- What are Pension Freedoms?
- Who has benefited from Pension Freedoms?
- Did you make an informed decision?
- Real life case studies
- Why was it wrong for me to transfer?
- Why was this bad advice allowed to happen?
- Did I get bad advice?
- How much can I claim?
- Why use us?
What are Pension Freedoms?
Pension laws changed quite radically on 6 April 2015. The government brought about these changes in order to give people more ‘freedom’ and ‘control’ when it came to drawing money out of their pension fund. One significant change was that, if you were aged 55 or over, instead of using the fund to buy an annuity (which is a product that pays you an annual income for life), you could now take the whole fund and do whatever you liked with it! The first 25% would be tax free, but the remainder would be taxed at the normal rates, as if it were income.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?.....and it’s true to say these changes meant that many people in the UK had access to life-changing amounts of money that they ordinarily would not have had access to; money that has made a significant difference to their quality of life and perhaps at a time when they needed it most.
But, as you might expect, there were both seen and unforeseen consequences that followed the changes. This was particularly the case for people who were fortunate enough to have a Defined Benefit (DB) pension, also known as a Final Salary pension. The changes now allowed these people to move either their existing or their preserved DB pension schemes into a Defined Contribution (DC) personal pension arrangement and to access (should they choose) the whole pot of money from age 55. Previously, they would have had to wait until aged 65, perhaps, and even then, they wouldn’t have been able to access all the cash in one go.
Sounds like a Win-Win!
It does, doesn’t it?...and it was and still is… for most of the people involved.
The government ‘won’ because it collected billions of pounds in extra tax revenue from the people who wanted to take more than the 25% tax free element out of their pension pots.
The big insurance companies like Royal London and Prudential and adviser networks like St James’ Place and Openwork won, as billions upon billions of pounds of clients’ money was invested into their funds, each with its own management charge… after all, they don’t manage the money for free, you know!
The ceding scheme employers, they won too… and they were ecstatic… now that the DB pensions had been transferred, they were relieved of the onerous liability of ensuring they had enough funds to pay billions of pounds of future guaranteed income payments to the DB pension holder.
The financial advisers and their huge networks, they won and were really, really happy; a new and very lucrative income stream had just opened up to them, where they could charge the person transferring their pension all manner of initial and on-going charges.
And, of course, the scammers, they won (and continue to win) big time…. and are ecstatic as, once more, a new and very, very lucrative income stream was handed to them on a plate; the facility to persuade often vulnerable people to part with their hard earned, lifelong savings. The ability to steal had rarely been as easy!
And last and by no means least, the person transferring their gilt-edged DB pension won, didn’t they?... because they were empowered with the ‘freedom’ to take ‘control’ of their pension fund. Many probably withdrew a load of tax-free cash and settled back, content in the knowledge that they were considerably richer than they had previously thought!... for a while, at least!!
Ignorance is bliss?
In his poem, “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College” (1742), Thomas Gray famously said: “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.”
Were you ‘blissfully happy in your ignorance’ after you were advised to transfer your DB/Final Salary pension scheme?
Did you arrange to take some tax-free cash to pay off the mortgage, perhaps? Or buy a new car, or go on that holiday of a lifetime…..or all three? After all, in the past few years, the transfer values on offer from these sorts of schemes have been undeniably huge.
Or, was it a case of folly because you did not wise up?...
Did you make sure you were fully informed about the decision to transfer?
Did you completely understand the guaranteed benefits you would be giving up?
Did you realise the risks your pension pot would be exposed to following the transfer?
Did you know that, in many cases, the person advising you only got paid if you transferred?
Did you understand the charges you were now exposing your pension pot to?
Were you aware that the sector regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) believes a transfer, other than in exceptional cases, is likely to be bad advice?
Spoiler Alert!
The FCA has discovered through its recent investigations that many financial advisers have given unsuitable pension transfer advice to huge numbers of customers and, as a result, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have lost billions of pounds.
