Standardisation needed
Advisers also expressed frustration with the length of time it can take to obtain information from schemes in order to provide proper advice on transfers.
Around 500 of the 800 advisers who responded said they “sometimes or often” had to get a new transfer value quote because the three-month window of validity had lapsed before the advice process could be properly completed.
Seven out of eight said that they “strongly supported” an initiative by Royal London to press for standardised information to be supplied by schemes alongside transfer value quotes.
Webb added: “There is no doubt that the ability to transfer a Defined Benefit pension into a more flexible format is very attractive, provided that the decision to transfer is based on good quality independent advice. But sometimes the process takes far too long, through no fault of the adviser.
“We need a system where pension schemes provide on day one all of the information needed to decide if a transfer is a good idea or not. This would make life a lot easier for schemes, advisers and, most importantly of all, consumers.”
