Defined BenefitOct 8 2018

British Steel IFA regains transfer permissions

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British Steel IFA regains transfer permissions

An advice firm involved in the British Steel transfer debacle has regained its pension transfer permissions.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register no longer shows Mansion Park is subject to restrictions on providing advice.

The firm joins County Capital Wealth Management, also trading as Pension Review Service, which regained its transfer permissions in August.

The FCA requirement to cease all defined benefit (DB) pension transfer business still applies to three other firms which voluntarily stopped this business after the regulator intervened in the wake of the steelworkers’ pension saga.

From the remaining seven firms still operating, three of them have opted to leave the pension transfer market all together. This is the case of Acklam Financial Limited, West Wales Financial Services and Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre.

In a March letter to independent Labour MP Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, the regulator listed 10 firms which voluntarily gave up their permissions.

The FCA declined to comment on this matter.

Firms

Current status

Acklam Financial Limited

Exiting the pension transfer advice market

County Capital Wealth Management

Providing pension transfer advice

Vintage Investment Services

Pension transfer permissions suspended

Retirement & Pension Planning Services

Pension transfer permissions suspended; appointed liquidators

West Wales Financial Services

Exiting the pension transfer advice market

Active Wealth

In liquidation

Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre

Exiting the pension transfer advice market

Mansion Park

Providing pension transfer advice

Bartholomew Hawkins

Pension transfer permissions suspended

Inspirational Financial Management

Pension transfer permissions suspended

Members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) had to decide by December whether to move their defined benefit (DB) pension pots to a new plan being created, BSPS II, or stay in the current fund, which would be moved to the Pension Protection Fund.

The scheme had about 130,000 members of which 43,000 are deferred, which means transferring out of their pension was an option for them.

FTAdviser reported in November that several steelworkers appeared to be transferring out their pensions after being lured by cheap deals by unregulated introducer firm Celtic Wealth Management & Financial Planning, which then referred the clients to advice firm Active Wealth, now in liquidation.

The firm, the first one to be stripped of its transfer permissions, has entered into liquidation.

 In the meantime, a group of steelworkers in Port Talbot has instructed a solicitor firm to pursue a legal case against all parties involved in the pension transfer scandal.

Mansion Park has been approached for comment.

maria.espadinha@ft.com