The following case studies highlight the massive amounts of money our clients have lost, because they were advised to transfer their Final Salary pensions. But, if that were not bad enough, many have had their losses increased by poor performing funds and risky product investments they thought were safe, but have since reduced in value, or even gone bust! Add to this recessions and various market downturns and it’s easy to understand why the Financial Conduct Authority takes the view that only in very rare circumstances, is it suitable for a financial adviser to recommend that you transfer your Final Salary pension.
After taking advice from a financial adviser representing Gerard Associates Limited in August 2015, Miss G transferred her BBC pension scheme into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) with Optimus. She subsequently invested her fund with The Resort Group and IPP Platform. Her Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) ie the amount that was actually transferred to the QROPS was £619,418.59, but her hypothetical value to put Miss G back to the position she was in BEFORE she was badly advised (the put-back figure) was £885,158.04, meaning she had lost £265,739.45 just by transferring her DB pension scheme.
We successfully complained about the advice Miss G had received and in July 2020, the FSCS awarded her the maximum sum of £85,000, which related to the unsuitable advice she had received from Gerard Associates.
Despite her remaining losses standing at a staggering £444,648.63, unfortunately, because Miss G has a QROPS arrangement, there are no further claims to pursue against UK regulated entities……a very upsetting case and now a stark warning to anyone considering moving their DB pension.
After taking advice from BlackStar Wealth Management Limited in September 2015, Mr G transferred his Hemmings Group Final Salary pension scheme into a Greyfriars Self Invested Pension (SIPP). His Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) was £424,004 and he arranged to immediately take 25% of it, £105,403.50, as a tax-free lump sum. He invested the rest into seven different investments, one of which has since failed.
We successfully complained about the advice Mr G had received. As it was not possible to put Mr G back into the Hemmings pension scheme, the hypothetical value to put Mr G back to the position he was in BEFORE he was badly advised (the ‘put-back’ figure) was calculated. It came back at £864,468.72, meaning that despite most of the investments in his new pension fund doing well, Mr G had still lost over £440,000 JUST FROM THE BAD ADVICE HE WAS GIVEN TO TRANSFER.
; In June 2020, Mr G was awarded the maximum sum of £85,000 and has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue further claims on his behalf.
In September 2017, Mr H transferred his Tesco Final Salary pension scheme into a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) with Intelligent Money to invest with SVS Securities, following a recommendation and advice from his financial adviser, Active Wealth Limited. His Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) was £419,787.
We successfully complained about the advice Mr H had received. As it was not possible to put Mr G back into the Tesco pension scheme, the hypothetical value to put Mr G back to the position he was in BEFORE he was badly advised was calculated. It was £602,853, meaning that Mr H had lost £183,066, JUST FROM THE BAD ADVICE TO TRANSFER.
In September 2019, Mr H was awarded the maximum sum of £50,000 and has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue the additional losses he has suffered.
Ms W was advised to transfer her preserved NHS Final Salary pension scheme into a SIPP with Rowanmoor in October 2011 and was subsequently advised to invest the fund into an overseas development called Freedom Bay and Merco Bond. Her CETV (Cash Equivalent Transfer Value) was £95,809.60, which represented nearly 15 years employment as a Nurse in the NHS.
Her investments went bust, which prompted Ms W to approach us for help. We complained to the IFA firm that had advised her and which was still trading. The firm upheld the complaint and offered to pay Ms W £90,000 as a cash settlement. However, we calculated Ms W’s actual loss from transferring her pension at over £187,000. We went back to the adviser firm and proposed that they pay Ms W a full and final cash settlement of £125,000, which they did, in July 2020.
Ms W has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue the other parties believed to also be responsible for her losses.
What our client had to say
"Excellent, friendly service throughout, with a complex situation explained to me in clear, understandable language at all stages. I know, left to my own devices, I would not have even commenced a claim, let alone known where to begin, who to complain to, nor whether an offer of compensation was fair. I was (fairly) happy with the initial offer, however having had all the facts explained, I agreed with Money and Me to pursue an improved offer – which paid off, literally! Thanks for all your help, in my case it was the difference between having nothing, and £87,500 in my bank account". Ms W – Greater Manchester.
