Defined Benefit / Final Salary Pension

xylophone

But it has to be a stakeholder that does not accept business only via an intermediary.  They can refuse.

It appears that SL offers just such a stakeholder?

And  yet https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78388324/#Comment_78388324

Standard life wont take insistant clients acting against advice, my stakeholder pension is with them,  asked them on Friday about the same. Said that I would need a positive outcome from a IFA for them to accept the DB transfer.

Despite

https://www.standardlife.co.uk/pensions/guides/about-pension-transfers
If you’re an existing customer, you can simply log in to your account   and request a transfer into your existing Standard Life plan.

As I said, we need a test case?

xylophone

Standard life wont take insistant clients acting against advice, my stakeholder pension is with them,  asked them on Friday about the same. Said that I would need a positive outcome from a IFA for them to accept the DB transfer.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78389610/#Comment_78389610

If it's a stakeholder pension, they can't refuse. Clearly someone on a 'helpline' who had no idea what they were talking about.

The provider has complete protection, simply because a stakeholder pension must accept all transfers from any registered UK pension scheme. Section 1 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 - seventh condition.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78388576/#Comment_78388576

Prism

xylophone said:

But it has to be a stakeholder that does not accept business only via an intermediary.  They can refuse.

It appears that SL offers just such a stakeholder?

And  yet https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78388324/#Comment_78388324

Standard life wont take insistant clients acting against advice, my stakeholder pension is with them,  asked them on Friday about the same. Said that I would need a positive outcome from a IFA for them to accept the DB transfer.

Despite

https://www.standardlife.co.uk/pensions/guides/about-pension-transfers
If you’re an existing customer, you can simply log in to your account   and request a transfer into your existing Standard Life plan.

As I said, we need a test case?

I think that guidance about SL pension transfers relates to their main pension offering (the one you can open online) which is not a stakeholder. There is no online documentation about their stakeholder which is why we can only rely on those that already have one to help others come to a decision. It is entirely possible that their customer service is referring to the general rules on transfers to their main pension offering and not distinguishing their stakeholder option.

Regardless, I can see several of these companies shutting down their stakeholders to new customers, or at least putting it under advice only, if they see no benefit as people start to use them as a path to SIPP.

jamesd

It's perhaps worth remembering that it's liability risk which is promping receiving scheme sensitivity. You can't with any fairness be compelled to accept any transfer responsibility if the law requires you to accept all transfers.

dunstonh

Regardless, I can see several of these companies shutting down their stakeholders to new customers, or at least putting it under advice only, if they see no benefit as people start to use them as a path to SIPP.

And Standard Life won't exist as we know it by the end of the year. The legacy book and brand name will be owned by Phoenix and Standard Life will be known as Abrdn.     Phoenix are not known for keeping legacy books open for new business.

Dale72

Marcon said:

Completely agree that things have gone OTT. I'm waiting for the first complaint about a member being advised NOT to transfer (and following that advice) when transferring was clearly in their best interests! I think I'll have a long wait....

Who would I direct a complaint to? When I first spoke to an IFA they said they wouldn't recommend a transfer as they thought transfer values would continue to rise, so I left it. When I came back to it the transfer value had fallen £5500. Let me guess, I don't have a case right? They are all just sticking a finger in the air, and then making a decision based on fear of what may happen, rather than what's right for the client.

RoadToRiches

Dale72 said:

Marcon said:

Completely agree that things have gone OTT. I'm waiting for the first complaint about a member being advised NOT to transfer (and following that advice) when transferring was clearly in their best interests! I think I'll have a long wait....

Who would I direct a complaint to? When I first spoke to an IFA they said they wouldn't recommend a transfer as they thought transfer values would continue to rise, so I left it. When I came back to it the transfer value had fallen £5500. Let me guess, I don't have a case right? They are all just sticking a finger in the air, and then making a decision based on fear of what may happen, rather than what's right for the client.

Exactly this, I believe they will drop more as gilt rates will rise as will interest rates as government have to pay back all this debt somehow.

xylophone

I believe they will drop more as guilt rates will rise as will interest rates as government have to pay back all this debt somehow.

Freudian slip?

HappyHarry

Dale72 said:

Marcon said:

Completely agree that things have gone OTT. I'm waiting for the first complaint about a member being advised NOT to transfer (and following that advice) when transferring was clearly in their best interests! I think I'll have a long wait....

Who would I direct a complaint to? When I first spoke to an IFA they said they wouldn't recommend a transfer as they thought transfer values would continue to rise, so I left it. When I came back to it the transfer value had fallen £5500. Let me guess, I don't have a case right? They are all just sticking a finger in the air, and then making a decision based on fear of what may happen, rather than what's right for the client.

Really? I have never heard of that before. Are you sure the IFA was able to give transfer advice?

Edit: To clarify, I haven't heard of an IFA declining to do a transfer because they the thought the value would rise further.

candie01

Dale72 said:

Marcon said:

Completely agree that things have gone OTT. I'm waiting for the first complaint about a member being advised NOT to transfer (and following that advice) when transferring was clearly in their best interests! I think I'll have a long wait....

Who would I direct a complaint to? When I first spoke to an IFA they said they wouldn't recommend a transfer as they thought transfer values would continue to rise, so I left it. When I came back to it the transfer value had fallen £5500. Let me guess, I don't have a case right? They are all just sticking a finger in the air, and then making a decision based on fear of what may happen, rather than what's right for the client.

My transfer value dropped 30k in six months