Talisman Section 32 Buyout Bond

sandsy

So you have a product that will pay you a guaranteed income for life or you can give that up and transfer the value to another type of product which you then use to fund your retirement in a different way. As the value exceeds £30k, you cannot do that without taking professional financial advice from an adviser who is a pension transfer specialist.

It is difficult for us to give you a steer without knowing more. Eg. How old are you? Does the guaranteed pension increase in payment? Does it have a spouses benefit on death which might be useful to you?

On the face of it, the transfer value looks poor value for the income. If you look at the market price of securing that level of income, it is almost sure to be more than what you have been offered. But none of us know what is important to you in terms of the retirement income you need/want or how this pension fits into your plans alongside any other pensions you have got.

xylophone

It is a pity that the OP seems to have been "scared off" - after all, "he only arsked".....:)


The link in my post above may help him to understand the basic concept of the product.

He transferred his RAF DB (oh dear) into the S32 Buy Out Bond "in the eighties" - there will virtually certainly be pre 88 GMP and possibly some post 88 GMP.

It is likely that his GMP has been revaluing at 8.5% Fixed Rate - this may mean that the whole value of his fund must be used to secure his GMP.

If the whole of the pension offered is pre 88 GMP, then RL will have no obligation to index link it once in payment - it will be like a "level annuity".

If there is some post 88 GMP, then indexation to 3% CPI (or possibly RPI) must be paid on that portion.

If the pension consists of GMP and excess, there may be indexation /other increase payable on that.

The S32 is not a simple product so it is quite understandable that the OP asked for comments.

parcival

I though the OP asked a very reasonable question. After all if you don't understand something you don't know what detailed questions to ask.
Some of the 'knowledgeable' people on here need to be less defensive about the industry and think before replying.

dunstonh

parcival wrote: »

I though the OP asked a very reasonable question. After all if you don't understand something you don't know what detailed questions to ask.

The question was answered as it was asked. It was a yes/no question.

There were no questions as to what info they wanted. Looking at reviews of a tax wrapper type is pointless. 1) the people doing the reviews are usually clueless 2) the internet has a bias towards the negative 3) issues people what with their S32 may not apply to others as the variety of plans that get captured as S32s mean you cant compare like for like a lot of the time.

Talisman was a marketing brand used in the past by Royal London (under old brands) to cover a range of pension products sold over a period. It did not cover one version of a plan. There were multiple versions.

Asking for a review of a product from 30 years ago is not going to be helpful. "I give it 3 and half stars because it doesnt have an iphone app". If the person doesn't have an iPhone then it doesn't matter what that person thought about the iphone app.
And despite the criticism of the responses by some, I have yet to see anyone write a review or give any detailed information on section 32 buy out bonds. Criticising the criticism is fine but you are not helping the op either.

Some of the 'knowledgeable' people on here need to be less defensive about the industry and think before replying.

I personally took issue over the stupidity of measuring other people by the actions of one individual. Donald Trump is an idiot. That makes all Americans idiots. Harold Shipman was a murderer. That makes all doctors murderers. Nothing to do with industry. That mindset is silly regardless of subject.

cloud_dog

parcival wrote: »

I though the OP asked a very reasonable question. After all if you don't understand something you don't know what detailed questions to ask.
Some of the 'knowledgeable' people on here need to be less defensive about the industry and think before replying.

I'm not in the industry or defensive of it, and yet I (rightly or wrongly) came to a similar conclusion. In that the OP needed to actually formulate a question. A very simple one like.... Should I take the pension offered by the S32 or take the cash? would have helped enormously.

Surely even someone with no knowledge of the subject, who has taken the time to navigate to the MSE site, navigate to the forum and then the appropriate Pension forum, and has logged in to the site so as to post must at least have an idea of the point they want to raise, of the question the are looking for an answer to?

xylophone

And despite the criticism of the responses by some, I have yet to see anyone write a review or give any detailed information on section 32 buy out bonds.

See link in my post 6 above and post 13.

dunstonh

xylophone wrote: »

See link in my post 6 above and post 13.

But what you posted, whilst well intentioned, is info that may or may not be applicable and is incomplete.

And realistically, going into things like GMP (which is complicated enough) without knowing there is GMP could create all sorts of confusion. A lot of the Talisman plans also have GARs.

All we need is a bit more focus on what the OP wants to achieve. Then we can steer the discussion thread accordingly.

xylophone

But what you posted, whilst well intentioned, is info that may or may not be applicable and is incomplete.

Patronising or what!!:eek:

You will note that I said "may" be of interest - you will also note that I said

The link in my post above may help him to understand the basic concept of the product.

And realistically, going into things like GMP (which is complicated enough) without knowing there is GMP

You will have read that the OP transferred an RAF DB pension in the 80's - it is (as I said) virtually (not wholly) certain that there will be some GMP.

I have yet to see anyone write a review or give any detailed information on section 32 buy out bonds.

I think that the link I gave is quite detailed - others may wish to give an opinion.

I also think that my response was more welcoming and more helpful that what seemed to me your rather abrasive response.

The OP is clearly unhappy with the advice he was given to transfer out his DB pension - it is perhaps unsurprising that he feels rather chary of IFA's - "the burnt child fears the flame"......

xylophone

And if you get food poisoning, you will never eat again.

Well, I knew somebody who contracted "salmonella typhimurium) from mackerel and never ate that particular fish again!

A bad experience whether of food or anything else tends to sap confidence and diminish trust.

Perhaps the OP was looking for some information/pointers to information so that he could feel more confident about obtaining professional advice?

The point is that this first time poster seems to have been thoroughly put off by what he perceived to be a hostile and negative response - can that possibly be why we are urged "to be especially nice" to new members?

wary

Fergy539 wrote: »

Hi. I have a Section 32 Buyout Bond with Royal London and due to retire in three months. Lots of bad reviews on Section 32s in general but does anyone have any real knowledge of them they might like to share with me. Not sure what to do. Value is £118,000 and they are saying I will get £5385 per annum. Had a IFA back in the 80s who told me to transfer my RAF pension into a S32 and so I am not a fan of using another IFA. Thanks

I'm not a pensions expert so am happy to be corrected on any point I make.

In case it was sold on/after 29/04/1988, see:
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/33/review-33.htm

My understanding is that you only have the option of transferring out if the calculated transfer value is covered by the S32's fund value.