In October 2017, a financial adviser from Active Wealth Limited advised Mr W to transfer his De La Rue DB pension scheme into a SIPP with Intelligent Money. He subsequently invested his fund with ‘Gallium’.
Mr W’s CETV was £1,719,222 with which, at the time, he was delighted. However, when the ‘put-back’ figure was calculated at £2,960,154.68, he was less than impressed to learn that he had lost over £1.2 million, simply by transferring his pension.
In October 2019, Mr W was awarded the maximum sum of £50,000 and has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue the additional losses he has suffered.
After taking advice from Desmond Dunkley and Associates in April 1989, Mr G transferred his British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) pension fund into a Personal Pension with Friends Provident, which was subsequently bought by Aviva in 2015. His CETV at the time of the transfer was £27,424.08, representing 13 years membership of the Scheme.
Some 26 years later, in August 2015, after being prompted by a friend and ex-work colleague, who had remained in the BCSSS and, as a consequence, was receiving considerably more retirement income, Mr G asked Money and Me Claims to help him.
Attempting to deflect any liability, Aviva initially refused to accept that Mr G had been mis-advised, denying any liability for his losses. This resulted in a referral to, then protracted dealings with, the Financial Ombudsmen Scheme (FOS). Over a three-year period, Money and Me Claims repeatedly wrote to and liaised with Aviva, Desmond Dunkley, the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme Trustees and the FOS, reviewing over 60 different transactions. Our knowledge, experience and persistence eventually paid off when Aviva finally made an offer to Mr G in January 2019.
As it was not possible to put Mr G back into his previous scheme, Aviva made a cash award to Mr G of £184,898.77. This gross offer included an additional £2,000 ‘goodwill gesture’ to compensate Mr G for the way Aviva had mishandled his complaint. With tax and fees deducted, Mr G received £130,874.44.
What our client had to say
"I had no idea that I may have been mis-advised to transfer the benefits from my Coal Board Pension until an ex-colleague from the Coal Board informed me that he was receiving nearly twice as much income in his retirement, despite having less service. This prompted me to enquire online to Money and Me Claims, as I didn’t feel I had the knowledge to question the advice I was given back in the late eighties and I felt my chances of getting a successful result doing the claim myself were next to nothing. It was worth every penny to have Money and Me Claims fighting my corner against such a powerful organisation, especially one that initially denied that I had a valid case. I was finally awarded over £130,000 (after tax and fees) in compensation from Aviva, which means a better retirement being much closer for me, thanks to Money and Me Claims’ persistence". Mr G. - Derbyshire.
After taking advice from a financial adviser representing Gerard Associates Limited in August 2015, Mr T transferred his Argos Final Salary pension scheme into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) with Optimus. He subsequently invested his fund with ICAP/Integrated Capabilities in Falcon Investment SICAV plc (The Resort Development fund) and Reyker Securities. His CETV was £251,267.63, but his hypothetical ‘put-back’ figure was £388,619.29, meaning he had lost £137,351.66 just by transferring.
In May 2020, Mr T was awarded the maximum sum of £85,000 and has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue further claims on his behalf.
What our client had to say
"I was referred to Money and Me Claims in December 2018, and I have to say that during the time of the claim, I have been anxious as to what the outcome would be and also the length of time it took to complete the process. However, during the 18-month period my expectations were managed fairly, at all times, with prompt responses to my numerous questions. With seven different companies to investigate and many ‘pass the buck’ tactics, I now know why my claim took 18 months to complete! These are real (genuine) people, looking after their Clients interests with utmost care and respect for their financial, and overall wellbeing. Nothing was too much trouble, and they made what was turning out to be a nightmare scenario for me, more palatable. This is something I just could not have achieved on my own. You just want this lot on your side!" Mr T – Leicester.
Mr O was advised to transfer his preserved Surrey Police Final Salary pension scheme into a SIPP with Rowanmoor by an adviser at the Pensions Office Limited in July 2012. He was subsequently advised to invest the fund into an overseas development called Freedom Bay. When he transferred, Mr O’s CETV was £79,336, which represented over 9 years employment as a Probation Officer.
