"The Pension Transfer Gold Standard is designed to reassure you that you are working with expert pension advisers who are guided by a set of strict principles."
Please be aware the below blog is older than 12 months, therefore the information may not be relevant or up to date.
If you’ve been exploring the idea of transferring out of your Defined Benefit Pension scheme, you’ll probably already know a few things. One, that pension transfers are complex and often high risk. Two, that transferring out of a Final Salary scheme is unlikely to be in the best interests of most people. And three, that if you think you might benefit, you’ll need to take professional advice before you can do anything.
But what you may not yet know is who is best placed to provide that advice...
Crucially, you’ll need an adviser who is qualified and authorised to offer this sort of advice. Use the Financial Services Register at Home (fca.org.uk) to check the adviser or firm you’re considering is listed under ‘advising on pension transfers and opt-outs’.
But beyond that, you may still have questions that make your decision difficult. Will you be charged fairly? Can you be sure of the quality of the advice offered? Will you be protected from investment scams?
To help allay these fears, here at Ginkgo Financial we’ve adopted The Personal Finance Society's (PFS) Pension Transfer Gold Standard.
For those of you who haven’t heard of The PFS, they are the UK’s professional body for the financial planning profession. They guide and support our community towards higher levels of professionalism through technical knowledge, client service and ethical practices.
Their Pension Transfer Gold Standard is designed to reassure you that you are working with expert pension advisers who are guided by a set of strict principles. Adhering to these “golden rules” helps the team here at Ginkgo Financial to consistently deliver high-quality pension advice.
In signing up to the Pension Transfer Gold Standard, we commit to:
- helping clients decide whether taking advice is right for them before they incur any costs
- making sure that the financial information we give our clients supports their overall well-being, in terms of their stated needs and wants
- using appropriately qualified technical skills when providing advice
- only recommending mainstream investments from regulated investment companies
- being fully transparent and making sure clients understand all the costs involved
- drawing clients’ attention to any conflicts of interest and explaining how we will manage them
- sharing with clients our experience and the outcomes of advising people on transfers
Essentially, we want you to feel confident at every stage of the process - safe in the knowledge that our advice, service and ethics meet the highest professional standards possible. The Gold Standard, in fact!
It is important to note that transferring out of a Final Salary scheme is unlikely to be in the best interests of most people.
by Daren Wallbank, Chartered Financial Planner
