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UK pensions: how to hire an adviser（590 words）
By Judith Evans
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As retirement looms, you resolve to take professional advice — only to discover a quandary: from which of the vast array of 30,000 UK registered advisers keen to take your custom?
This puzzle has been faced by growing numbers of savers since the government reformed the pensions market by removing the requirement to turn savings into a secure income, offering a far greater choice in how to deploy a nest egg.
That choice has driven up demand for advice. Unbiased.co.uk, an online directory, has seen a 20 per cent increase in searches for financial advisers compared with last year, according to Karen Barrett, chief executive.
But choosing an adviser can be daunting. Jane Vass, head of public policy at Age UK, says: “We know that people often put off using an adviser, even if they think they need one.
“They’re worried about being charged commission, they feel they won’t understand the charges, they won’t feel able to negotiate or they don’t know how to compare advisers.”
Those in need of advice may take some reassurance from the Retail Distribution Review reforms that took effect in 2013, increasing the qualifications required to register as an adviser — now equivalent to a certificate of higher education. They must regularly obtain a “statement of professional standing”, which certifies that they have kept their qualifications up-to-date and signed up for an ethics code.
Under the changes, all advisers were banned from taking commissions on most financial products, removing the incentive to sell products that a customer may not need.
Experts say this has led to significant progress in improving standards and rooting out rogue operators, after a spate of overly risky products were sold to retail investors in the early 2000s. A series of advisers have been banned and fined, and others investigated for exposing clients to high-risk investments in areas such as overseas property and biofuels.
“The industry is clearly in a very different place from where it was 10 years ago,” says Ms Vass.
Among the first decisions to be taken is whether to opt for an “independent” or “restricted” adviser. The latter will only offer products from a limited panel of providers, although their charging structures and qualifications are similar to their independent counterparts.
Both types of advisers charge fees to the investor, not commissions. But regulatory and insurance requirements are more onerous for independent advisers — such as proving that they really do survey the entire market when choosing products. Some smaller operations with limited resources opt for restricted status.
Advisers may also be restricted in a different way, offering advice on just one type of financial product, such as mortgages. This can enable them to develop specialist knowledge while saving on costs — but make sure you clarify in what way an adviser is restricted.
Beyond the minimum standards, advisers may also have extra qualifications in specialist areas, such as pensions advice or long-term care, a bonus if one of these is your focus.
“Ring up and go to see at least three or four advisers,” Ms Barrett says. “Ask them who’s going to be working with me, what experience do they have, where have they worked before, what types of clients are they especially able to help?”
Many advisers will offer an initial free face-to-face consultation, which gives you a chance to brandish a checklist of questions, including on the vexed question of fees; you can also ask how the adviser expects to make or save you money that will make the fees worth your while.
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