DB transfer advice slows since FCA's 2020 crackdown

Many firms have stopped offering DB advice, regulator finds

Isabel Baxter
clock • 2 min read

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that many firms stopped offering defined benefit (DB) transfer advice after it made various interventions in 2020.

The regulator cracked down on DB transfer market on 5 June 2020, as it identified that it was "not delivering good outcomes for consumers". With these concerns in mind, the FCA banned contingent charging with exceptions for consumers with certain personal circumstances, introduced abridged advice and addressed ongoing conflicts of interest by requiring firms to consider an available workplace pension scheme as a receiving scheme for a transfer. It also set out to improve disclosures and consumer understanding to enable consumers to make better decisions, aimed to enable advisers to "g...

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