How do I convince a financial adviser to sign off on my pension transfer?

MrsOystercatcher

Hello all, I have read through the past threads about this subject but cannot find any really recent ones and am hoping for some advice. 

My situation is that I have been renting the same flat for the past 13 years, with my now 20 year old daughter.  Our landlord - who has been very good and who has not increased the rent in the whole time we have been in the flat, as he was happy to have reliable long-term tenants - let me know earlier this year that he would be selling up by next summer.

I was never in a position to buy a property previously as my income was too low, but a recent promotion means that I could now manage to buy a flat reasonably locally and I think this would be the best option, as I don't want to still be renting when I retire and paying a chunk of my pension out in rent. However, in order to have at least a 10% deposit, I would need to take a lump sum from my pension now.  I'm 55 so am fortunately able to access a lump sum from my current workplace pension, but at present this would only be in the region of £15k from that pension whereas I will need a deposit of at least £28k.  

My intention was to transfer my other pension (a local government pension with a transfer value of just over £85k) into my current workplace pension, allowing me to access a lump sum of up to £40k, but the adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased) who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer.   I cannot access the local government pension until I'm 60, if it remains where it is, and if I can't transfer it,  I won't have the deposit I need for a mortgage.

I have explained all of this to the adviser, but he is adamant that they can't sign off on the transfer. If I'm not able to get a mortgage as I don't have enough of a deposit, we are in serious trouble as rents are now so high in London that we just wouldn't be able to afford to rent anywhere within reasonable reach of my workplace or my daughter's volunteering scheme. I could afford to pay a mortgage of up to £1500 per month but rents around here now are over £2k per month for a 2 bedroom flat. 

I completely understand the need for the industry to be heavily regulated as I know there are a lot of cowboys out there, but surely at the end of the day I should be able to decide what I do with my pension and should be able to confirm that whilst I have received advice, I have opted not to follow it for the very specific reasons I have detailed? Do advisers not need to also consider the mental and emotional well-being of their clients, as my mental health will be up the proverbial creek if we are forced to move away from London and our entire support network? My daughter is autistic and has had some quite serious mental and physical health issues over the past few years, and a forced move away from London would have a massively negative impact on her recovery. 

Is there anything we can do?  Is it worth consulting another adviser to see if they would take a more flexible view?   I fully get that the standard advice would be to leave my pension where it is, to maximise retirement income, but if I am able to buy somewhere now,  I won't need to be paying rent from my pension so won't need the same level of income. 

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!

Dazed_and_C0nfused

MrsOystercatcher said:

Hello all, I have read through the past threads about this subject but cannot find any really recent ones and am hoping for some advice. 
I have a local government pension that I need to transfer to my current workplace pension scheme.  As the transfer value is just over £85k,  I am required to take independent financial advice with regard to the transfer.   I have been in touch with an adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased) who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions and has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer. 
I completely underst

Can you explain why you need to do this? 

MallyGirl

MrsOystercatcher said:

Hello all, I have read through the past threads about this subject but cannot find any really recent ones and am hoping for some advice. 
I have a local government pension that I need to transfer to my current workplace pension scheme.  As the transfer value is just over £85k,  I am required to take independent financial advice with regard to the transfer.   I have been in touch with an adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased) who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions and has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer. 
I completely underst

You don't need them to recommend the transfer but you do need them to sign off that they have provided advice.

MrsOystercatcher

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

MrsOystercatcher said:

Hello all, I have read through the past threads about this subject but cannot find any really recent ones and am hoping for some advice. 
I have a local government pension that I need to transfer to my current workplace pension scheme.  As the transfer value is just over £85k,  I am required to take independent financial advice with regard to the transfer.   I have been in touch with an adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased) who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions and has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer. 
I completely underst

Can you explain why you need to do this? 

Sorry, my computer decided to send the post before I had finished typing it!  Full post is now there!!

dunstonh

 but the adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased)

Its worth avoiding unbiased as its dominated by national firms and sales companies. Its not an IFA directory any more but a lead generation site for salesforces.

 who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer.   

They are wrong and to a level that the FOS would rule in your favour.  There was a high profile case a few years back where firms refused to sign the advice given declaration and firms were told they must sign it.

