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In direct response to the 2015 Act, the FCA announced a new starting position for...

Conclusion
In direct response to the 2015 Act, the FCA announced a new starting position for advisers who should assume that in most cases a transfer will be unsuitable.63 Subsequently in 2017, the FCA sought to align itself with the government’s underlying philosophy of choice within pensions policy and consulted on removing its starting position, which created further confusion within the advice market.64 Within the BSPS case, the British Steel Adviser Group has highlighted the inconsistent nature of the FCA’s suitability requirements. We received written evidence from multiple advice firms highlighting that in November 2017, the FCA visited advice firms and outlined their ‘neutral’ stance to DB transfers. They also stated that the FCA conducted file reviews during firm visits and deemed advice to be suitable despite subsequent upheld complaints from the FOS.65 This confusion within the pension adviser market was not speedily resolved.
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 14 October 2022. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.1 yrs
Report published 21 Jul 2022