Our Pension Transfer Advice Process
Step 1. Initial No-Obligation, No-Cost Guidance
We will speak with you by telephone to gain an understanding of your situation and whether we think you might potentially benefit from a pension transfer. We may then offer you a no-obligation 1 hour consultation and feasability study at our expense*.
Step 2. Initial Consultation & Feasability Study At Our Expense*
Generally this meeting is carried out face to face in our Glasgow office but we can also arrange for it to take place over the ‘phone or in the comfort of your own home. During this initial consultation we will always look at;
- your personal circumstances
- your objectives
- your capacity for loss
- your attitude to risk and your understanding of investments and risk
- the choice of investments your pension could end up in
We give you general guidance to ensure you fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of transferring your pension in your particular situation as well as explain our fees and how we would be paid should you wish to proceed with a transfer.
We work together with our compliance team and will issue an initial assessment within a few days of our meeting outlining whether or not we believe you should be proceeding to a detailed analysis.
Step 3. Full Financial Review
This is an in-depth financial review after which we follow up to obtain detailed information on all your financial arrangements, including your CETV (Cash equivalent transfer value) if you haven’t already done so, as well as your pensions and investments. This allows us to complete a full Transfer Value Analysis so that you can better understand the value of the benefits you would be giving up on transfer. Once our analysis is complete and our report is agreed with compliance you will receive our suitability report which includes our recommendations.
The guaranteed transfer value is normally valid for three months, however in some circumstances it may not be possible to complete the process within this time and if this happens the transfer value may be recalculated and, in some instances, may be lower – to understand why, please follow this link… Why your pension transfer value might be lower than your quoted value.
Step 4. Implementation
If we recommend a transfer we will also advise on an appropriate pension scheme and investments compatible with your needs and objectives. We will then arrange for the transfer, taking care of all the paperwork on your behalf.
Step 5. Management and review
We believe all our clients benefit from a regular review of their circumstances and most of our clients like to meet up at least once a year. If you have chosen to transfer your final salary pension you should be completely aware of the importance of regularly reviewing your personal circumstances and how they might relate to your pension scheme in terms of income withdrawals, fluctuations in value and any potentially negative impact from UK Government Budget announcements.