The Loop | September 2020

September 2020

Your quarterly insight to the pensions world from the team at The Pension Solutions Group and PSG SIPP

Adapting to a pandemic How TPSG and PSG SIPP coped with the lockdown

Inside this issue

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08

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Debunking property insurance: What you need to know

How much do you need to save for retirement?

Transfers and common issues that can arise

and much more...

Here it is, our first edition of a new quarterly magazine designed to do what all worthwhile publications do well; inform and entertain, but in a shamelessly PSG style.

In this issue Feature and Insight How we coped with the lockdown and how it’s driving positive change

Charity update Wiltshire Air Ambulance

Get to know Mike Cannings of BMinc

Technical Insight Debunking Property Insurance

Features and Insights Saving for retirement: How much is enough?

Expert Q&A Transfers and common issues that can arise

Industry Insight Don’t let a scammer enjoy your retirement

Take a break

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PSG SIPP Limited Registered in England and Wales no. 07030395 Registered Office: The Coach House, Box House, Bath Road, Box, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 8AA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (register number 514654). | The Pension Solutions Group Limited Registered in England and Wales no.

06683561 Registered Office: The Coach House, Box House, Bath Road, Box, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 8AA. | The PSG Trust Company Limited Registered in England and Wales no. 06289058 The Coach House, Box House, Bath Road, Box, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 8AA.

Thinking about how to introduce this new publication gave me the rare opportunity to reflect on where we are.

Us, as in the PSG family, the Financial Services Industry in general, and our place in it.

This industry is challenging at the best of times, but the last few years have required particular resilience and skill to maintain growth, let alone in the last few months.

Our aim with this magazine is to reach out to our growing network of partners and clients. To have another way to connect with them through expert insights, advice and tips and maybe a bit of fun. We’ll try to keep any selfpromotional tone dialled right down, but if you’ll permit me a quiet toot on the trumpet, I have to say that our continued expansion through these extremely uncertain times is the result of our resolve to remain focused on solid customer service and astute decision making, in the face of those potentially distracting challenges.

Ever changing regulatory requirements, recruitment, supporting and nurturing everyone in our team, prioritising the search for ever better ways to work and changes to the volume and nature of incoming communications.

These are just a handful of the challenges we’ve always faced and always will. Defining characteristics of the industry if you like.

One of the biggest challenges facing us now, is sustaining our service without full use of our office and without the option of working as a team in the way we were before.

The need to shut the office brought with it the need to shut down the phones which naturally resulted in unprecedented volumes of incoming written communications. I commend the team in their effort to sustain the best possible service as they adapt to a fundamentally different way of working and one that isn’t going away for a while longer yet.

But challenges abound for all parties, from the SIPP client intent on transferring their funds to another provider to the business owner in need of solutions to help them weather the worst of a poor economy and then the huge uncertainty of Covid-19.

Duncan Parsons CEO, TPSG & PSG SIPP Limited

The challenges for product providers looking to meet these objectives on behalf of their clients are no less significant and all are exacerbated, directly or indirectly, by the ongoing story of the pandemic.

During this time, we’ve come to realise that meeting challenges head-on is actually something we’re pretty good at (sorry, another toot there). We’re fortunate to have a great network of business partners, and clients, equally adept at the kind of fleet of foot mindset that can turn a challenge into an advantage and with a team of bright, funny, hardworking and humblingly dependable people always ready to step up. You’ll meet some of them in the following pages and more yet in future editions.

I hope you enjoy our magazine.

Whether you do or not, we’d love to hear from you and get your views on it.

Take a peek Ever wondered what our HQ looks like?

Watch this 45 second video to see why we’re keen to get back to the office!

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Feature and Insight

How we coped with the lockdown And how it’s driving positive change

By Natalie Pike Chief Operating Officer Natalie@psgsipp.co.uk

Lockdown wasn’t a singular experience for anyone.

