Financial Advisors cagey

MK62

The final absurdity would be (and assuming I'm interpreting the rules correctly) if an IFA wanted to transfer and old DB pension, he/she might have to pay for independent advice.....:)

hyubh

mum_of_joey wrote: »

Yes, I did ask for advice but had absolutely no idea that for what seems to be a simple transaction (ie take tax-free 25%, the rest into an annuity or drawdown scheme) that the fees would be so high. I assumed perhaps a couple of hundred pounds, but there, I am naive. Especially if I end up just putting the money back with my pension provider, as they seemed to come out on top when I did a search for the best rates for annuities.

You make the old pension sound like a not very special DC one. Which makes me wonder why the £30K tipping point actually applies in the first place? If it actually is an old final salary pension, then 'tak[ing] tax-free 25%, [and putting] the rest into an annuity' sounds functionally identical to just drawing it early and exercising any lump sum option (well, at least if by 'annuity' you are thinking of a joint life one). However, your talk of your existing 'pension provider' as likely best for annuity rates implies the old pension is DC...?

Alibert

I think the OP needs some advice !

Malthusian

nrsql wrote: »

The OP should have said why they wanted the services - at which point the IFA should say it wasn't necessary but they may be able to add value. Similarly the IFA should ask what the OP was looking for with the same result.

Agree on the first part as the OP had an erroneous idea and asking the question would have corrected it. Disagree on the second. When I go up to a bar and ask for a drink I don't expect the barman to ask why I want one. If he does I'll feel insulted. If I provide a service and somebody asks me for that service, the default is to provide it unless there's a good reason not to, not to refuse it unless they can prove to me they need it.

There has never been any requirement to take advice on transferring a pension without safeguarded rights. The advisors had no way of knowing that the OP had this erroneous idea unless the OP specifically asked them about it.

MK62 wrote: »

The final absurdity would be (and assuming I'm interpreting the rules correctly) if an IFA wanted to transfer and old DB pension, he/she might have to pay for independent advice.....:)

If they have the necessary permissions they can sign it off themselves.

If they don't have the necessary permissions then naturally they need to pay for advice. They are in the same position as a brain surgeon or an actuary who wants to transfer their DB pension. Being clever != being qualified.

Note that nobody needs to pay for independent advice in the IFA sense to transfer a DB pension. The advice has to be independent of the scheme, but a restricted adviser who is independent of the scheme is fine from a legal perspective. (Although from a buying decision perspective, it should always be an IFA.)