a added than taking an initial amount or a renewal payment).

The employer agrees the charges on the scheme.

buel

Thank you Jamesd and DunstonH. I really appreciate it.
OK, I have now started this pension.
If I were to post a few scans of the relevant documents (personal details hidden), please could you/someone help me understand some aspects a bit deeper?

atush

I would not advise scanning your documents for others (strangers) to see.

If you are unsure, call a meeting with the FA. Or go to an IFA and pay them a fee to look it over.

buel

I see your point.
OK, two questions, If I may-
1. The paperwork says that the FA will charge an AMC of 1.82%. Will this always be the percentage of the fund and never out of, say, the amount invested?
2. Is this a low, medium or high charge, please?