Pensions - Articles - Scottish Life responds to ban on AE consultancy charges

 Scottish Life, the pensions specialist business of the Royal London Group, has voiced its concerns about the announcement by the DWP that it is to ban Consultancy Charging in Automatic Enrolment schemes.

 Ewan Smith, Managing Director of Scottish Life, said:

 "We are very disappointed by this announcement as we believe it will undermine the success of Automatic Enrolment.

 "The DWP are hugely undervaluing the importance that advisers have in making Automatic Enrolment a success. All the research and experience we have in the SME market tells us that employers require professional support in meeting the challenge of Automatic Enrolment. Equally we know that many employers and consumers will resist paying fees. This is why we believed Consultancy Charging had an important role to play in delivering the combined policy objectives of both RDR and Automatic Enrolment. The withdrawal of adviser capacity from the market is the risk that DWP seem prepared to run."

 Scottish Life will continue to support advisers and their clients in overcoming the problems that the DWP's ban will cause to some firms.