Pension freedoms were introduced in 2015 and advice is mandatory under government legislation for potential transfers valued at more than £30,000. This has created an increased demand for pension transfer advice.
Although many people see the large sums offered by pension trustees as an attractive proposition, they risk overestimating the fund value being offered against the real value of the guaranteed income provided by a Final Salary or Defined Benefit (DB) pension scheme, which is often underestimated.
The starting point for such pension transfer advice, as required by the Financial Conduct Authority, is that a transfer is unlikely to be in a client's best interests.
Although Chapters Financial can continue to advise on pension opt outs and we have an in-house Pension Transfer Specialist, we no longer provide advice or implementation services on Defined Benefit Transfers.
Money & Pensions Service/ FCA
Because moving away from Final Salary type pension arrangements is usually at the expense of losing valuable guarantees, each individual needs to consider many aspects of their personal circumstances before coming to a decision on the most appropriate course of action.
For initial impartial guidance on occupational pension schemes, we can signpost you to Money Helper, which is a free service provided by the Money and Pensions Service. The Money and Pensions Service is an arms-length body of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and details can be found here: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en
We, along with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), would encourage anyone considering a transfer of defined benefit / guaranteed pension benefits to seek guidance on their retirement options and watch the video on pension transfer advice available on their website from this link: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/pension-transfer/advice-what-expect
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Seeking advice
We remain a Pension Transfer Specialist, however we no longer provide advice on Defined Benefit Transfers.
You may be able to find a suitably authorised adviser on the following directory: https://www.financialplanning.org.uk/wayfinder/find-planner
We are not responsible for the directory contents.