The FT Adviser Retirement Freedoms Forums were held to educate and address some of the most pertinent issues facing the advisory industry prior to the implementation of the groundbreaking pension changes.
The forums were held over the course of two days, with the first event being hosted at the May Fair Hotel in London and the second at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham.
It presented a timely opportunity for advisers to refresh and update their knowledge of the pension freedoms which will come into force next month. Chairing both events, Ashley Wassall, editor of FTAdviser.com, began the proceedings with a quotation from the chancellor‘s now-famous Budget 2014 speech that unveiled a host of unprecedented freedoms at retirement before introducing the first keynote speaker of the day – pensions minister Steve Webb.
The Liberal MP for Thornbury and Yate began with a question that was probably in the minds of many financial advisers in the conference room: what should clients do on 6 April?
His answer was: “My strong FCA-approved suggestion to you is – stay in bed. There isn’t a rush. Don’t get on speed dial at 12.01am to Pension Wise or to your provider.” He added: “We are trying to get away from the sense that although this is a revolutionary and radical reform, somehow, because you may have been waiting for a year, you absolutely have to do it all on day one.”
A motif of Mr Webb’s speech was the idea of giving individuals greater control over their pension pots. The pension changes, according to the minister, represent a shift in the state’s historic paternal approach to retirement options towards a more individualistic one.
He added: “People will get it wrong. Some people will buy the wrong product. Some people will be worse off than if we had forced them to buy an annuity. Some people will buy an annuity when they shouldn’t have done. That is what happens when you set people free.
“We are not belittling that, we are trying to minimise this, but that is the risk you take. But the opposite risk is that you force everybody into a single mould, which simply doesn’t fit.”
Demand
Michelle Cracknell, chief executive at the Pensions Advisory Service, told the audience that Pension Wise, which was set up to help pensioners consider their options at retirement, would be able to cope with the anticipated initial surge in demand for its services and the capacity to cater for a more steady demand over the long term.
She said guidance would allow people to understand the things they needed to consider and would open the door for them to go out and seek tailor-made advice, and added: “I don’t think any form of regulations will stop scams, and it is only by the customer knowing what to recognise to be able to spot the activity.”
