Pension costs and transparency inquiry

The Committee’s recently completed inquiry into Pension freedom and choice examined ways to ensure that people saving for their pensions are equipped to make well-informed choices, and are well served by the pensions marketplace. Our report on the British Steel Pension report found that scheme members were ‘shamelessly bamboozled’ by advisers and unregulated introducers into signing up to ongoing adviser fees and unsuitable pension products and investments, characterised by high investment risk, high management charges and punitive exit fees. The Committee concluded that the use of contingent charging (‘no transfer no fee’) by DB transfer advisers gives rise to an ‘inherent conflict of interest’ and recommended that the FCA ban the use of contingent fee models for DB transfer advice. Following on from that work, this new inquiry focuses on whether the pensions industry provides sufficient transparency around charges, investment strategy and performance to consumers. The deadline for written submissions was 3 September 2018.