We sympathise with former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) who lost money after they were given unsuitable advice from people they trusted.
Complaints are a valuable source of feedback which help us improve and learn. There have also been 4 independent reports into the BSPS since 2018, which have helped us learn lessons. We have accepted several of their recommendations and implemented improvements, including those below.
We now have much closer collaboration between the FCA, The Pensions Regulator, Pension Protection Fund, and the Money and Pensions Service. This has improved intelligence sharing, enabling us to identify defined benefit pension transfer risks more swiftly.
We are also collecting more pension transfer data from advisory firms to proactively monitor trends. We created a tool so people can check if they may have had unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice and have banned contingent charging for defined benefit pension transfers to reduce conflicts of interest. Our latest evaluation shows[1] these changes have helped reduce the scope for harm and shift the market away from advice models that put advisers’ interests ahead of consumers.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) levy and compensation amounts stand at a 10-year low, which is also one indicator of significant improvements in the system.
Redress for BSPS members
Together with the Financial Ombudsman Service and FSCS, we have helped more than 6,500 former members complain following extensive engagement with former members[2].
At least £106m in redress has been offered to 1,870 former BSPS members to put them back in the position they would have been at retirement. We have also taken enforcement action against more than 20 individuals and firms where there was evidence of serious misconduct.