Can I force a transfer of DB against advice

copierdoctor

Hi, I currently have an IFA looking at two small DB pensions I have, neither of which would give me much income as pensions.
I also have a further DB which will be my main income, and can be taken at 63 no penalty. I am 55 and have just had a heart attack, so want to stop work next May when I will be 56. If the IFA advises against the transfers, can I insist on it being done. I have a financial plan, and an annuity in mind which using the transferred money, will pay me for 11 years to take me to state pension age.

Linton

This question often comes up on the forum.  Legally you can transfer against advice.  However there is no platform which is known to accept transfer-in of a  DB pension against advice.  All the standard ones will not.  You cannot insist that your chosen IFA help you.  The regulator's statements imply that it would be inappropriate.

So your best bet is to ensure that your IFA has all the information needed to lead him to give positive advice.

Generally a transferred DB pension will provide insufficient money to buy an equivalent annuity.  Though your health could enable you to get one at enhanced rates.  The IFA should take this into consideration when deciding on his advice.

jamesd

There's a key date and factual question in FCA regulations: do you have a medical condition that makes it likely that you will die before you reach age 75? Medical only, not lifestyle. If you have such a condition you are considerably more likely to get an adviser recommending a transfer, so ensure that any adviser used is aware of the relevant medical facts.

You can't compel the adviser to do the transfer against their own advice but there are some who have been willing to do it against eh advice of another adviser. Regrettably, all mainstream pension products no longer facilitate a consumer doing such a transfer against advice without the help of an adviser, frustrating the intent of Parliament with the Pensions Freedoms of 2015, which do provide such a right to act against advice.

If you can't find a willing adviser, the remaining option is setting up a small self-administered scheme.

That and contacting your political representative and asking them to repair the failed pension transfer market.

jamesd

There's a further potentially helpful answer: if you were to transfer and buy a lifetime (not just term) annuity, would the lifetime annuity pay more than the DB pension? If yes, the answer is more likely to be in favour of transferring. Annuities take health conditions and lifestyle factors into account, DB pensions don't at an individual level.

You'll also be expected to compare with the DB income taken now, complete with any actuarial reductions for early payment.

Pablo7474

Despite so many being up in arms about this, I have never seen anyone raise it on the Government petition site? Plenty of people do about WASPI and triple lock etc. Strange. 

copierdoctor

The combined transfer out values of the two funds is 180k, so wouldn't buy a usefull lifetime annuity, but they will buy one to keep me until I teke my other pension and state pension. As I said, I have another DB pension which will be providing my income. The two I am looking to transfer out will only pay £900 a year taken as pension on one, and £4k per year on the other. I have given the IFA all the information they require, including a complete list of medication and dosage amounts, didn't think they would go that deep but they have been told everything they asked. Hopefully the decision goes my way.

Thrugelmir

Pablo7474 said:

Despite so many being up in arms about this, I have never seen anyone raise it on the Government petition site? Plenty of people do about WASPI and triple lock etc. Strange. 

Why haven't you started one if you consider it a matter of National importance. 

Pablo7474

Who said I did? 

NoMore

Pablo7474 said:

Despite so many being up in arms about this, I have never seen anyone raise it on the Government petition site? Plenty of people do about WASPI and triple lock etc. Strange. 

Despite lots of discussion on this forum, which I think is down to it being one of the few places it is regularly discussed therefore drawing anybody interested here via a simple internet search, my feeling (and yes this can get shot down by anybody) the actual number of people who would want to transfer as an insistent client is tiny, perhaps only in the few hundreds maybe up to several thousand, but definitely not enough to get any traction in the general population to support change of legislation.

Pablo7474

I agree, but those that are furious and have plenty to say on here never seem to progress to the next step. 

Aretnap

Pablo7474 said:

Despite so many being up in arms about this, I have never seen anyone raise it on the Government petition site? Plenty of people do about WASPI and triple lock etc. Strange. 

Someone did once. It got fourteen whole signatures. 

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300464