The Pensions Regulator has issued new guidance to schemes today, requiring them to provide members requesting a transfer out with additional information and warnings. The full guidance can be read here.
In summary, the regulator is calling on scheme trustees to:
- highlight the free, impartial pensions guidance from Pension Wise, including phone appointments and online information;
- encourage members to take regulated advice to understand their retirement options;
- identify increased risks in how a member has decided to access their pension funds and give appropriate warnings of the risks and implications of their chosen option;
- send all DB members requesting a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) a template letter signed by TPR, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service, which runs The Pensions Advisory Service;
- monitor CETV requests and inform FCA of unusual or concerning patterns, such as spikes or the same adviser across multitude of requests.
Ukraine – 10% drop reporting
Alistair MacDougall Compliance 2020, 2022, COVID-19, FCA, Update
The current hostilities in Ukraine have caused significant market drops and may continue to do so. Accordingly, a reminder about the 10% drop reporting requirements is timely. Readers will recall the early days of the Covid pandemic in 2020 caused a period of market volatility that necessitated issue of 10% drop notifications to clients. […]