Pensions - Articles - Comment on FCA deferring its statement on DB transfer advice

 Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon comments: “We welcome the FCA’s decision to defer its policy statement on the proposed ban on contingent charging and other future interventions on advice on defined benefit transfers. In these unprecedented times, people need advice more than ever and a contingent charge ban, leaving individuals no choice but to pay upfront for advice, would have made it more difficult for some individuals to access advice on DB transfers. The FCA had proposed a carve out from the ban for those in significant financial hardship, but in the current climate it would have been even harder to objectively assess whether an individual met that definition.

 “As with everything, the coronavirus crisis affects the considerations around transferring from DB to DC. Any decision to give up a guaranteed income for life to access the pension freedoms, with ongoing stock market risks and opportunities is very personal to the individual. This, coupled with scheme by scheme funding impacts and possible changes to transfer value calculation bases mean the value of advice has never been higher.”