Pension Company vs Independent Financial advice stitch up !

DJPench

So I spoke to a pension company and was refused handing my money over to them to start a new pension. The reason being is that it can categorically only be done through an IFA.

IFA are not independent in that they want to earn money from you. To my mind this is the pension companies/UK government creating a brick wall against starting a pension independently as a private individual.

I wanted to start a safe pension, i.e. not a risky fund and knew which company I wanted. Any pillock can find out who and who is not performing well.

On this basis the pension industry just lost a new client.

I will not be belittled and told I am incapable of making a basic decision on a safe pension fund.

Why is IFA existence (through percentages/fees from the public) being sponsored by the pensions industry and UK government ?

Given the world as it is, very unstable and how pensions are linked to the finances of the world I doubt very much that anyone can tell the future of a safe pension better than myself. Are IFA's clairvoyant ? No. Do IFA refund your money if they got it wrong, No ! There is no accountability.

Why cannot a private individual deal directly with a private company without a Mystic Meg middle man ?

This system has just lost the pension industry a client and the government a responsible individual who wanted to try and not be a burden in the future.

And then they wonder WHY people do not trust this industry. In addition it makes a mockery of the government drive to get people paying into private pensions.

This needs to change as it damages both pension companies and private individuals. I flatly refuse to take IFA as I know what pension I want. And IFA are not in it for fun they want their profit from me for predicting what is best when I already know what I want. In the current world they cannot predict anything better than I can myself with some common sense basic research, especially for a low risk fund. I want a standard low risk fund pension with a company that I trust myself.

I must be far from the only person to have experienced this propping up of the IFA middle man.

How can I directly get a pension as a private individual with a private company ? And if not why not ?

Linton

You are ranting - it is all pretty simple...


Dealing directly with customers is expensive and can be risky because of consumer protection regulation. Some pension companies are set up to do it and others arent so will only work through intermediaries. If you dont want to employ an IFA you need a pension company that will talk to you directly.


Your other option is to set up a SIPP where you can choose your own funds from a list of 1000's and manage them yourself online.

xylophone

How can I directly get a pension as a private individual with a private company ? And if not why not ?

You can start a personal pension without advice.


Examples

https://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/pensions/

https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/sipp/apply-now

If what you actually want is to transfer a pension with safeguarded benefits in excess of £30,000 to a DC pension, then you are required to take advice (but not necessarily to follow it).

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495377/pension-benefits-with-a-guarantee-factsheet-jan-2016.pdf

dunstonh

IFA are not independent in that they want to earn money from you.

That is a strange definition of independent on your part.

You pay the fee. The IFA works for you. That makes them independent.

To my mind this is the pension companies/UK government creating a brick wall against starting a pension independently as a private individual.

No its not. If you want to DIY then use a pension provider that caters for the DIY market. Not one that caters for intermediaries.

I will not be belittled and told I am incapable of making a basic decision on a safe pension fund.

You haven't been told that. Instead you are trying to get a pension company to go against their authorisations and break FCA rules.

Why is IFA existence (through percentages/fees from the public) being sponsored by the pensions industry and UK government ?

There is no sponsorship. Those what want to DIY can. Those that want an IFA can.

Given the world as it is, very unstable and how pensions are linked to the finances of the world I doubt very much that anyone can tell the future of a safe pension better than myself. Are IFA's clairvoyant ?

No they are not. However, based on the content of your post, they clearly know a lot more than you do.

Do IFA refund your money if they got it wrong, No ! There is no accountability.

Yes, IFAs do have to pay redress if they get it wrong and there is accountability.

I flatly refuse to take IFA as I know what pension I want.

Your post suggests that you don't. Someone wanting to go DIY and use an intermediary provider indicates they are not ready to DIY.

DJPench

I have a company of choice, I know I want low risk policy. I cannot use them without going through an IFA.

That means I am unable to do so. A brick wall.

So you have to either be highly technical and know everything or don't have a pension.

Both bad options.

