Illness and preserved DB Pension Transfer

robbo87

Hello, a relative is close to retirement age with, among other sizeable pensions&investments, a small-ish preserved DB pension. The Transfer value is thought to be 40x the annual DB pension. She's not in the best of health (heart disease) and considering taking transfer advice to move this small DB pension to a DC pension (so she has potential access to a much larger lumpsum for any significant&urgent medical expenses). One option is obviously an fa/ifa from unbiased, vouchedfor etc.  Another possibilty could be fa direct from a large pension co. 

I see https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ have stopped taking on new DB transfers from any but existing customers.

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Marcon

robbo87 said:

Hello, a relative is close to retirement age with, among other sizeable pensions&investments, a small-ish preserved DB pension. The Transfer value is thought to be 40x the annual DB pension. She's not in the best of health (heart disease) and considering taking transfer advice to move this small DB pension to a DC pension (so she has potential access to a much larger lumpsum for any significant&urgent medical expenses). One option is obviously an fa/ifa from unbiased, vouchedfor etc.  Another possibilty could be fa direct from a large pension co. 

I see https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ have stopped taking on new DB transfers from any but existing customers.

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Sidetracking slightly (apologies)....has she actually got a current transfer value? The 'guarantee period' is only 3 months from the date of calculation and any adviser will be reluctant to try and advise with the available time already ticking away, so it could already be too late for the current value.

Check if the scheme will issue another CETV if this one expires before she is able to seek advice - and if so, how much it will cost her to obtain another. She is only entitled to one free CETV quote in any 12 month period. She also needs to check, given she is 'close to retirement age', whether she will be able to transfer if she is within 12 months of her scheme's Normal Retirement Age (aka Normal Retirement Date).

robbo87

Marcon said:

robbo87 said:

Hello, a relative is close to retirement age with, among other sizeable pensions&investments, a small-ish preserved DB pension. The Transfer value is thought to be 40x the annual DB pension. She's not in the best of health (heart disease) and considering taking transfer advice to move this small DB pension to a DC pension (so she has potential access to a much larger lumpsum for any significant&urgent medical expenses). One option is obviously an fa/ifa from unbiased, vouchedfor etc.  Another possibilty could be fa direct from a large pension co. 

I see https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ have stopped taking on new DB transfers from any but existing customers.

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Sidetracking slightly (apologies)....has she actually got a current transfer value? The 'guarantee period' is only 3 months from the date of calculation and any adviser will be reluctant to try and advise with the available time already ticking away, so it could already be too late for the current value.

Check if the scheme will issue another CETV if this one expires before she is able to seek advice - and if so, how much it will cost her to obtain another. She is only entitled to one free CETV quote in any 12 month period. She also needs to check, given she is 'close to retirement age', whether she will be able to transfer if she is within 12 months of her scheme's Normal Retirement Age (aka Normal Retirement Date).

Thanks for the reply!

There is a recent, expired  CETV , hence the rough estimate of 40x. Another one can be obtained on request (plus some admin time) & for a known price. Transfer has been confirmed as a possibility.

The outstanding issue is finding a suitable adviser.

Trying to cast the net wide and cover cos like https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ 

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Marcon

robbo87 said:

Marcon said:

robbo87 said:

Hello, a relative is close to retirement age with, among other sizeable pensions&investments, a small-ish preserved DB pension. The Transfer value is thought to be 40x the annual DB pension. She's not in the best of health (heart disease) and considering taking transfer advice to move this small DB pension to a DC pension (so she has potential access to a much larger lumpsum for any significant&urgent medical expenses). One option is obviously an fa/ifa from unbiased, vouchedfor etc.  Another possibilty could be fa direct from a large pension co. 

I see https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ have stopped taking on new DB transfers from any but existing customers.

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Sidetracking slightly (apologies)....has she actually got a current transfer value? The 'guarantee period' is only 3 months from the date of calculation and any adviser will be reluctant to try and advise with the available time already ticking away, so it could already be too late for the current value.

Check if the scheme will issue another CETV if this one expires before she is able to seek advice - and if so, how much it will cost her to obtain another. She is only entitled to one free CETV quote in any 12 month period. She also needs to check, given she is 'close to retirement age', whether she will be able to transfer if she is within 12 months of her scheme's Normal Retirement Age (aka Normal Retirement Date).

Thanks for the reply!

There is a recent, expired  CETV , hence the rough estimate of 40x. Another one can be obtained on request (plus some admin time) & for a known price. Transfer has been confirmed as a possibility.

The outstanding issue is finding a suitable adviser.

Trying to cast the net wide and cover cos like https://www.fidelity.co.uk/fidelity-retirement-service/ 

Are there any other pension cos that still advise&accept DB transfers to themselves?

Thanks for any links.

Depending on when the 'recent' CETV was calculated, be aware that a revised CETV is likely to be considerably less (a drop of 40% or more is common) given market conditions.

All advisers whether tied or independent are required to work to the same FCA rulebook, so a 'suitable' adviser would be any with the necessary FCA permission (i.e. 'advising on DB transfers'). Given the FCA's enthusiasm for encouraging customers to look at whether they received poor advice: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/pension-transfer-defined-benefit/advice-checker you won't find too many who are keen to take on the business, let alone actually recommend a transfer. 

Searching the FCA register is probably most likely to be helpful: https://register.fca.org.uk/s/

xylophone

And she could try

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

Tick "confirmed independent" and "pension transfer" when the menu comes up.

A Pension Transfer Specialist will be required.

https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/glossary/G856.html

dunstonh

CETVs are  generally around half what they were this time last year.  And about a quarter from what they were over summer.   

Getting cases through is largely back to pre-credit crunch levels which is around 1 in 10 cases being deemed suitable for transfer.