Aegon has called for changes to the pension dashboard rules which it believes will enable advisers to better support their clients.
An FCA consultation on the on the regulation of pension dashboard service firms closes today (8 May).
According to Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, the dashboards have the potential to create a ‘step change’ in pension engagement, but regulations should allow regulated firms to support clients in making informed decisions rather than just allow viewing of data.
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“While the government has ruled out individuals undertaking transactions on pension dashboards, the FCA regulatory framework will determine how easy or hard it will be for individuals, particularly if not seeking advice, to take that next step from viewing data to taking action,” he said.
“We appreciate that pension dashboards are a new concept and the FCA must protect consumers from scammers. But where regulated firms are involved, the Consumer Duty adds further regulatory protections to ensure good outcomes. Often, consumers need protecting from their own inertia and if taking action is too complex or daunting, this can lead to poorer outcomes.”
Cameron added that he is concerned about the “sharp break in the journey” when moving from a dashboard to other transactional services a firm may offer. He called on the FCA to explore allowing consumers to extract data from both view and post-view services in a form which could then be used in conjunction with ‘off dashboard’ services offered by advisers and other regulated firms.
“Better engagement, prompted by dashboards, could lead to greater consolidation of pots where safe to do so,” he said. “FCA data shows that it’s small pots which are most likely to be taken as lump sums at retirement. Dashboards offer a great opportunity to encourage more consolidation into larger pots, improving consumer engagement with their journey towards and into retirement.”
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