BT DB Pension Advice Fee (Hub Pension Consulting)

soonretire

Diplodicus said:

xylophone said:

I will also ask HUB some of the pertinent questions mentioned in the post so far.

It would be interesting to hear how this works out.

Yes. It will be interesting, too, to hear from soonretire's advser, whose firm has an arrangement with a reputable provider to furnish insistent clients with a transfer.

Dear Forum members I had hoped to move to AJ Bell and with that door closing earlier this year I am unsure if my transfer will even happen. I will go through the process to see if I get advice that its in my interest to do so. From the initial chat with the FA they seem less interested in my arguments about being single / no spousal maintenance required. Now it all seems to be about being able to show you have so much excess retirement income that you dont even need to drawdown the CETV as a source of retirement income!

If I am able to successfully proceed as an insistent client I will share this with the Forum as I know this is something others would also like to do. 

BT Pensions have issued a number of communications to say they have subsidised arrangements with HUB and WPS. Interestingy HUB quoted me £875 and WPS quoted me £875 plus VAT, both for what they call full transfer advice, not an abridged service.  Both look like a new service and neither impressed me as experts in this field. Perhaps the expertise comes once you part with the money and speak to a transfer specialist. TBH I would not hold much confidence in anything BT sets up.

soonretire

One more thing BT pension holders considering a transfer might find it helpful to know. I have been taking CETV quotes for about 12 months now. I was at £630k in April and £712k in Sept so whether its gilt rates or something else in the calculation, rates have gone up. The latest quote also gave me the option to just transfer out one part of the Pension which was also a new option.

xylophone

The latest quote also gave me the option to just transfer out one part of the Pension which was also a new option.

https://www.btps.co.uk/MediaArchive/SchemeSite/Transfer Guide 26.04.21.pdf

Making a partial transfer 

If you built up benefits working at BT both before and after 1 April 2009, you may be eligible for a partial transfer. This would mean transferring out just the benefits you built up after 31 March 2009. The benefits you built up before 1 April 2009 would then remain with BTPS for you to use towards your retirement. 

If you are eligible for a partial transfer, your Transfer Out Quote will show you a partial transfer value. There will also be a box for you to tick on your Transfer Acceptance form to indicate whether you wish to make a partial transfer. 

You still need to be sure that any new scheme is able to meet your needs as effectively as the valuable, lifelong benefits you’ve built up with BTPS. If your partial transfer value is more than £30,000 you must speak to an IFA and make sure that the required forms are completed. 

If your Transfer Out Quote does not show a partial transfer value it means you did not build up any BTPS benefits after 31 March 2009 and if you transfer out of BTPS you must transfer all your benefits. 

tigerspill

Fly100 said:

Interested in this also. I had approx 8 years at BT in the early 90's. Roll on to now I have a pot of approx £100k and predicted pension of sub £2000 per annum. With BT wanting to use the Pension Pot to upgrade the Network and various other things I would prefer it to be in my control and in a SIPP I have control off. Not relying on the Courts to protect the BT pot. Sooner or later they will find a way to use our pot for something other than for the people who put into it.

The BT pension is held totally independently of BT.  BT have no control whatsoever over it.

However, the pension fund has a huge deficit, much of which is calculated based on risk.  Bt reducing DB liability, the risk is reduced and they better understand their actual liabilities.  The have introduced all sorts of options for those taking their pension.
One of these options happened to suit my personal circumstances when I took mine.
The BT DB scheme is one of the best available.

And it is protected by a Crown Guarantee by the government.  And would have further  pension protection fund.  So pretty much as rock solid as it is possible to get.

xylophone

However, the pension fund has a huge deficit, much of which is calculated based on risk. 

https://www.professionalpensions.com/news/4038295/bt-pension-scheme-expects-deficit-fall

idontknow2

Hi and apologies for the delay in responding back, busy at work.... In the end I asked the company aligned with my current employer for some advice and the suggestion was that I hold off from anything until I was closer to the position at which I would retire, which is still 3 or 4 years away.  For the following reasons
a) The current scheme increases in line with RPI for section C (the relevant one for me) and as a DB scheme is free from risk in terms of returns during now and the point at which I decide if I want to look at transferring out.
b) The current legislation on the requirement for an IFA may change in the future and also the options if successful may also change (eg those willing to take on insistent clients
c) My circumstances might change - positively or negatively.  There are a number of factors here not least of all two kids at university, a mortgage, etc - as liabilities, that won't be the case in 4 years time as the kids leave uni and I will, hopefully, be mortgage free.  Also, my other DC pension to which I contribute the maximum permitted amount currently will be in a different position along with my addition BT DC pot that I built up.
d) BT's position might change or the BT pensions position might change (could be positive or negative).

In conclusion I didn't get a warm feeling about Hub Pension Consulting so didn't go back to them with the question posed by the forum, but thank you for the contribution, as I decided not to pursue it currently either way and thought any response received now may not be relevant in a couple of years time.

Apologies again for the delay in getting back.

soonretire

Dear Forum, here is an update. I am still waiting for my Transfer Advice report. 

The specialist I am using has asked that I do not publish his details because he is unable to take on any more work. However I have researched the transfer options currently available. The option to move to a platform as an insistent client is to find an IFA who is willing to perform the transfer against their own advice using an IFA managed platform. After that someone is free to transfer again to their own SIPP. I further understand that IFA's who have an arrangement with Scottish Widows are able to provide this transfer service to an insistent client.

dunstonh

 The option to move to a platform as an insistent client is to find an IFA who is willing to perform the transfer against their own advice using an IFA managed platform.

That is the thing I find strange as there are only a handful of PI insurers offering DB transfer cover and my understanding is that none of those covered DB transfers on insistent client basis.

. I further understand that IFA's who have an arrangement with Scottish Widows are able to provide this transfer service to an insistent client.

The provider is largely irrelevant when it comes to an IFA.

xylophone

That is the thing I find strange as there are only a handful of PI insurers offering DB transfer cover and my understanding is that none of those covered DB transfers on insistent client basis.

It appears that there are those willing to accept "insistent clients".

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6313011/help-transferring-small-defined-benefit-pension

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78700642/#Comment_78700642