Gathering information for pension transfer advice

In FG21/3 the FCA state too much of the DB transfer advice it’s seen is either unsuitable or it was unable to assess its suitability due to material information gaps (MIGs).

This presentation focuses on the information tab of the FCA’s “Defined benefit advice assessment tool”, or DBAAT as it’s commonly known. This DBAAT is the tool the FCA itself uses to assess the suitability of pension transfer files, so it has the potential to provide significant insight into both the FCA’s expectations, as well areas it regularly sees short-comings in the advice process.

The presentation considers the 10 questions on information gathering in the first tab of the DBAAT. It draws on the guidance in FG21/3 and the DBAAT instruction manual to identify the key points the FCA feel advisers should consider when gathering client information to assess the suitability of a pension transfer.

The 10 questions cover a broad range of topics including assessing attitude to transfer risk, client needs and objectives and estimated expenditure throughout retirement. It also considers the information required from both the ceding and proposed schemes