Overgenerous cash transfers risk killing DB pension schemes
14 schemes told not to endanger remaining defined benefit members
14 schemes told not to endanger remaining defined benefit members
Complexities of drawdown mean DIY investors risk disastrous outcomes
The UK Pensions Regulator has written to the trustees of 12 different defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes regarding transfer activity.
Five years on from the introduction of auto-enrolment, and three years on from pension freedoms, the UK retirement planning landscape has undeniably changed. David Denton, head of international technical sales at Old Mutual Wealth, explains.
Professional Indemnity insurers have a problem with pension transfers, so broker Howdens has put together 12 things advisers can do to help mitigate the risks and the costs.
The belief that UK pension transfers peaked in 2017 has been proven wrong as figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) show £10.6bn flowed out of defined benefit schemes in the first quarter of 2018.
UK-based Mattioli Woods has stopped providing pension transfer advice service to individuals with safeguarded benefits as the wealth manager undertakes a full review of its work in the area.
The rather shocking news that broke earlier this week was that the number of DB pension transfers reached £20.8bn in 2017 prompting questions about where the money is ending up and whether many transfers are suitable.
Old Mutual Wealth is predicting defined benefit pension transfers will accelerate, with an estimated 25 to 30% of those eligible switching out of their schemes in the next 10 years.
Royal London is worried pension holders are “throwing away” their guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) under the new pension freedoms and it wants to offer them cash for the promised return.
Pension transfers are “good business for good advisers”, according to Old Mutual Wealth, which has produced a five step best practice guide for international advisers.
As the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalises its policy paper on defined benefit (DB) pension transfers, experts hope it will bring some certainty to an industry that has been in a constant state of flux since 2015.