It was a raft of different, new, and often unsettling experiences. For every story of the time being used to learn Russian, there was a tragic tale of domestic violence or a small business going to the wall.

It soon became clear that, actually, we had relatively little work to do before our whole team was ready and geared up to work from home.

Our Management team set out new processes quickly and the team adapted to the strange new world without hesitation or complaint. Many of us were already very familiar with working from home and we used that experience to provide a kind of Users Guide to Home Working to the uninitiated within the team.

We felt that uncertainty keenly, though for us, especially in the first few days, it was focused on our team members and what this might mean for them.

This rapid adaption to a new norm allowed us to move seamlessly away from our once bustling office with little or no impact on our service levels.

That’s not to take anything away from our team. Without their commitment and dedication, all the prep in the world would not have facilitated the continued growth that we experienced during lockdown.

I’ve said it before, and I make no apologies for future reiterations; we are very fortunate to have such an awesome team. A cheerful group of lively professionals, that have adapted extremely well to a challenging and uncertain situation, and one that was well outside of normal control.

Now we’re all gently prising the lid off lockdown, our thoughts turn to how we work for the foreseeable future.

We know enough to know that nothing But being able to look back with for us will be the same again. We are a huge sigh of relief isn’t just luck. all desperate to be back in each other’s Yes, we’re lucky to have brilliant company, but reluctant, for all sorts of people, but we work hard to create a reasons, to relinquish the flexibility that culture that nurtures great individuals.

Just as crucial is the fact that this same lockdown demonstrated we were right to afford. Continuing to be adaptable culture has always supported flexible working patterns and locations. This in will be important, after all, who knows turn meant that any acute anxiety was what will come next and we need to be ready for Covid part 2 or anything else short lived. We are equally lucky (or for that matter. savvy?) to have outstanding partners with whom we work from IT support to HR and everything else.

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Gone are our massive desks and individual pedestals, gone (at least temporarily) is our reliance on an office-based landline for phone calls.

In fact, many things have been at least suspended and most changes will stick.

We now have a rota for office working and banks of new desks to facilitate socially distanced working within the office, as well as capacity for those who generally work from home anyway, to book a desk if they come to the office. We are also trialing the use of headsets that plug directly into laptops so that those working from home can be contacted on their office direct dial numbers. I could go on, but you get the idea.

We have all learnt a lot from this experience, but the thing I will take away from this, the clear advantage of future proofing aside, is what having the back of your team really means.

I am so privileged to work with people I’ve always trusted, but now I also know I can trust them to continue doing their best in the midst of real adversity.

Top things for your own team and/or business to consider Ensure your employees are working comfortably and happily from home We prioritised ensuring that individuals remained both physically and mentally comfortable while adapting to working from their home. We also created new ways to support them, not only to ensure they remain productive through this transition (or even more so than before!), but also to recognise their valued contribution to the business.

Adapt your communication and use this opportunity to make improvements

Use this opportunity to reduce costs Rethinking the way an office building is used has been huge for us. Having almost everyone absent from the office overnight and subsequently adopting a hot desk and desk booking policy, offered us that flexibility I’ve already mentioned.

Before things suddenly changed back in March of this year, we had already started to put more attention on video content and video messaging platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom in order to have alternatives and greater flexibility when communicating internally Nothing changed from the perspective within the teams and externally with of our Clients and their Advisers, nor our clients and advisers. our business partners. It was business Many of our team members have as usual right from the start, even if it embraced working from home (many The pandemic simply served to didn’t feel like that to us. Continuing indeed already did) and remain happy speed up this process and has led to provide the same service was, of for this to be the new norm. Others to more positive use of this type of course, crucial and remains essential. prefer the office environment, and functionality for us as a company, as being part of a physical community in well as developing new plans for more But now we know we don’t need to be a dedicated place of work i.e our lovely regular and improved video content so preoccupied with the old challenge office. The key to accommodating all of for announcing important product of increasing our office capacity in this is flexibility. Recognising that there and service updates to our advisers line with expansion. The very welcome is still a need for a physical workplace and clients. slowing of some of our utility costs, for those that want or need it, while even while the business continues providing appropriate guidance, What’s more, we’ve started to think to grow, puts us in a stronger support, and equipment for those who about new solutions, such as instant position. This new world and way of are now regularly working from home. messaging, that could create further working should serve as a series of improvements by reducing our reliance opportunities for all businesses to on the main office number. Investing in rethink their overheads and look for ways to improve communication with similar savings. employees and clients, is something every business should now be taking seriously and be prepared to invest in.

