Pension transfers may get cheaper
A British move to scrap its “advice safeguard” for people thinking about transferring their pensions overseas would save migrants money.
Wednesday, October 5th 2016, 5:59AM
by Susan Edmunds
But one New Zealand pension transfer adviser says it would remove a safeguard that is useful to some.
It has been reported that the UK’s department for work and pensions is considering whether it should remove the requirement for people shifting their pensions to consult a British adviser before they move the money into an overseas scheme.
Alun Rees-Williams, of Britannia, said such a service usually cost about £700 at the moment, on top of any fees charged by the New Zealand adviser or the pension scheme provider itself. The cost was high because it had to cover the adviser’s professional indemnity insurance, he said.
He said the requirement had originally been introduced primarily as a way to help people decide whether it was appropriate to move from a defined benefit scheme to a defined contribution scheme.
But international pension transfers were also caught by the rule.
Rees-Williams said to remove the requirement would lower the cost but would also take a degree of protection away from people transferring their money.
The British adviser’s report was meant to highlight any issues with transferring the money, he said. “For those people who’ve gone ‘I don’t really I care, I just want to get my money out of the UK, [changing the rule] definitely makes it easier and cheaper. But for people who are struggling to make up their minds, it’s cheaper but it might not help them very much.”
| « Advisers need advertising campaign | LVR restrictions to be reviewed » |
Special Offers
Comments from our readers
No comments yet
Sign In to add your comment
|
|
Printable version |
|
Email to a friend |
