17/01/2019
The financial services regulator, the FCA, has paid visits to five providers of Self-Invested Personal Pensions, following a letter sent to CEOs of SIPP firms to warn about mounting claims relating SIPP products. SIPP mis-selling has been a focus for many in the financial services industry for the past few years, and claims relating to … Continued
16/01/2019
It’s now one week since the long-awaiting ban on pension cold-calling came in to effect, and this week The Pensions Regulator has told financial advisers to do more to report potential pension scams so authorities can take action earlier. Over the past 15 years, many people with valuable final salary pensions have been bombarded by … Continued
16/01/2019
Its no secret that the watchdogs at the FCA are gunning for financial advisers that give unsuitable or even negligent financial advice over the transfer of Final Salary Pensions. Defined benefits pensions are considered to be rare, valuable and in most case, well worth keeping! But over the past few years, many financial advisers threw … Continued
16/01/2019
SIPP pension provider Liberty SIPP is again ‘under fire’ over its links to high-risk and unregulated investments. Some SIPP companies allowed investments in alternative schemes, often based abroad and not regulated by the watchdogs at the FCA, including Liberty SIPP. Often linked to the Ethical Forestry situation, in which the Costa Rican forestry scheme entered … Continued
14/01/2019
Good news for those who are making claims for having been mis-sold their pension transfer away from the British Steel Pension Scheme: the FSCS is ‘upping’ the compensation amounts on offer in some cases. Many people were mis-advised to transfer their pension away from British Steel, with several financial advisers accused of using ‘fear tactics’ … Continued
09/01/2019
After years or complaints, petitions, campaigns, debates and reviews, it is now illegal for companies to cold-call members of the public about pensions. As of 9 January 2019, firms wishing to speak to people about their pensions and conduct free pension reviews will have to obtain prior consent to make marketing calls to each individual. … Continued
07/01/2019
Did you ever transfer a final salary or other type of defined benefit pension scheme? The financial services compensation scheme (FSCS) has paid out more than £40 million in 2018 for claims relating to defined benefit pension transfers that turned out to not be in the person’s best interest. Unsuitable pension transfers like these can … Continued
20/12/2018
The FOS, which is setup to resolve disputes between consumers and firms in the financial services sector, has produced a list of the top five alternative investments that it has received complaints about or relating to in the last year. Alternative investments are often based overseas, and are unregulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). … Continued
20/12/2018
A ban on cold-calling about pensions will finally be enforced from 9 January 2019, and the legislation was approved by parliament. The new law has been a long-time coming, with a solution to the problem of unregulated introducers and their part in pension mis-selling well needed. What role have unregulated introducers had in pension mis-selling? … Continued
19/12/2018
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which both creates and enforces many of the rules financial advisers have to follow, is creating a database of firms to help it police the final salary pension transfer market. According to the rules, final salary pension transfers should rarely be considered suitable as they put the pension saver’s money … Continued
