Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
What's the story on financial adviser s anyway?
I have a small private pension with a well known provider. When I phone them to discuss my forthcoming payout date they say I need to get my financial adviser to speak to them.I see no reason to pay some third party to speak for me since my plans are straightforward. Do they have the right to make this demand?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Philip, the link below might be helpful
http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/retirement...
Down near the bottom of the page it says
"If you have a private pension, you don’t need the consent of an employer or the pension provider to take benefits early, if the terms and conditions of your contract allow you to do this."
I took a small lump sum I had from an extra pension with the Prudential but my employer handled all the paperwork with them, I just had to sign on the bottom line.
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Permalink Reply by Amit on
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Hi phillip,
If your pension has certain valuable features, such as a guaranteed annuity rate, it is possible that you would be required to seek financial advice before accessing your pension.
As Michael suggests, it's worth speaking to the pensions advisory service to understand your options.
Hope this helps
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Armit, I also think there is a sense of caution in financial services post PPI. They want to be in a position where you can't claim that you took the lump sum without clearly understanding the consrquences, thus the pressure to seek independent financial advice first. The problem is, if the pot is quite small, like mine was, the cost of the financial advice can be quite a high compared to the final sum.
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I quite agree. There is a legal requirement to take advice if your pension pot is relatively large, but some providers are asking people to do so in all cases. However, if your pension is less than the statutory limit, you should not be required to take advice to access to your pension pot.
The Pensions Advisory Service is government backed, and is there to provide free, independent information and guidance on pension matters. They should be able to tell you if your pension providers demands are legal, and if not, what next steps you could take.
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