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Charity update

Charity events raise sky-high total At the start of this year (and fortunately before the lockdown happened!) TPSG and PSG SIPP staff had an opportunity to travel to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance base in Melksham to present a cheque for £1,263.19, the grand total that we collected during 2019 through our fundraising events.

This included a charity skydive which Finance Manager, Pearl Belcher, took the leap (pun intended) and participated in on behalf of the company and an open day at the company PA, Maria Merry’s home in Chippenham for local residents and visitors to marvel at her pride and joy - a helicopter cinema which featured on George Clark’s Amazing Spaces.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we were in the process of selecting our next charity to support and to start a schedule of fundraising events which has been somewhat delayed. We intend on pressing forward with selecting a local mental health charity and announcing some of our exciting plans in the coming weeks – watch this space!

Thank you A huge thank you to everyone who supported these events and helped us to raise vital funds that are needed to keep this incredibly important service running.

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Get to know: Mike Cannings of BMinc

Big ideas from the big man If you’ve ever browsed our website, filled in or read a piece of our documentation, scrolled through our social media or received a piece of print from us, then chances are you’ve almost certainly come into contact with something that all-round creative genius, Mike Cannings, has had his careful eye for design all over and has helped to establish for TPSG and/or PSG SIPP. Mike’s creative output can be seen almost everywhere. From the quirky illustrations you see online and, in our literature, to the lovely animations in our product and service videos. But Mike’s involvement in creating our brand goes way beyond creating lovely artwork packed with eye catching drawings and that recognisable colour palette. In fact, he helped to create that unique visual identity for us as well as our company logos in the first place.

Mike’s history with the company goes back as far as the dawn of time for both our companies though not just because he’s known TPSG and PSG SIPP Communications Director, Mike Baker, since before Mike B, Steve Fox (Business Manager) and Duncan Parsons (CEO) first established both companies. Mike C even provided a strikingly different look to Mike B’s wedding stationery!

At the point the companies were being set up and needed a public profile, the brief to ‘Big Mike’ (as he is more fondly known to us) was very simple – “Have a look at a bunch of other pension administrators using dull corporate colour palettes and equally dreary stock photography (think retired couple on the beach, shots of Canary Wharf etc), and make sure we look nothing like them”. A discussion about Mike Baker’s favourite bedroom colours and Big Mike’s love for drawing quirky illustrations eventually led to something, which to this day, we think remains fresh and summarises our brand perfectly.

So, what does a regular day for Big Mike look like? He’ll often be juggling a variety of requests for design work for other established brands like Unitedhealthcare, Nationwide Building Society and the NHS to name a few, while his project co-ordinator Georgina, keeps his design time planned like a well-oiled machine. Between all this other work he’ll be working on our brand, taking briefs from Mike and Marketing and Comms Manager, Marcus Forsey and turning them into glorious pieces of branding using a variety of professional graphics and illustration tools.

Aside from the awesome brand design work he does for us on a regular basis, Mike Cannings has been at the forefront of ensuring our videos, website, documentation and print all come together in an instantly recognisable way, often utilising support from his equally talented associate teams. With Mike and these guys safely steering the look and feel of the PSG and PSG SIPP brands, we couldn’t feel in safer hands.

Check out some of Mike’s brilliant work

Great minds think alike “I have worked with PSG for almost 10 years and right from the start, it was never a client/supplier relationship.