As money is involved by deifnition IFA are NOT independent. They are not the citizens advice bureau, they wish to earn money from me, they would not exist without that. They are dependent on me paying them.

Can someone who is not obviously an IFA reply, thanks.

Thanks for those links it is HIGHLY appreciated I will look into them, if you have other options you know of that would be great. Cause I know one thing IFA and pension companies that you have to use them with are not getting 1 penny out of me.

Dox

DJPench wrote: »

I have a company of choice, I know I want low risk policy. I cannot use them without going through an IFA.

That means I am unable to do so. A brick wall.

So you have to either be highly technical and know everything or don't have a pension.

You can't 'go direct' if your company of choice is only authorised to act via intermediaries.

Choose another company which accepts direct business from members of the public.

Job done!

Aegis

There are plenty of companies out there offering pensions specifically to direct consumers. Deciding to boycott the whole pension industry because one provider you've approached wants to deal with intermediaries rather than direct consumers is incredibly short-sighted. Somewhat like going to Land Rover because you want a small, fuel efficient town car and then deciding that the automobile industry has permanently lost a customer because Land Rover aren't catering specifically to your requirements. The obvious answer is to go to a different manufacturer (or provider, in the case of pensions) and to realise that not all businesses operate in the exact same way.




I await my backhander from the pensions conspiracy for my comment.

DJPench

Thanks all suggestions of decent companies I can go direct with will be very helpful for myself and a million others I suspect, thanks.

Not big on analogies, especially very poor ones, but sincerely thanks for your contribution anyway, pension industry seems very much in trouble to my mind, I just don't want to give my money to those that border on being criminals. I approach pension companies like criminals and then work back from that really. They leech off your money, then say performance was bad and pay out less than you thought, or go bankrupt and someone else takes over or it gets transferred to this that, take monstrous fees etc. It may well be highly regulated but to a normal scraping by punter it seems like being fleeced.

If it was not for the fear that savings does not give you an annuity option at the end I would F them off entirely. It is basically finding out who is least evil.

Any suggestion of least evil direct dealing pensions companies highly appreciated.

wjr4

Why is it that people pay for an accountant, solicitor, builder etc and don't have issues paying them. Yet when it comes to the IFA industry, people moan about fees? Do you go to work for free?

Aegis

DJPench wrote: »

Thanks all suggestions of decent companies I can go direct with will be very helpful for myself and a million others I suspect, thanks.

Not big on analogies, especially very poor ones, but sincerely thanks for your contribution anyway, pension industry seems very much in trouble to my mind, I just don't want to give my money to those that border on being criminals. I approach pension companies like criminals and then work back from that really. They leech off your money, then say performance was bad and pay out less than you thought, or go bankrupt and someone else takes over or it gets transferred to this that, take monstrous fees etc. It may well be highly regulated but to a normal scraping by punter it seems like being fleeced.

If it was not for the fear that savings does not give you an annuity option at the end I would F them off entirely. It is basically finding out who is least evil.

Any suggestion of least evil direct dealing pensions companies highly appreciated.

Saving does give you an annuity option at the end. It's just rare to see people take it.

dunstonh

Can someone who is not obviously an IFA reply, thanks.

Take that chip off your shoulder and grow up.

Cause I know one thing IFA and pension companies that you have to use them with are not getting 1 penny out of me.

That's fine. An IFA is probably avoiding a whole load of issues thanks to that. However, don't assume that you will save money that way. if you DIY badly then you can actually end up paying a lot more.

I have a company of choice, I know I want low risk policy. I cannot use them without going through an IFA.

Pensions dont carry risk. The investments within the pension carry the risk and with modern pensions offering around 30,000 investment options, the choice is certainly there.

You start not by picking the provider. You pick the investments you want. Then you pick the provider.

As money is involved by deifnition IFA are NOT independent. They are not the citizens advice bureau, they wish to earn money from me, they would not exist without that. They are dependent on me paying them.

IFAs are independent because it is you that is paying them. No-one else. No influence from others. They have no other paymasters. Your point of view is one of the strangest I have heard.