Defaqto has launched a new pensions rating service which assesses the quality of service provided by at retirement product providers.
The service is based on a survey of 500 advisers who deal in individual pension products conducted by the independent researcher of financial products.
As part of the survey, the advisers rated the importance they placed on 41 aspects of service. In addition, the respondents were required to list the providers they preferred and then rate their level of satisfaction.
Defaqto then used the data and information collated to rate providers as gold, silver or bronze, or not at all.
David Cartwright, head of insight and consulting (wealth and protection) at Defaqto, said: “Our service ratings help financial advisers select appropriate product providers, based on their peers’ perceptions of service. Following the recent pension reforms, advisers and their clients have significantly more options available to them, and our new pension service ratings will serve advisers as a signpost as well as offering them post-recommendation assurance.”
Adviser view
Allan Maxwell, IFA at Corporate Benefits Consulting, based in Glasgow, said: “Well, this information would be helpful, but it is not the be all and end all.
“If Defaqto came out and said that the service that one of the providers we use is really bad, I suppose it would make us stop and reassess our relationship with the provider.
“It is all subjective so I’m not necessarily convinced. I like to rely on my own convictions.”
