A Northamptonshire-based IFA has become the latest firm to be banned from carrying out pension transfers.
The Financial Conduct Authority has told David Williams IFA to “immediately cease to provide advice in relation to the transfer, or conversation, of safeguarded benefits under a pension scheme to flexible benefits”.
Last month the FCA told Strategic Wealth UK to stop all pension-related business until a review was completed.
David Williams IFA is not subject to such a review and has simply been told to stop handling pension transfers.
Rory Percival, a former technical specialist at the FCA, said last month that the regulator was looking at between 50 to 100 firms as part of a study into advice on defined benefit transfers.
As a result of this study, last month the FCA proposed changes including requiring transfer advice to be provided as a personal recommendation, and replacing the current transfer value analysis with a comparison to show the value of the benefits being given up.
Data released to FTAdviser under freedom of information rules earlier this year showed that 54 firms were voluntarily restricted from carrying out pension transfers, with 16 banned during last year.
There has been a large increase in demand for DB transfers driven by transfer values which have been soaring in the 10 months since the EU referendum thanks to plummeting gilt yields.
According to Xafinity's most recent figures, average transfer values now stand at around £232,000 for a pension worth £10,000 a year at age 65.
That's more than £20,000 more than the same pension was worth on 1 June 2016, before the UK voted to leave the European Union.
damian.fantato@ft.com
