What is Poor Pension Advice?
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Millions of people across the UK have been mis-sold their pensions, and are now receiving a lower retirement income than they’re entitled to.
As a result, it’s becoming increasingly common to make an official complaint, and claim a pay-out that fairly compensates for loss of income during this time. You’ve got strong cause to seek compensation if you were given bad advice from your financial advisor or pension provider – but the question is, how can you tell?
Here are some key signs that you didn’t receive good advice when committing to your current pension plan.
Examples of Poor Pension Advice
1) You were told to transfer your pension, even though it wasn’t the best deal for you. If your advisor recommended transferring to a private pension scheme, even though it paid out less than your company plan, this could constitute bad advice leading to compensation.
2) The advisor failed to explain how your new pension would operate. It’s a professional advisor’s job to ensure that you understand the financial product in question before committing to it. At the time, your advisor should have explained exactly how your new pension would work. They also should have detailed how leaving your work pension scheme would impact you, and the benefits that you may lose out on as a result.
3) You were ‘bulldozed’ into a particular plan. Did you feel, when discussing options with your pensions advisor, that they were purposefully pushing you towards a particular pension scheme, without having asked detailed questions about your financial and personal circumstances? If so, this could count as financial mis-selling.
4) You were advised to ‘go private’ after changing jobs. If you moved to another company, you might have been told to transfer your existing occupational pension scheme to a personal plan. This in itself isn’t necessarily bad advice. What isn’t acceptable is if you weren’t informed about the opportunity to transfer your work pension funds to a new occupational scheme; especially if this would have been a financially better option.
5) You were confused by the plan. Regrettably, a few advisors behave unscrupulously, and deliberately misled clients in a bid to get them to commit to a particular pension product. If you felt confused by the advice you received, and felt that your questions weren’t being adequately answered, this might be reason enough to seek compensation.
Ask Yourself the Following:
- Was the advice presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format?
- Were you provided with a full range of options, including sticking with an existing work pension scheme?
- Was the advice you received impartial, open and honest?
- Were you informed as to what the personal pension plan would entail, and how this would affect you in the future?
If you answered no to any of the above, this suggests that you could have received bad advice when committing to a private pension plan. You’re legally entitled to seek compensation if you feel you’ve been mis-sold a pension product – and if this is the case, it’s important to speak to an industry expert, who will help you to claim the compensation you deserve.
