Final Salary Pension Transfer

Trev24

I would like to transfer and consolidate a final salary pension into an existing SIPP  with Hargreaves Lansdown. I understand that I need to get financial advice however the cost of such advice appeared to be substantial for what I expect will be at the most a few hours of work.
Hilltop Finance have offered a fix fee of £3000 and only payable if the advice is positive to enable the transfer. However this is conditional on the funds being transferred to their preferred SIPP administrator ‘True Potential’.
As I do not recognise this company name I am very reluctant to move my pension to them.
Are there any financial advisors that offer a reasonable fixed fee for providing the required advice without any strings attached.
Thank you.

Malthusian

Trev24 said:

Hilltop Finance have offered a fix fee of £3000 and only payable if the advice is positive to enable the transfer. However this is conditional on the funds being transferred to their preferred SIPP administrator ‘True Potential’.
As I do not recognise this company name I am very reluctant to move my pension to them.

You certainly should be as it is prohibited by regulations to advise on that basis. "Contingent charging" (meaning you only pay if the advice is positive) on defined benefit transfers has been banned for almost a year. Run a mile.
For what it is worth True Potential is a well-known and reputable platform and SIPP administrator; your adviser saying they will break the rules to get your business is the problem.

dunstonh

 I understand that I need to get financial advice however the cost of such advice appeared to be substantial for what I expect will be at the most a few hours of work.

A few hours work?    lol

Hilltop Finance have offered a fix fee of £3000 and only payable if the advice is positive to enable the transfer. However this is conditional on the funds being transferred to their preferred SIPP administrator ‘True Potential’.

That is known as contingent charging and is banned.  I suspect if you contacted True Potential and tell them this they will apologise and deal with their appointed representative accordingly.

As I do not recognise this company name I am very reluctant to move my pension to them.

They are a well known wealth management firm.

Are there any financial advisors that offer a reasonable fixed fee for providing the required advice without any strings attached.

Yes.  Although you may find your decision to transfer to one of the most expensive platforms is a potential issue.  Especially if your chosen investments are pretty poor quality.

Ibrahim5

You would have to gaze out of the window aimlessly to make it a few hours work. I mean how many pieces of paper would you have to look at to make a decision? Hilarious.

Albermarle

Trev24 said:

I would like to transfer and consolidate a final salary pension into an existing SIPP  with Hargreaves Lansdown. I understand that I need to get financial advice however the cost of such advice appeared to be substantial for what I expect will be at the most a few hours of work.
Hilltop Finance have offered a fix fee of £3000 and only payable if the advice is positive to enable the transfer. However this is conditional on the funds being transferred to their preferred SIPP administrator ‘True Potential’.
As I do not recognise this company name I am very reluctant to move my pension to them.
Are there any financial advisors that offer a reasonable fixed fee for providing the required advice without any strings attached.
Thank you.

This is one of the most popular topics on this forum - that is the issues surrounding DB transfers .
Suggest you spend some time scrolling through the forum .
Here is a current thread 
Db pension transfer advice/suitability report. — MoneySavingExpert Forum
and an older one but there are many others 
Who will accept a DB to SIPP transfer from "insistent client" — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Cus

Ibrahim5 said:

You would have to gaze out of the window aimlessly to make it a few hours work. I mean how many pieces of paper would you have to look at to make a decision? Hilarious.

I assume this sarcastic?

When I transferred mine it was a huge document with a ridiculous number of financial models, assessments, worded comments, analysis etc and this is what they gave me, let alone what they have to do away from me.

Ibrahim5

It's called cut and paste.

pip895

Ibrahim5 said:

It's called cut and paste.

I used to believe that before I went through it.   I was surprised just how much work and how many hoops they had to jump through.  In the process my advisor discovered an issue that had arisen some 15 years before when the pension had been transferred after a company purchase. It gained me much more than the fees I got charged. 

grumiofoundation

Ibrahim5 said:

It's called cut and paste.

Since it is such easy money I presume you have set up as an IFA in your spare time and undercut the window gazers?

dunstonh

Ibrahim5 said:

It's called cut and paste.

The only possible place where copy and paste could be useful is on the report but most advisers nowadays use report writing software that templates the layout but it is mandatory to personalise the actual advice and reasons. Plus, the sections on figures don't really go well with copy and paste.  So, you may save a few minutes in one focused area but it wont help anywhere else.

The FCA is crucifying the firms that over used copy and paste in their reports and ironically, they were typically the lower cost factory line firms that caused this issue in the first place.  They were also the types of firms that were often used by those that didnt want advice and didnt care as long as it got it transferred.

Pablo7474

What you have been offered and what you are looking for is illegal, so steer clear. 

A few hours work? Clueless….. be careful you don’t lose this valuable benefit