Transfer Defined Benefit Pension & the great suitability report ripoff

Natalius

Hello everyone. 
I will try & keep this brief . I have a defined benefit pension and I want to move it to a SIPP that I will set up and manage.
The issue I have is that because the transfer value is over £30k I have to have a transfer suitability report done.  Here is the problem. Everyone I have tried so far wants to charge me £3000 ++ or they want to charge between 1% and 7 % of the transfer value. I think those charges are outrageous . The fees should be in the hundreds . Why are we being ripped off and please don't tell me a lot of work goes into this as all they do is load your data into a computer programme as they know all the rules/benefits of the various pension companies as they have done suitability reports for those pension funds before.   By that I mean that if my pension was with Nat West then if they have done a suitability report with Nat West before all they do is change the data.  Yes there may be the variation of personal circumstances  but its not hundreds of hours work . Furthermore charging a % is outrageous. What difference does it make if the pension transfer value is £100,000 or £1,000,000. They are not doing 10 times as much work for  the report on the bigger transfer value. 
Then you have the firms that charge a lower percentage only if you transfer the pension into one of their managed pension funds. No thank you . 
The thing is I have worked in the finance industry for over 30 years , I know exactly what I am doing and I cannot find anyone that will do this suitability report for a sensible fee.
For the record the pension has a transfer value of £170,620.44  and pays £1,830.00 a year.  At a transfer multiple of 93 times there is no way I am not taking this.
I just need someone who will do this report for me for sensible money and in a timely manner.  What do I consider to be sensible ? I will NOT pay more than 1 %.
So does anyone have someone they can recommend or is there anyone on here who can do this ? 

JoeCrystal

Sorry, but are you really sure about that income? A multiple of 93 sound to me so high that it is almost fantasy. What is your expected income when you reach the normal pension age in today's term? Is that £1,830 a year is what was reported on your statement when you left and actually got revalued up according to inflation instead, so it is actually higher?

Silvertabby

As Joe says, the transfer valuation just can't be a multiple of 93!

pip895

On the issue of it being a simple case of plugging some figures in - I know for a fact my transfer was much more involved.  Lots of toing and froing between the pension company and advisors.  The advisors spotted an inconsistency in the data and discovered a mistake in how the transfer value had been calculated - It more than paid for their fees in the end.  Anyway it is much more involved than you might imagine. 
p.s. I paid a bit over 1% but on a larger pot and a couple of years back..good luck getting someone to take it on for under 1% these days..

NottinghamKnight

The never ending conveyor belt of mis informed and outraged db transfers continues. Pension freedoms should never have been allowed, freedom isn't a good option for many.

kangoora

To OP, nice rant - you have the option of not offering more than 1%. IFA's have the option of not accepting 1%.

Looks like you will be stuck with your DB pension then

Natalius

I hear what you suggest but I have the paperwork in front of me. Its in black and white and its pension at date of leaving and GMP age is 60 . Of course once activated it will be index linked etc etc.
My issue isn't the pension multiple or the transfer value, its being able to get  the transfer suitability report done for a reasonable sum of money. 

garmeg

Natalius said:

I hear what you suggest but I have the paperwork in front of me. Its in black and white and its pension at date of leaving and GMP age is 60 . Of course once activated it will be index linked etc etc.
My issue isn't the pension multiple or the transfer value, its being able to get  the transfer suitability report done for a reasonable sum of money. 

£1830 at date of leaving is a lot more today.

What is the date of leaving?

What is the split of this figure between GMP and non-GMP?

How much of the GMP is pre 1988 and post 1988?

What is the GMP revaluation rate?

sandsy

Fee doesn't sound outrageous if getting advice corrects all your misperceptions...

xylophone

 I know exactly what I am doing 

If you left  your Defined Benefit scheme before normal scheme pension age and think that the pension on leaving is the same as that at scheme pension age, then this seems unlikely.

https://www.barnett-waddingham.co.uk/comment-insight/blog/revaluation-for-early-leavers/

Dazed_and_C0nfused

At a transfer multiple of 93 times there is no way I am not taking this.

I just need someone who will do this report for me for sensible money and in a timely manner. What do I consider to be sensible ? I will NOT pay more than 1 %.

Those two statement appear to be at conflict with each other.