AIBU to five financial advisor pension policy numbers

[lucy6058]

I approached a financial advisor to help me consolidate some existing employee pensions. He has asked me for the company and policy no of each one. Is this common practice? I've tried to google it, but cant find an answer. I'm worried I'm being scammed!!! His firm is reputable and has good reviews.
I appreciate any insight to this

How is he going to help you merge them, without details of the policies?

How old are you?

Pensions Dashboard is coming in the next year or so which I believe pulls all pensions together so will make it easier to find/monitor/transfer/close them etc.

Dh has about 5 small/semi lost pensions which he wants to pull together but he's only 42 so has just decided to wait.

Yes, this is common practice. They need to get the details of the policies as otherwise they can’t help you combine them.

Financial Advisor here - yes it is normal. They'll need them to complete the correct paperwork.

How else would he be able to help you?

I’m sorry, I mean this kindly, but I’m absolutely baffled by your thought process here. Obviously he needs them. If he doesn’t know what they are then how can he help you? How/why would this be a scam?

Of course he needs to know? Your comment is a bit like asking for a mortgage and then refusing to tell them what house you want to buy.

Yes.
But none of your pension providers will share anything with them unless you give signed consent. Have you verified the advisors credentials? There are scammers out there, and you do need to be careful. How did you find this advisor? If you have a gut niggle that something is up, you should go somewhere else where you don’t feel this way.

Because there have been a lot of pension scams involving ‘advisors’ who promise to consolidate pension pots. Consequently, schemes regularly write to members warning of things to look out for. This is likely why it’s front and centre of OP’s thoughts. The question from the advisor is legitimate. But that in itself does not mean the advisor is legitimate.

How do you expect that he will be able to consolidate your pensions without those details?

@JustMyView13 thank you, that makes sense now! I was just so confused about why this was a concern.

Also, is there any reason you can't just do it yourself, it's fairly easy. I've done it loads of times, some are more of a pain than others. Of course, if any are defined benefit then you do need to use an FA.

Thank you for posting that. I think I'll wait too and probably/hopefully that money guy (Martin ??) will do a programme about how it works.

Thank you for your replies. I'm 44 this is just an initial meeting, and ive already provided him with totals and the companies they are with. I hear so much about online scamming, I just wanted to check this was normal practice as I understand this 1st meeting is to see that he's a good fit to help me with future planning.

This is really helpful to know. Thank you for sharing

How is he supposed to consolidate them, or find anything about them, without details? He's a financial adviser, not a psychic!

Hopefully you contacted him and are not responding to a cold call? Also, has he been recommended by anyone?

I wondered this. Sounds more like an admin job than anything where you need "advice"

Depends on the client. If choosing to simply transfer to an existing SIPP or something relatively easy but if requiring advice on pension it makes sense to see someone who can assess the risk level you are and advise accordingly. Plus some pensions and/or providers don't allow DIY.

I'm not a pension specialist but am 47 and had to take advice due to the type of pensions I previously had.

This is normal. My husband has recently consolidated a few small pensions and he had to provide the same information to our FA.

I am trying to consolidate 4 existing small pensions, invest a lump sum I inherited into a pension and also set up regular patients into a self employed pension. This sort of financial planning does not seem easy to me, so it was suggested I seek advise on how best to do it. Especially as the market is so volatile with everything thats going on, i would like someone knowledgable to advise me, rather than me choose which companies to invest in.

@lucy6058 you are doing the right thing. FYI you can check the adviser on the FCA register if you are nervous x

Hi there
I'm looking at combining pensions and some other financial advice too - do you mind me asking what your advisor charged you for this @lucy6058 ? The figure I've been quoted was a bit eye watering! It does include a full financial review including mortgage, pension, inheritance tax etc - but still, I was not expecting it!

No I dont mind at all. The guy i saw offered a free consultation and then would charge £175 an hour, and estimated it would take 4 hours to set it up. So around £700, and then he charged 1% of the total investment every year to manage it and a further 0.9% charged for a platform fee (which he dodnt explain very clearly). If im honest its alot of money for me, and he spoke about the people he normally helps being alot wealthier, so i dont think he was a good fit.. So I didnt proceed, but id really like someone to advise me. And its on my list if things to sort!!!
How does it compare to your experience?

Thanks @lucy6058 that's really helpful. We've been quoted more than double that - I wasn't involved in the discussion but I think perhaps more than 4 hours was estimated. Still, it feels like a huge amount! I think I will shop around. Thanks again and good luck!