Post Brexit Pension Transfer - How to Get the Required Advice.....

sandsy

"So the amount I would receive as income is approximately 1.3% of my current CETV. "

How old are you? What is the scheme's normal retirement age? When did you last obtain the income figure? Has the income figure been updated since you left the scheme? You do realise that the income figure quoted when you left the scheme and stopped accruing additional years of service usually carries on increasing each year until retirement?

Thrugelmir

Essex_Traveller said:

As part of Brexit, there was no agreement for Financial Services which means they are unable to passport their services over the Pond and provide advice to EU residents, even if they are UK citizens.

That's a complaint to be addressed at Brussels.  Nor is there likely ever to be one. 

Essex_Traveller

Thrugelmir said:

Essex_Traveller said:

As part of Brexit, there was no agreement for Financial Services which means they are unable to passport their services over the Pond and provide advice to EU residents, even if they are UK citizens.

That's a complaint to be addressed at Brussels.  Nor is there likely ever to be one. 

Was there any point to you posting this ? My point was to provide context as to why I could not get the required FA as per the FCA regs....

dunstonh

Essex_Traveller said:

Thrugelmir said:

Essex_Traveller said:

As part of Brexit, there was no agreement for Financial Services which means they are unable to passport their services over the Pond and provide advice to EU residents, even if they are UK citizens.

That's a complaint to be addressed at Brussels.  Nor is there likely ever to be one. 

Was there any point to you posting this ? My point was to provide context as to why I could not get the required FA as per the FCA regs....

And Thrugelmir's point was that it is the EU that has decided it does not want the UK to have passporting permissions.

That is despite the UK having an identical rule book (indeed, due to gold plating, it is actually stronger than the EU requirements) and the EU allowing countries with much different rule books having permissions.  It is clearly a political decision by the EU.

You are an EU resident and can raise issues with your MEP

Essex_Traveller

Okies - update on this.

My DB pension started to offer advice for a fixed fee for anyone looking to transfer and wanting to be advised - I had to pay it because I am not 55 yet (£600 !!).

They agreed to to do this only because I still had a light financial footprint in the UK which was rapidly fading.

I was then put through my paces in a super thorough fashion by the IFA as to why I wanted to do this and why it had to do it now (because once my footprint had gone, they could not advise and so I would not be able to transfer even though the value would  be higher as I get closer to 55).

I did a number of questionnaires, interviews, Q&A's etc.  I also had to prove I was competent investor (shared five years trading history from my SIPP), justify why I did not like investing in Trusts (Woodford, Russia, values etc), confirm my retirement plans, income requirements (especially as they are quite low), family health profiles, mitigation plans for failed investments etc. I also provided an investment plan for the CETV with reasoning, projections and some third party supporting info.

It was actually quite tiring but had plenty of value as it made me retest my own assumptions and plans as well as driving me to be more active in reducing my risk with my share picking

The outcome was they supported my transfer and its in progress now (relying on Mercer so am not holding my breath)

It has to be said, they would have preferred not to and that we should all assume that I would be able to do this transfer at 55 as the value would be higher - however I proved there were no intitatives to actually deliver this courtesy of the FCA and Pensions Ombudsman emails, especially as my net worth is not (nor will it ever be) in the 'wealthy' bracket.

My cirumstances definiltey made me an outlier and I was able to demonstrate that in an objective and documented way, supported by 3rd party comms from within the industry.

So in summary, DB transfer is possible before 55, its not easy and you had better know your own onions as it were. I was really preapred and still had to do quite a bit of work for, and with, the IFA.

To add: If you want to leave the UK to live somewhere else and you want to transfer your DB or DC pension if its over 30k - you should do it before you leave the UK unless you have a pretty good net worth to have a hope of being considered by the larger consultancies for financial advice after you leave.

Ciao !

Essex_Traveller

sandsy said:

"So the amount I would receive as income is approximately 1.3% of my current CETV. "

How old are you? What is the scheme's normal retirement age? When did you last obtain the income figure? Has the income figure been updated since you left the scheme? You do realise that the income figure quoted when you left the scheme and stopped accruing additional years of service usually carries on increasing each year until retirement?

Thank you for taking the time to answer and apologies for the delay in responding.

I am 49, the schemes retirement age is 55 for me. It was an up to date projection (I left the scheme 20 years ago). I do understand that the values continue to increase until retirement age whether that be at 55 or later. 

I did the above calc on the figures available to me.

When the IFA and I went through this, I was able to demonstrate that in the context of my (outlier) circumstances, I could utilise the CETV from purely an income basis or by running down the capital figure (assuming it didnt depreciate) and therefore as a mix of the two and still maintain the income figures being quoted now and projected at retirement as the plan assumed I would live a very long time (and I could show that was possible, just unlikely) and my income requirements are lower than for most people due to my lifestyle choices (current and future).

Essex_Traveller

dunstonh said:

You need to use a financial adviser resident in the country you are in or has regulatory permissions with the Italian regulatory body.  That would include some UK firms catering for the UK expat market.   However, the numbers are going to be limited.  Could well be limited to a handful of firms.

Thank you for responding.

If financial advice has to be by an IFA that is a member of the FCA (A UK specific body) how can an FA in Italy provide advice on a UK pensions product to someone who is still a UK citizen ?

There are no regulatory permissions between the UK FCA and EU countries - that was excluded by the Brexit process like you say, probably because it was perceived to be a minority issue (cheers Bojo !).  This daft decision does not just impact people with pensions challenges, but thats for another discussion............

Essex_Traveller

etienneg said:

As dunstonh has said, DB schemes do not perform (either well or badly). What you get from them is defined already, so that's what you should be looking at. Hence, your reason for seeking to transfer to your SIPP is flawed. It may well be best to keep them for the defined benefits they will provide, which will also save you all the hassle of transferring.

My reasons for seeking to transfer are not even detailed here, so cannot be assessed by you as being 'flawed' or otherwise.

Essex_Traveller

xylophone said:

Even if you find an  a Pension Transfer Specialist, there is no guarantee that he would   advise a transfer out - does your SIPP accept a transfer against advice?

Have you googled?

Example

https://valiant-wealth.com/financial-advice-for-expats-in-italy/

Surely I have to go through the FA process to understand that rather than just assume ?

Essex_Traveller

elouise01582 said:

Have you tried Blevin Franks?

Hi there and thank your for providing a resource to use - I did manage to get advice in the end  but only because I still had a light financial footprint in the UK.