Pensions technical oversight
Pension advice is where suitability failures are most costly and most permanent. Led by a CISI Level 6 pensions specialist (MCSI), we provide independent technical oversight across the retail pension spectrum, from defined benefit transfers under COBS 19 and DBAAT to multi-scheme consolidations, SIPP non-standard assets, UFPLS and flexi-access drawdown, testing whether every recommendation genuinely puts the client in a better position.
Consolidating pensions is often presented as simplification. For many clients it is. For others it means giving up valuable guarantees, moving away from employer contributions, or paying higher ongoing charges for a platform and investment proposition they didn't need. The FCA expects firms to be able to show why the switch was in the client's best interests, not merely that it was explained.
Our reviews test that justification at a technical level. We examine the ceding scheme as carefully as the receiving one: guaranteed annuity rates, protected tax-free cash, protected pension ages, death benefits, with-profits terminal bonuses and exit penalties. Then we compare the true cost and benefit of the recommendation against the client's objectives.
Where advice is sound, our review gives you evidence to defend it. Where it isn't, we identify the pattern, whether it lies in the adviser, the process or the proposition, so it can be corrected before it becomes a complaint book.
A
Objective: Forensic assessment of DB transfer advice against regulatory standards.
B
Objective: Testing the genuine customer benefit of moving out of ceding schemes.
C
Objective: Auditing due diligence where asset risk is highest.
D
Objective: Making sure retirement income advice is sustainable and tax-aware.
Peer-to-peer technical evaluation of complex DB transfers, SIPPs and decumulation strategies.
We know how pension complaints are investigated and what makes a file defensible.
Experience owning the technical interpretation of pensions legislation for platform operations.
DISP-compliant final responses, evidence-backed Ombudsman submissions and precise loss calculations, informed by direct experience inside the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Explore this serviceCalibrated file testing, past-business reviews and Section 166 support, including complex AML and UBO audits, delivered to a standard that withstands regulatory challenge.
Explore this serviceWhether you need a thematic review of pension switching advice, independent checking of DB transfer files or technical support on decumulation, contact us for a confidential discussion.