The Works and Pensions Sub committee

Following on from its earlier report on Port Talbot, a  new inquiry focusing on whether the pensions industry provides sufficient transparency around charges, investment strategy and performance to consumers.

The earlier report on British Steel Pension pulled no punches.

It found that scheme members were ‘shamelessly bamboozled’ by advisers and unregulated introducers into signing up to ongoing adviser fees and unsuitable pension products and investments, characterised by high investment risk, high management charges and punitive exit fees. The Committee concluded that the use of contingent charging (‘no transfer no fee’) by DB transfer advisers gives rise to an ‘inherent conflict of interest’ and recommended that the FCA ban the use of contingent fee models for DB transfer advice.