We successfully complained about the advice Mr O had received. As it was not possible to put him back into the Surrey Police pension scheme, the hypothetical value to put Mr O back to the position he was in BEFORE he was badly advised was calculated. It was £198,133.54, meaning that Mr O had lost £118,797.54 JUST FROM THE BAD ADVICE TO TRANSFER.
In June 2020, Mr O was awarded the maximum £50,000 and has subsequently appointed Money and Me Claims to pursue the other parties responsible for his losses
After taking advice from Gerard Associates Limited in December 2015, Mr C transferred his Hanson/Capita Final Salary pension scheme into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) with Optimus. He subsequently invested his fund with Dolphin Trust and The Resort Group. His CETV was £152,298, but his hypothetical ‘put-back’ figure was £241,739.95, meaning he had lost £89,441.95 just by transferring his pension.
In April 2020, Mr T was awarded the maximum sum of £85,000.
Why was it wrong for me to transfer my pension?
It’s not always wrong, but here are just a couple of reasons why it may be…
When you transfer your DB/Final Salary pension, you give up a number of guaranteed benefits that you cannot get back. For example, transferring to a Defined Contribution (DC) personal pension arrangement means giving up the income that your DB scheme guaranteed to pay you for the rest of your life. Also, the income was most likely due to increase each year in line with inflation, so that it didn’t lose its buying power. A DC scheme offers no such guarantees and the value of your pension fund is affected by changes in the assets you invest in, ie shares, bonds and property etc, which move up and down in value.
Furthermore, in a DB scheme, the employer and scheme trustees are responsible for making sure there is enough money to pay your guaranteed income and, if things go wrong, there’s a ‘lifeboat’ called the Pension Protection Fund which underpins the guarantees. For you, there are no charges to pay with a DB scheme. In a DC scheme, however, you or your financial adviser are responsible for managing your pension pot until it runs out and there are charges involved…..a lot of them…..which can impact significantly on the size of your fund and how long it will last. This may involve charges for the initial advice to transfer, charges for how to invest the fund, charges to the new pension scheme operator and investment managers and charges for on-going advice.
Why is the FCA allowing all this bad advice to go on?
It’s a very good question! The financial services regulator, the FCA, has been woefully slow out of the blocks on this hugely important issue, especially given that one of its raison d’être is to protect the British public from these kinds of misdemeanours. Transferring your DB pension is probably the most complex, personal financial decision a person will ever take, but it’s only very recently that the extent of the bad advice and its ramifications for individuals has been acknowledged by the FCA.
In its annual 2020 ‘sector views’ report, the FCA indicated that unsuitable transfers from DB schemes could result in losses of up to £20 billion in client guarantees over the next five years and that failures in the DB transfer space were putting clients off pensions altogether. Furthermore, the FCA confirmed that, “Unsuitable DB to DC transfers remain a significant source of harm. The cost of getting this wrong can be very high, as consumers are giving up valuable guarantees and must manage longevity and investment risk on their own”.
In an attempt to prevent further abuse occurring, the FCA has now implemented some meaningful changes, but sadly, for many, it may be the classic case of ‘locking the stable door after the horse has bolted’. And to compound matters, many financial advisers genuinely thought they knew how to advise their clients correctly. However, according to the FCA, it appears they thought wrong, and many have since gone bust as a result of claims against them for the unsuitable advice they’ve given.
But please don’t be mis-led, other financial advisers made a packet out of advising clients to transfer, when it was clear, or ought to have been clear, that the transfers were not in the best interests of their clients.
Click on the following articles to see a good example of the problem...
The following two articles are from a trade publication called New Model Adviser. The first article is from October 2016 and is about Ken Simpson and his company, Independent Benefit Consultancy (IBC). The essence of the article is profiling the business, including its rapid growth on the back of pension freedoms and DB transfers.
The second article is from June 2020, when news broke that the FCA had told IBC to cease all pension transfer activity. This, despite four advisers in the firm being experienced and highly qualified DB transfer specialists……and the firm itself holding the Personal Finance Society’s Transfer Gold Standard!
According to the FCA, this firm got it seriously wrong. IBS is not alone. In the last few years, hundreds of firms have either stopped, or been stopped from advising their clients to transfer their precious DB pensions.
