Pension transfer

John357

Hi xylophone

The new provider only stated that IFA advice was required for funds over £30k. Seems like it's irrespective of the type of pension fund being transferred.

Prism

You mention in your first post that you wish a statement of  "I have discussed the issue with the person and can confirm I have given advice". This is likely not all you will need. It is very likely that you need the advise to recommend the transfer as the new provider will probably only accept a positive recommendation.

However, we still haven't got to the bottom of why/if you need advice at all. Maybe see what another provider says as it isn't usual to require advice for all transfers over £30k

Albermarle

John357 said:

Hi xylophone

The new provider only stated that IFA advice was required for funds over £30k. Seems like it's irrespective of the type of pension fund being transferred.

If it is standard DC pension pot with no guaranteed benefits, you can transfer a pot of any size without any need for financial advice.
This is because you will have the same pot and rights after the transfer, as before.
It is possible the person you had contact with was inexperienced/mistaken.

GDB2222

Albermarle said:

John357 said:

Hi xylophone

The new provider only stated that IFA advice was required for funds over £30k. Seems like it's irrespective of the type of pension fund being transferred.

If it is standard DC pension pot with no guaranteed benefits, you can transfer a pot of any size without any need for financial advice.
This is because you will have the same pot and rights after the transfer, as before.
It is possible the person you had contact with was inexperienced/mistaken.

But, the OP has made it clear that it isn’t a standard DC pension pot. It’s a SERA. 

These date from a time when many policies had a GAR, so it’s possible that transferring would be a poor financial decision in the long term, possibly spurred on by short term needs. In the past, advising in this situation has caused ongoing and very expensive compliance issues for advisors. 

Albermarle

GDB2222 said:

Albermarle said:

John357 said:

Hi xylophone

The new provider only stated that IFA advice was required for funds over £30k. Seems like it's irrespective of the type of pension fund being transferred.

If it is standard DC pension pot with no guaranteed benefits, you can transfer a pot of any size without any need for financial advice.
This is because you will have the same pot and rights after the transfer, as before.
It is possible the person you had contact with was inexperienced/mistaken.

But, the OP has made it clear that it isn’t a standard DC pension pot. It’s a SERA. 

These date from a time when many policies had a GAR, so it’s possible that transferring would be a poor financial decision in the long term, possibly spurred on by short term needs. In the past, advising in this situation has caused ongoing and very expensive compliance issues for advisors. 

Yes but the contact at the provider gave the impression that all pensions over £30K needed advice to transfer. So I was just clarifying that this was not the case.

xylophone

The new provider only stated that IFA advice was required for funds over £30k. Seems like it's irrespective of the type of pension fund being transferred.

No, this is not the case.

If the pension is  standard DC, regardless of the size of the pot there is no regulatory requirement for transfer advice.

Some providers may have a business model which requires that regardless of the size or type of pensions, any transfer goes through an intermediary FA.

I have now amended my previous post to show link below.

For what seems to be your particular case, page 4 seems relevant.






https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495377/pension-benefits-with-a-guarantee-factsheet-jan-2016.pdf