Small self-administered scheme provider Obsidian Ssas is offering pension reviews to advisers free of charge.
As part of the service Obsidian will review any existing defined contribution or defined benefit Ssas, executive pension plan, family pension trust or group self-invested personal pension arrangement.
Advisers will then receive a report and analysis they can present to their clients.
Obsidian said it decided to launch this service after it found many directors’ pensions were operated by legacy providers or providers where Ssas was not their core business, which it said could result in the scheme being poorly run.
Nathan Bridgeman, director of Obsidian Ssas, said: “Our focus is on providing outstanding scheme administration and professional trusteeship for our financial adviser introducers and their clients.
“We see schemes that are still run with paper and pen processes and are inefficient and often very expensive. Not only can save clients fees but we can also improve service and the experience for advisers and their clients.”
He also believes it is “essential” the Ssas provider is the sole scheme administrator and a professional trustee where fines are concerned.
Mr Bridgeman added: “Having a poorly run scheme can result in substantial fines or worst case scenario de-registration.
“At Obsidian we have invested heavily in the best Ssas professionals and most advanced technology. This means we can run a Ssas profitably for just £1500 per annum + VAT as a fully inclusive single fee.
“Lots of schemes have separate charges for transactions such as property purchase, loanbacks, annual trustee meetings and running PAYE / drawdown.
“It’s a transparent and simple charging structure that has resulted in demand from advisers to look at their clients existing schemes”.
Mr Bridgeman joined Obsidian last month (May 28) after leaving his role as managing director of group distribution at Rowanmoor.
amy.austin@ft.com
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