They do not have to transact the transfer but they are required to sign the advice given form.

I completely understand the need for the industry to be heavily regulated as I know there are a lot of cowboys out there, but surely at the end of the day I should be able to decide what I do with my pension and should be able to confirm that whilst I have received advice, I have opted not to follow it for the very specific reasons I have detailed?

You can.  However, you are dealing with a firm that has interpreted the rules wrong.

Do advisers not need to also consider the mental and emotional well-being of their clients, as my mental health will be up the proverbial creek if we are forced to move away from London and our entire support network? 

Not if it leaves you financially worse off.  Making you happy now at the expense of financial hardship later is not a requirement.

MrsOystercatcher

dunstonh said:

 but the adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased)

Its worth avoiding unbiased as its dominated by national firms and sales companies. Its not an IFA directory any more but a lead generation site for salesforces.

 who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer.   

They are wrong and to a level that the FOS would rule in your favour.  There was a high profile case a few years back where firms refused to sign the advice given declaration and firms were told they must sign it.

They do not have to transact the transfer but they are required to sign the advice given form.

I completely understand the need for the industry to be heavily regulated as I know there are a lot of cowboys out there, but surely at the end of the day I should be able to decide what I do with my pension and should be able to confirm that whilst I have received advice, I have opted not to follow it for the very specific reasons I have detailed?

You can.  However, you are dealing with a firm that has interpreted the rules wrong.

Do advisers not need to also consider the mental and emotional well-being of their clients, as my mental health will be up the proverbial creek if we are forced to move away from London and our entire support network? 

Not if it leaves you financially worse off.  Making you happy now at the expense of financial hardship later is not a requirement.

This is really helpful, thanks so much. I am due to speak to the adviser again tomorrow and will refer to the case a few years ago and ask them again to sign the form.  If they still refuse, do you have any suggestions about the best way to find someone who will interpret the rules correctly please? 

Tommyjw

See post towards bottom of this page

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5895113/ifa-gave-advice-but-wont-sign-declaration/p3

MrsOystercatcher

Tommyjw said:

See post towards bottom of this page

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5895113/ifa-gave-advice-but-wont-sign-declaration/p3

Thank you so much, I've made some notes and will email the adviser tomorrow quoting the relevant parts of that thread. 

FIREDreamer

MrsOystercatcher said:

dunstonh said:

 but the adviser from Humboldt Financial (identified for me via Unbiased)

Its worth avoiding unbiased as its dominated by national firms and sales companies. Its not an IFA directory any more but a lead generation site for salesforces.

 who has been through all the relevant details of my pensions has now told me that as they would not recommend the transfer, they won't be able to sign off on it as this would be viewed by the regulator as endorsing the transfer.   

They are wrong and to a level that the FOS would rule in your favour.  There was a high profile case a few years back where firms refused to sign the advice given declaration and firms were told they must sign it.

They do not have to transact the transfer but they are required to sign the advice given form.

I completely understand the need for the industry to be heavily regulated as I know there are a lot of cowboys out there, but surely at the end of the day I should be able to decide what I do with my pension and should be able to confirm that whilst I have received advice, I have opted not to follow it for the very specific reasons I have detailed?

You can.  However, you are dealing with a firm that has interpreted the rules wrong.

Do advisers not need to also consider the mental and emotional well-being of their clients, as my mental health will be up the proverbial creek if we are forced to move away from London and our entire support network? 

Not if it leaves you financially worse off.  Making you happy now at the expense of financial hardship later is not a requirement.

This is really helpful, thanks so much. I am due to speak to the adviser again tomorrow and will refer to the case a few years ago and ask them again to sign the form.  If they still refuse, do you have any suggestions about the best way to find someone who will interpret the rules correctly please? 

If they refuse to sign the form, they haven’t completed the process and presumably you don’t need to pay them until they do?

Marcon

OP - are you sure your workplace pension will accept a transfer from a DB scheme when the adviser has advised staying put? Unless it's a stakeholder pension, that is very unlikely (so open a stakeholder pension if you're determined to go ahead).

Purplelady65

Are there any other options available to you? Might it be possible to get a mortgage that only requires a 5% deposit rather than 10%. You say a 10% deposit would be £28k so a 5% deposit would be £14k which you already have covered.