A pensions expert has spoken of the personal risks he faced when helping members of the BSPS pension scheme affected by the recent transfer debacle.

Henry Tapper, of First Actuarial LLP, said he worked with Financial Planner Al Rush in helping to unravel what happened in Port Talbot and highlighted the risks he faced.

Al Rush talks about his role as a campaigner for the BSPS victims exclusively in the latest Financial Planning Today magazine. 

Speaking at the AMPS annual conference, at London’s Royal College of Physicians yesterday, Mr Tapper outlined why warning pension holders about their options put him at personal risk.

He said he had to run the gauntlet of potential defamation actions, which were “typically from the institutional end of the chain” and from those with plentiful assets to fund legal action.

He also had to walk a fine line for fear of being accused of operating outside of the law, he explained, adding that “publicising risks to members could be seen as tipping off.”

There was also, he contended, the risk of being wrong, in that for some members transfers could be in their best interests.

He said he did consider at times whether DB transfers should be allowed at all.

He said: “Is it just too easy taking money from DB schemes and losing that guaranteed income for life?”

Finally he said there was a risk of “being seen to obstruct freedom and choice” which could be deemed a “breach of fiduciary duty.”

In the presentation he also hit out at the FCA over its performance in the BSPS affair.

Mr Tapper said: “When the FCA have their act together they’re good, but they didn’t have their eye on the ball in Port Talbot.”

His warning to pension holders was: “If you don’t understand what’s happening, stop.”