Miss-sold pension

leocook29

Sorry for this lengthy post.
Is there anyone else out there like myself who has been duped into taking out an annuity with the promise of a better income than you were then getting. I WAS. I had a private pension that I had paid into for many years and when I reached 65 I started to take "draw down" of roughly £10,000 per annum. Even through the "credit crunch" my investments held up and my "pension pot" did not drop by much. However, when I reached 75 I'm told sorry you can now only have £4500 per annum. It seems the government have decided my "pension pot" is not actually mine. I approached an IFA ??? who says he can do better and advises another supplier who promises me MORE. I was conned into taking out an annuity which actually only gives me £3800 p.a. I'm now told "hard luck", once you sign into an annuity it's for LIFE, you can't get out of it. I'm also told that now, my only recourse is to consult a solicitor. With my overall income now reduced by 30% I can't afford a solicitor on my own. I'm sure I am not alone. HELP!!!
Leo Cook

mgdavid

are you saying you didn't check the numbers before signing the documents?

dunstonh

I approached an IFA ??? who says he can do better and advises another supplier who promises me MORE. I was conned into taking out an annuity which actually only gives me £3800 p.a.

IFAs are typically the best place to buy annuities as they do get the best rates.

It is difficult to be conned as everything is defined and there is so little to deviate from. A few options here and there but fundamentally, an annuity is a guaranteed income for life. You are told what you can get per annum and you either accept that or reject it. It is a very simple process.

my only recourse is to consult a solicitor. With my overall income now reduced by 30% I can't afford a solicitor on my own.

Firstly, you havent given any reasons for complaint. Until recently, you had to buy an annuity at 75. So, we need to know dates. If yours was before the change then there is no mis-sale because you did what you had to do. If it was after the change that allowed drawdown to continue beyond 75 then you still havent given any indication of mis-sale.

Secondly, drawdown is an option used by a minority of people. The regulator considers it a high risk option suitable for people with multiple sources of income in retirement and pension funds over £100k. Your annuity size suggests it was much less than this and the fact you say you cant afford things now indicates you didnt really have the capacity for loss to continue with drawdown. All this points to annuity being the most suitable option.

Also, you say a solicitor is your only option now. That would indicate you have gone through the complaints process and been rejected and gone to the FOS and been rejected.

We cant make judgements or offer many opinions on the space of a few lines from you which gives little detail. Especially with dates missing. However, at the moment, I am struggling to see a mis-sale. The fact the rate dropped from £10k to £3.8k is a risk of drawdown. There is no guarantee that the annuity rate will rise and GAD rates had been falling for years. The drawdown appears to have been a DIY process as you say you approached an IFA at 75. So, with DIY, you take on the responsibility for knowing what you are doing.

SeniorSam

leocook29, have you in fact been through the complaints procedure with the Financial Services Authority. If so, what were their findings?

Sam