Equitable Life with profits pension / takeover.

New_World_Man

Maffo65 said:

New_World_Man said:

Now over 5 weeks since I started the transfer process. Still pending. My former EL with profits policy was being held in cash by Utmost (so no excuses about needing time to sell off funds before any transfer can take place). While I accept that transfer times are not set in stone, it does seem like a long time.

Did you start the transfer process using the Origo platform, or by mailing printed transfer forms ?

If both your current and new pension provider use the platform, they should have made this available to you, it's much faster.

Here is a complete list of participating providers.

Either way, bear in mind that all pension providers are very short staffed at the moment, so delays in processing times are to be expected.

I filled in an online form with Vanguard ( I already hold an ISA with them). Both Vanguard and Utmost are listed within the Origa website. There’s no particular urgency as such but Vanguard say most transfers should be within 30 days and we are way past that by now. These are by no means “obscure” companies so I had high hopes that it would a smooth, streamlined process - can’t be the first time they have had to arrange a transfer.

Maffo65

@New_World_Man

A couple of questions.

Did you mail Utmost a signed transfer form downloaded from their website?

They told me this was a necessary step, regardless of who I wanted to transfer to (and presumably regardless of whether Utmost received a transfer request from the new provider via Origo or not).

Also, when you filled in the Vanguard online form, were Utmost listed with their current name or their old one (Reliance Mutual)?

[Deleted User]

Maffo65 said:

@New_World_Man

A couple of questions.

Did you mail Utmost a signed transfer form downloaded from their website?

They told me this was a necessary step, regardless of who I wanted to transfer to (and presumably regardless of whether Utmost received a transfer request from the new provider via Origo or not).

Also, when you filled in the Vanguard online form, were Utmost listed with their current name or their old one (Reliance Mutual)?

Yes, they do require you to fill in their form. I initiated the transfer via the receiving brokerage and Utmost requested to fill in their form anyway. Listed them as Utmost. 

New_World_Man

Yes, they were listed as Utmost. The name appeared (autofill) as soon as I typed in “U” which suggests that everyone recognises who is who within the process. Had assumed if I thereafter needed to give any further info or fill in any additional forms that’s someone, either Vanguard or Utmost, would have prompted this. The Utmost website is devoid of any easy to find transfer out information - possibly by design if they want to keep a hold of the recent influx of EL funds.

Maffo65

New_World_Man said:

Yes, they were listed as Utmost. The name appeared (autofill) as soon as I typed in “U” which suggests that everyone recognises who is who within the process. Had assumed if I thereafter needed to give any further info or fill in any additional forms that’s someone, either Vanguard or Utmost, would have prompted this. The Utmost website is devoid of any easy to find transfer out information - possibly by design if they want to keep a hold of the recent influx of EL funds.

Yes, they certainly don't make it easy - and right now you cannot call them as they are short staffed.

Luckily, I was able to speak to them before.

You can download their transfer form here.

moolahmama

On Utmost's website - it states: ORIGO Options Pension Transfer: We do not currently support this.
I wanted to transfer my EL pension to Aegon where I have another mini pension... however Aegon were not particularly helpful and stated it could only be done via an IFA. So I was hoping I might use the Origo platform instead. Can anyone offer any advice - much appreciated! 

hardshouder

Moola - take a look at Pensionbee, I think they are aiming at people who want to consolidate pensions without hassle.

Joey_Soap

Well, after months of asking and waiting, my transfer request out of Utmost was finally sent to me yesterday. Based on all the figures I have previously had, the transfer out value is about 25% less than I believe the actual transferred pot of money is "worth". I am happy the end game is now in sight. I can transfer the pittance of an AVC out to my SIPP at Interactive Investor. I conclude the whole EL/Utmost thing has been nothing much more than a scam on top of the previous scam at EL where everyone except the policyholders have benefitted. I will now put the transfer application in motion.

[Deleted User]

I have already transferred our. The amount was correct. Certainly not a “scum”. 

eumaeus

Hi all,
I have been working on other matters, but some might recall I stood up in front of the High Court to question this transfer. You can see the transcript here http://eumaeus.org/wordp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/buckner oral submission 20191225.pdf which is worth it if only for the entertainment value. 
I was representing myself as a DB pensioner, but scanning through this thread suggests there are problems all over the place.
Could someone give me a paragraph on what the problem is (it's difficult to tell from the thread).

Dean Buckner - Eumaeus