We work brilliantly as a team bouncing ideas off each other to create some truly brilliant creative. I love getting a call from PSG which always starts with, ‘we’ve had an idea…’ You know it’s going to be good.”

Mike Cannings THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Technical Insight

Debunking Property insurance

By Bernadette Clensey Property Executive bernadette@tpsg.co.uk

Dealing with insurance may not be the most exciting event of the year, but it is probably the most important part of owning a property.

Repair costs can quickly run into the thousands and spring from nowhere, so it’s important to have adequate protection.

Like owning a car, having property insurance is a requirement that, without purchasing outright, you’ll struggle to obtain via a lender or with the support of a trustee.

Naturally, as Property Executive here at TPSG, with an eagle eye for the detail, I spend my working days drinking copious amounts of tea and delving into all aspects of purchasing new and maintaining existing property for our clients. Throughout this time I’ve learned an awful lot of what there is to know about property insurance.

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Clients who come to us at TPSG in order to acquire commercial property through their pension will quite often have one or another goal in mind when it comes to insurance.

They may already be quite knowledgeable of what’s out there and will perhaps even have a trusted provider in mind that they need us to (and we often will) support and work with if necessary. Or it may be the case that they need some guidance to tread through this apparent murky area of acquiring a new premises and rely on us to help organise this on their behalf.

This is where our trusted and reliable partner will come in.

In either instance there is no escaping the need for some clarity on what exactly the provider is going to cover and that you are clear of what excesses and/or additional charges may be required if you were to suddenly find yourself in the position of needing to make a claim.

Whilst it may seem like the elusive and slightly scary monster under the bed, the truth is it can be relatively straightforward, once you look past the dull subject matter and equally alienating jargon, which we all know can be infuriating at worst or dull at best to anyone who doesn’t live and breathe property insurance every day.

Why adequate protection is important Touch wood, you will never have to use your insurance policy for a claim.

But there is always a chance you will, so why take that risk? As part of our due diligence process we will always ask clients for a copy of the insurance certificate, what it covers and will query anything that doesn’t look right, even if we aren’t necessarily instructed to organise the insurance on their behalf. To us, this is simply part of the process of acquiring commercial property and is vital to protecting our clients’ pension, so in the event of an accident we know the right level of cover is in place.

Whether you’re instructing a pension provider to acquire property via a pension or via alternative means, carrying out sufficient due diligence on the provider should be treated as a necessity.

Some common insurance jargon explained Declared Value – the value of the property should it need to be rebuilt from scratch. In the property valuation, this is called the Reinstatement Value and the surveyor is the only person who can accurately provide this information. Without it, you may be under insuring and should the worst happen, may not be fully compensated in the event of a claim.

Sums Insured – this is the declared value + yearly inflation rate. Some insurers may include a much higher figure at the same premium, but this is more a marketing trick to pull you in. The usual % increase is between 5 – 15%.

Loss of Rent – this does not cover you if the tenant can’t pay. It covers you for loss of rent caused by damage to the building making it uninhabitable.

The pension requires 3 years cover.

Some important parts of the policy sometimes get missed too.

Public liability – this should be set at £5 million but can go up to £10 million.

Naming of the policy - when you decide to put your property in a SIPP or SSAS pension, the Trust Company, for example PSG SSAS Trustees limited, is also part owner of the property. Therefore, the policy needs to be made out to the Trust Company or it should be noted in the policy.

Occupancy – if the building or even part of it becomes unoccupied, you must tell whoever arranges your policy. They will then confirm the new terms and most likely the increase in premium, due to the associated risks.

Insurers usually allow 30 – 90 days at the same cover and then limit it to fire and theft. As ‘escapes of water’ are not covered, it’s imperative the water mains are turned off.

Tenant’s Contents – this shouldn’t be included in your policy! This should be on a separate policy for the tenant and not the landlord.

