FSA concerned about pensions advice in the UK
The FSA is currently following up on reports produced in 2008 which drew the attention of regulators to the UK pension market and potentially detrimental pension switching advice. The FSA has found a number of cases whereby pension fund members have been advised to switch out of company pension schemes with the short-term benefits often negated by long-term consequences.
It is believed that the Financial Services Authority is on the verge of penalising six major players in the UK pensions market and indeed it is believed that around £150 million could be paid out in compensation in the short to medium term. It is very easy to be swayed by the potential short-term benefits of switching out of a company pension scheme, such as increased transfer values and cash payments, but in reality you need to look further ahead and take solid independent professional advice.
The pensions industry in the UK has been under pressure for some time now and there are major concerns that many people in the country have not planned ahead for the future. As the state pension comes under more and more pressure we will likely see another push by the UK government to introduce company pension schemes and private pension schemes to more households up and down the UK.
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