In a letter to the Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field, FCA executive director Christopher Woolard said advice firms have been referring work to defined benefit (DB) pension transfer specialists with inaccurate information.
“We have seen instances where advisory firms that do not hold the relevant qualifications have referred clients to qualified pensions transfer specialists, but the information that is provided by the advisory firm has not been adequate.”
FCA action
In these cases, Woolard said the FCA had visited the firms to review files, and where appropriate, accept voluntary restrictions on their permissions.
“This action was taken against the specialist firms as they remain responsible for the suitability of the advice. We also decided to provide feedback to the sector via our supervisory updates,” Woolard said.
As part of its consultation paper published last month, the FCA is investigating whether pension transfer specialists also need to hold equivalent qualifications to investment advisers.
In the paper, the FCA also backtracked on a proposal to change its position that an adviser should assume that a DB pension transfer is “unsuitable” for a client.
Christopher Lean says:
Is it not the responsibility of the regulated UK IFA to obtain adequate information themselves, and not rely on information obtained by a third party?