Sub-letting – you must declare the occupancy of any sub-letters, as this will affect the cover.

Considering acquiring a new commercial premises?

Get in touch with us to see if this might be viable through a more tax efficient means with your pension. Email info@tpsg.co.uk If you would like any further details on insurance or would like us to provide a quote for you, please email me directly at bernadette@tpsg.co.uk

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Feature and Insight

Saving for retirement:

How much is enough?

By Marcus Forsey Marketing and Communications Manager marcus@psgsipp.co.uk

It’s a question many of us, with years of our working lives still ahead of us and eager to someday retire with a comfortable income, probably ask ourselves every now and then.

Even those who are a little closer to kicking back and enjoying those well-earned silver years will naturally be quite concerned with how the global pandemic is affecting economies right now and the direct impact this is having on their own investments and fund values. So, saving really is key in these volatile times to ensuring a worry-free retirement.

But how much should you be saving per month? The answer is of course not straightforward and depends on your existing fund value and your lifestyle expectations when you reach retirement.

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Saving early is key AGE

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

£210,476

Total pension pot

£306,476

£96,000 AGE

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

Total pension pot £69,098

£165,098

£96,000

Recent research carried out by Fidelity International found that UK households who manage to save seven times their annual household income by the age of 68 should be in a position to retire and maintain a similar standard of living as in their working life, assuming an average household income in the UK with typically two working adults and two state pensions.

It’s a challenging goal indeed and it will come as no surprise that achieving this relies on saving early in your life.

Take for example then an assumption of a 5% annual return, investing £200 a month from the age of 25 with no existing fund value. This will give you £96,000 towards your retirement.

The same pot can be achieved by saving £400 from the age of 45.

£50,000

Great news then if you’re very early on into your working life and haven’t yet started to save for retirement.

The current average pension pot in the UK

Those a little closer to that dream of retiring at 65 will unfortunately have to save much, much harder.

Depending on where are you are in your retirement planning journey and your retirement expectations, here are a few stats that might make you either feel somewhat comfortable or a little alarmed. Either way, it’s important to recognise when looking at these figures that if combined with a flexible pension plan such as a SIPP and a suitability qualified and authorised financial adviser, there are ample opportunities to make an existing fund work even harder for you, whatever your age.

£260,000 to £447,000 is recommended at retirement, depending on accommodation costs and your lifestyle expectations

However, the effect of compounding interest has longer to work from age 25 so it will leave you with a pension pot almost twice as large.

What you will need annually in retirement to live comfortably Basic living costs

£16,300

6 weeks of holiday each year

£5,100

Dining out every 2 weeks

£2,200

Home improvements

£3,600

Getting new car every 5 years worth £15k

£5,500

Health club/Gym membership

£500

Shopping trips

£1,600

Theatre/concerts each year (avg 1 per month)

£1,700

(total annual cost of retirement)

£36,500

and don’t forget about mortgage, healthcare and other unexpected costs!

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Expert Q&A

Transfers and common issues that can arise

Transfers are a big part of what we do here at PSG SIPP. Each one requires dedicated staff and huge amounts of time, information, and patience to complete Achieving the transfer of existing funds is often an extremely slow and arduous process that adopts its own unique set of challenges. All of this can naturally be quite frustrating for the advisers we work with and for their clients who simply want to know that the process has been completed successfully into their newly established scheme.

To use a well-known analogy, you can often think of each transfer process we complete as an efficient game of swing ball. The provider of a transferring scheme or company will bat questions and we at PSG SIPP will bat them back with as much information as we can and anticipation of what they will need to know in order to try and bring the game to as swift a conclusion as possible.

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The goal throughout all of this is of course is trying to ensure that the funds are released and the transfer is complete, but it’s important to note that none of this is happening because we, or the transferring scheme is choosing to be difficult, or to inconvenience the client and/or their adviser. In fact, the reasons why this can take such a lot of time and effort is quite the opposite.