How do I know if I got bad advice?
It’s quite simple, if a financial adviser recommended that you transfer your DB/Final Salary pension, unless you had very special and individual circumstances, it’s more likely than not, that you were badly advised. Listed below is the type of information that the financial adviser should have asked you about prior to recommending a transfer.
If you answer ‘no’ to ANY of the following questions, it’s more than likely that you received unsuitable advice:
Did your financial adviser ask you about:
- You and your family’s circumstances and how much income you would need to support your family throughout your retirement
- You and your partner’s employment, current income and expenditure, tax position and entitlement to any state benefits
- You and your partner’s current health and family history
- What other pensions, assets and debt you and your partner may have, or any dependency on state benefits
- Your priorities and spending plans up to and during your retirement
- How much risk you were prepared to take with your retirement fund and your willingness to have less income, should your pension fund perform badly
- Your knowledge and understanding of DB and DC schemes, their risks, benefits and the benefits you would be giving up by transferring
- Considering alternatives to achieve your goals without transferring your DB pension
- Purchasing a guaranteed lifetime income (annuity) if you were in average or good health
- The fact that there were initial and several on-going charges upon transfer and thereafter (perhaps that you are only now aware of) compared to no charges staying in the DB pension
- Maximising the potential for good investment returns and did not show you what the effect of inflation, high charges and poor investment returns could have on your retirement income
- The Pension Protection Fund and how your retirement income would be protected, if your old employer went bust
Again, if you answered ‘no’ to ANY of the questions above, it’s more than likely that you received unsuitable advice to transfer and you can make a claim for compensation for any losses you have incurred.
Alternatively, rather than showing you how keeping your DB pension where it was could meet your retirement needs, did your financial adviser focus more on:
- Giving you flexibility and control of your pension
- Maximising the death benefits payable upon your death
- Helping you achieve early retirement
- Helping you to take a larger tax-free lump sum
- Investing your fund into hotel or student accommodation, storage or parking schemes, forestry, precious metals or any other unusual investment
- Going ahead with the transfer despite the adviser recommending you not to transfer
If the answer is ‘yes’ to these questions, the same applies; it’s more than likely that you received unsuitable advice to transfer and you can make a claim for compensation for any losses you have incurred.
How much can I claim?
Compensation is payable for losses incurred. Pension losses can occur simply be transferring your DB pension and investment losses can occur if your fund was invested in inappropriate investments.
If the firm that advised you to transfer went bust before 1/4/19, the maximum pay-out from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would be £50,000.
If the firm that advised you went bust after 1/4/19, the maximum pay-out from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would be £85,000.
If the firm that advised you is still trading, but they reject your complaint, the maximum compensation the Financial Ombudsman Service would compel the firm to pay is £160,000, if you were advised before 1/4/19 and up to £360,000 if the advice to transfer was given after 1/4/19.
However, should the firm that advised you to transfer uphold your complaint, there is no upper limit of compensation.
Do I need to use a claims company or a firm of solicitors?
No, not necessarily. A claims company will charge you for the service, as will a solicitor’s firm when it’s possible to do the claim yourself for free. That said, it would be advisable to know what you’re doing, who you’re dealing with and to have the time and the inclination to follow it through. Also, if you win, you’ll probably need to know how to check if you’ve been awarded the correct amount and know when the wool is being pulled over your eyes which, unfortunately, happens all too frequently!
Oh… and you might need to ask someone how to find out if you have any additional claims too, against other firms, especially if you’ve lost a lot and when even a maximum award does not cover your losses!
We believe it is crucial that you are able to make an informed decision as to whether ‘going it alone’, or appointing professional assistance is the best way forward for you and your financial claim.
Click here to view some further information regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as it is likely that you will be dealing with this institution, should the firm against whom you are complaining reject your claim for compensation – something which, in our experience, happens almost every time.
And finally, check out our website and have a look at how much we charge for our services, our success rates and testimonials too…..they might help you decide if we are able to fight your corner successfully and whether you’re likely to get value for money from us, or not!
