Pensions and funding supplier Aegon has urged the FCA to think about giving monetary advisers a much bigger function within the Pensions Dashboards to assist purchasers make “higher choices.”
In its response to Monetary Conduct Authority session CP24/4 on the regulation of Pension Dashboard service companies, Aegon says deliberate guidelines needs to be modified to permit regulated companies to do extra.
It says regulated companies can higher help customers alongside the complete pensions journey from viewing knowledge to taking motion if the Dashboard enable advisers a extra distinguished half.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, mentioned the Pensions Dashboards have been a possibility to make main adjustments to pension engagement.
He mentioned: “Pension Dashboards have the potential to create a step change in pension engagement. However to totally capitalise on this chance, regulation ought to enable companies with applicable permissions to help people not simply to view their pensions knowledge however crucially to make knowledgeable choices and act on them.
“Whereas the Authorities has dominated out people enterprise transactions on Pension Dashboards, the FCA regulatory framework will decide how simple or arduous it is going to be for people, notably if not in search of recommendation, to take that ‘subsequent step’ from viewing knowledge to taking motion.
“We recognize that Pensions Dashboards are a brand new idea and the FCA should defend customers from scammers. However the place regulated companies are concerned, the Shopper Obligation provides additional regulatory protections to make sure good outcomes. Usually, customers want defending from their very own inertia and if taking motion is simply too complicated or daunting, this may result in poorer outcomes.”
He added that Aegon was involved in regards to the “sharp break” within the pensions journey when shifting from dashboard to different transactional providers a agency could provide.
Aegon desires the FCA to discover permitting customers to extract knowledge from each ‘view’ and ‘post-view’ providers in a type which may then be used at the side of ‘off dashboard’ providers supplied by advisers and different companies with applicable regulatory permissions.
Mr Cameron mentioned: “Higher engagement, prompted by dashboards, may result in better consolidation of pots the place protected to take action. FCA knowledge exhibits that it’s small pots that are probably to be taken as lump sums at retirement. Dashboards provide an awesome alternative to encourage extra consolidation into bigger pots, enhancing client engagement with their journey in direction of and into retirement.”
