Lloyds Bank pension scheme number 1

whispony

Hi I am not sure what to do now. Last year I contacted a FA to transfer my Lloyds Bank deferred pension. At the time I was 59, fast forward and it still hasn't been done and I am now over the pension age. Lloyds have just informed me today after promising a transfer figure for the past two weeks and me chasing them for it that as I am over retirement age I can no longer do a transfer. I am devistated as I had planned to pay off my mortgage with the 25% and have some money aside for when I needed it. As the FA adviser and their company St James's Place have caused this delay I feel that they should be doing something about it. Does anyone know where I stand with this?

dunstonh

As the FA adviser and their company St James's Place have caused this delay I feel that they should be doing something about it.

When in last year?
How often have you chased them?
Did the adviser know that age 60 was a deadline?
Had you or SJP requested the CETV and any advice been given?
Had you signed an agreement to employ them to provide services?


The above is quite important as if you hadnt engaged them yet and the process not started then they can say they were waiting on you or didnt know that you wanted to proceed. Even if you had only got to the early stages (no application submitted for example) the best you would be looking at is around £250 award for the inconvenience. If the advice process was completed and it was more than 6 months ago then its a different matter.

I am devistated as I had planned to pay off my mortgage with the 25% and have some money aside for when I needed it.

The Lloyds bank pension still gives a tax free lump sum. It just means the income will be regular rather than ad-hoc. So, devasted is probably a bit overkill. Angry maybe a better way to put it.

The silver lining being you avoided SJP (the most expensive distribution chain going)

xylophone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5680582/enhanced-transfer-value-query&page=2

Posts 7, 11 19, 21 and 22.

dunstonh

Thank you Xylophone. The information in that thread contradicts the OP.

Post #7 made 17th July 2017 has two key bits of info
My plan was to transer to a draw down and take 25% to pay off the mortgage. I contacted a IFA who after weeks has come back to me and said they would not do what I want as the pension has benefits and it would not be morally correct. I have just turned 60 and due to ill health have not worked for the last year so the idea of paying off the mortgage was great.

So, you were already 60 by July 2017 and had been rejected by an IFA.

Often you cannot transfer in the last year either (as pointed out in #21 by X). If that applied then the last chance for you to transfer was back in 2016.

Either way, you were not in a position to transfer the pension when you first spoke to SJP. So, you have not lost out whether their service was slow or otherwise.

whispony

The IFA did originally say that SJP were not going to do the transfer as it had benefits however she was making a case for me explaining what it was I wanted to do. I was under the impression that there was still an open case with Lloyds but it appears this was not so.
I have just spoken to my FA who had not been informed that there was a deadline for this. Having phoned back the pension company they are going to raise a case with the trustees. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

whispony

I first saw the FA in March last year and she contacted Lloyds in April. I was not 60 until July and neither her or I have any information anywhere saying that it was not possible to transfer after 60.

Sorry for any conflicting information but originally she did say they probably wouldn't do it then had a change of mind.

dunstonh

The IFA did originally say that SJP were not going to do the transfer as it had benefits however she was making a case for me explaining what it was I wanted to do.

SJP do not make their products available to IFAs. An IFA wouldnt retail SJP products even if they did as they are very poor value for money. So, no IFA is in a position to say what SJP would do.

Only the SJP sales reps can say what SJP are going to do. So, you have to forget the IFA. They refused and that was game over as far as they were concerned. Its what you did with SJP that matters.

Dox

whispony wrote: »

I first saw the FA in March last year and she contacted Lloyds in April. I was not 60 until July and neither her or I have any information anywhere saying that it was not possible to transfer after 60.

Any IFA should know that the statutory right to a transfer is lost once a member is within one year of a scheme's normal retirement age (NRA). If your scheme's NRA is 60, you would need to have acted before reaching your 59th birthday. The scheme booklet would confirm this.

It isn't impossible to transfer out once you are within a year of NRA, but (depending on the rules of the particular scheme) it becomes a discretionary transfer which, as the name suggests, is at the discretion of the trustees.

xylophone

Any IFA should know that the statutory right to a transfer is lost once a member is within one year of a scheme's normal retirement age (NRA). If your scheme's NRA is 60, you would need to have acted before reaching your 59th birthday. The scheme booklet would confirm this.

It isn't impossible to transfer out once you are within a year of NRA, but (depending on the rules of the particular scheme) it becomes a discretionary transfer which, as the name suggests, is at the discretion of the trustees.

Post 21 in my link above refers.

dunstonh

The LB 1 scheme does allow transfers in the 12 months leading upto scheme age but does not allow transfers after scheme age.

mgdavid

whispony wrote: »

...... I was not 60 until July and neither her or I have any information anywhere saying that it was not possible to transfer after 60.
.........

Except that Xylophone suggested this was the case in a reply to your question last July:-
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5680582/enhanced-transfer-value-query
post #11