Recommendation 7

GAD’s note suggested that scheme members seek independent financial advice if they were unsure of the most suitable course of action.10 We asked GAD whether it was realistic for scheme members to get independent financial advice, particularly when GAD is a well-recognised authority on public sector pensions and members were only given one month to make their decision. GAD told us that the range of individual circumstances which members may have been in would have made it impossible for the note to provide appropriate financial advice for each individual. GAD also said that the fact the note mentions that it was not financial advice should have been a sign that this was a matter to take seriously. GAD told us it did not believe the note would have been the only basis on which members made their decision.11 However, nearly 90% of scheme members transferred their benefits. Scheme members have said their decision was heavily influenced by GAD’s note, given GAD’s role as a professional body independent of the pension scheme, and the stated intention of the note to “outline the main factors to take into consideration in deciding whether or not to transfer”. Scheme members have also reported that independent financial advisors who were consulted largely deferred to GAD’s note.12