It should come as no surprise to hear that pensions are as vulnerable as any other financial asset to fraud and misuse. Here in the UK, strict regulations and guidance are in place to combat pension scams. Guidance around how transfers should be arranged and completed is appropriate and measures that need to be undertaken in order to protect consumers are necessary. This high level of caution can often cause an unavoidable slowing of the transfer process. Any trustworthy company involved in the handling of pensions, whether it is PSG SIPP or the provider transferring funds to us, is not only working to ensure compliance with UK regulations, but also puts an equal amount of responsibility and ownership on the need to protect their clients from risks of harm and to prevent undermining consumer confidence.

Further delays and the necessity to exercise even more caution can unfortunately occur when a client is an overseas resident. Regulators and transferring scheme providers perceive there to be a heightened risk of fraud and so may require specific and enhanced requirements to be met before they will permit a transfer.

Our policy on transfers We’ve recently drafted a comprehensive Transfer Policy and detailed guidelines to transfers for our advisers and clients, in order to help them better understand what’s involved. To receive a copy of this simply email us at info@psgsipp.co.uk

To explain a bit more about transfers and what’s involved, we asked Sarah Dibble, our in-house Transfers expert who spends her days walking that tightrope stretched between compliance and customer service, to discuss some of the frequent challenges she regularly meets while undertaking transfers on behalf of our clients and their advisers.

What are the biggest challenges when trying to transfer a client’s fund into a PSG SIPP? Making sure companies have all the information they need to process the transfer is a huge part of the work involved and can be very time consuming, with lots of back and forth communication. Companies will often request additional information following the submission of the transfer paperwork which we can’t always second guess.

The companies transferring schemes have a responsibility to transfer the money once requested by their client but PSG SIPP have no control/ influence over what they need to do or how they carry out their own internal procedures and due diligence.

Would you say these challenges have become more significant in recent times and if so, what does that look like?

The pandemic has heightened the risk around transferring as scams have become more prevalent during this time, so naturally this is adding extra time to the process. Since a lot of offices are still closed, getting hold of companies by telephone or email remains a challenge. We also know that most companies are experiencing their own delays dealing with work, especially those related to defined benefits schemes.

What is a typical deadline expected by a client or their adviser?

Unfortunately, quite often their expectations around how long this process will generally take will be unrealistic. There is always a significant lag between the client signing the paperwork, us receiving it, submitting the request to their transferring scheme provider and awaiting completion of the transfer.

It’s always difficult to put a time limit on this process because we simply don’t know how long the scheme provider will take to come back to us, what further questions they might ask, and simply when they will action the transfer. All we can do is what we already do, work quickly and diligently within turnaround times that I’m confident other providers can’t match.

Providing proof of address to the existing provider or company can often lead to complications and delays as well. Each will have their own internal requirements of what they consider to be a suitable form of proof of address.

These are not PSG SIPP requirements so the client/adviser will need to engage directly with the current provider to ensure that whatever they are submitting will be accepted.

It is also often the case that additional requirements are requested by companies which we are not told about in advance or they are not able to disclose to us, purely because they are following their own internal procedures, ensuring compliance and exercising caution on behalf of their client.

What is a typical deadline delivered by a ceding provider?

Again, it is impossible to put a definitive timescale against this process, particularly when the client lives abroad. In such cases this is classed as a non-standard transfer to other companies and they need to complete extra due diligence.

Sarah Dibble SIPP Administrator

In your considerable experience, what would you say are the most common mistakes that lead to unnecessary delays?

It is so important that client’s personal information such as address, and contact details are not only completed accurately in the paperwork provided to PSG SIPP, but also remain fully up to date with their current provider.

Any slight discrepancy between the information we hold, and the ceding provider holds, will almost certainly mean extra time added to the transfer process. In fact, those kinds of discrepancies are likely to ring alarm bells with the Transferring Scheme in terms of pension liberation or fraud.

