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.
FG 21/3 – client objectives
Alistair MacDougall Compliance Drawdown, FCA, ML, Pension, Pension Transfer, PI, transfer
Following on from our previous articles on FG21/3, we will look today at another of the interesting areas covered by the guidance. It goes without saying that the guidance itself is helpful, reiterating and emphasising previous rules and guidance and clarifying some areas that were arguably fuzzy before. However, as well as the actual content, […]