The Financial Conduct Authority has today proposed a ban on contingent charging on pension transfers and reaffirmed its view that DB transfers should be considered unsuitable unless there is a good reason to transfer.

The regulator has published new rules on pension transfer advice and is seeking views on further changes, including adviser charging structures and the way advisers work in this area.

These could mean a ban on contingent charging where advice fees are only charged if a transfer takes place. Critics have said this could mean advisers ‘push’ a transfer to take place simply to secure a hefty fee.

In the case of the recent BSPS pensions debacle contingent charging, currently allowed, was believed to be in evidence in some cases.

The FC says the new rules in Policy Statement 18/6: Advising on Pension Transfer and other ‘areas for discussion’ will aim to improve the quality of pension transfer advice.

In June 2017, the FCA proposed changes to the rules on advice on transfers from safeguarded benefit schemes, mainly for transfers from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution pension schemes. Following consultation, the FCA has published final rules to ensure transfer advice considers relevant factors.

The new rules include requiring transfer advice to be provided as a personal recommendation that takes account of a consumer’s individual circumstances. They also replace the current transfer value analysis with a requirement to undertake a personalised analysis of the consumer’s options and a comparison to show the value of the benefits being given up, says the FCA.

The FCA has also published a consultation paper proposing further changes to its rules and guidance. This includes requiring advisers undertaking pension transfer advice to have the same qualifications as investment advisers. The regulator is also seeking views on whether it should intervene in relation to charging structures given the difficulty in managing the conflicts of interest that exist when providing transfer advice.

The FCA said: “This could include a ban on contingent charging, which is when a fee for advice is only paid for when a transfer goes ahead. This is a complex area, where any action taken may have an impact on access to advice.”

The FCA has decided to maintain the position at this stage that an adviser should “start from the assumption that a DB pension transfer will be unsuitable.”

The watchdog says this is to reflect the high proportion of unsuitable advice seen in supervisory work and the need for further consideration of how transfer advice should be paid for.

The regulator says it should be noted that the existing guidance on the starting assumption does not, however, prevent an adviser from recommending a transfer where this is considered suitable for the consumer.

Christopher Woolard, FCA executive director of Strategy and Competition said: “Defined benefit pensions are valuable so most people will be best advised to keep them.  However, where people are considering a transfer, it is vital that they get good advice to enable them to make an informed decision. 

“We are also looking at whether further changes are needed to improve the quality of advice in this area. In particular, we recognise that there is an inherent conflict of interest when advisers use a contingent charging model so we are asking for views on whether we should ban contingent fees for pension transfer advice. Defined benefit pension transfer advice continues to be a key area of focus for the FCA.”\