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Industry insight

Don’t let a scammer enjoy your retirement Here’s some important information on how pension scams work, how to avoid them and what to do if you suspect a scam.

Contact out of the blue

Scammers are targeting pension pots of all sizes and taking advantage of the global pandemic and people’s concerns around their financial future in order to persuade them to part with their hard-earned money.

Promises of high / guaranteed returns

Their impact can be devastating.

Last year, victims of pension scams lost on average £91,000 each.

Free pension reviews

Scammers can be articulate and financially knowledgeable, with credible websites, testimonials and materials that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. Scammers design attractive offers to persuade you to transfer your pension pot to them or to release funds from it. It is then invested in unusual and high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds, forestry, storage units, or simply stolen outright.

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Scam tactics include:

Access to your pension before age 55

Pressure to act quickly

Four simple steps to protect yourself from pension scams

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03

Reject unexpected offers

Don’t be rushed or pressured

If you’re contacted out of the blue about your pension, chances are it’s high risk or a scam. Be wary of free pension review offers. A free offer out of the blue from a company you have not dealt with before is probably a scam.

Fortunately, research shows that 95% of unexpected pension offers are rejected.*

Take your time to make all the checks you need – even if this means turning down an ‘amazing deal’. Be wary of promised returns that sound too good to be true and don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision.

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04

Check who you’re dealing with

Get impartial information and advice

Check the Financial Services Register www.register.fca.org.uk

The Pension Advisory Service www.thepensionadvisoryservice.org.uk

Make sure that anyone offering you advice or other financial services is FCA-authorised.

Provides free independent and impartial information and guidance.

If you don’t use an FCA-authorised firm, you also won’t have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. So you’re unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong.

Pension Wise www.pensionwise.gov.uk

If the firm is on the FCA Register, you should call the Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768 to check the firm is permitted to give pension advice.

Beware of fraudsters pretending to be from a firm authorised by the FCA, as it could be what we call a ‘clone firm’. Use contact details provided on the FCA Register, not the details they give you.

If you’re over 50 and have a defined contribution (DC) pension, Pension Wise offers pre-booked appointments to talk through your retirement options.

Financial advisers It’s important you make the best decision for your own personal circumstances, so you should seriously consider using the services of a financial adviser. If you do opt for an adviser, be sure to use one that is regulated by the FCA and never take investment advice from the company that contacted you or an adviser they suggest, as they may be part of the scam.

If you suspect a scam, report it Report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by contacting their Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768 or using the reporting form at www.fca.org.uk Report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at www.actionfraud.police.uk If you’re in the middle of a transfer, contact your provider immediately and then get in touch with The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) at www.thepensionadvisoryservice.org.uk

Be ScamSmart with your pension Check who you are dealing with

*FCA Financial Lives

THE LOOP | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Take a break

On a busy working day, it’s important to take 5 minutes to switch off from what you’re doing and grab that all important brew. Whilst you wait for the kettle to boil and get stuck into the biscuits, why not print this page, grab a pen and enjoy our page of pension related brain-teasers. There’s even a chance to win a coveted PSG mug, tea caddie and pen!

PSG Conundrum

WIN

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a goody bag

Solve our conundrum below and fill in our quick entry form to be in with the chance of winning* a TPSG goody bag containing a mug, tea caddie and pen!

AMRST PPSSI 2

Enter here

S A S

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T M E N T

SIPP LTA SDLT RETIREMENT TRUSTEE PSG TRANSFER PENSION PROPERTY INVESTMENT SSAS

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Crossword

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Across 1 UK financial regulator

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5 Minimum age for taking pension benefits

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6 Compulsory charges imposed by governments

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10 A type of property that can be acquired within a SSAS or SIPP

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Down 2 Name given to a fixed income in retirement 3 A professional who offers independent advice on financial matters to clients (abbreviation) 4 Name given to a listed person who may inherit a pension 7 Name given to using a pension to provide an income in retirement 8 UK government department responsible for collecting taxes 9 A pension set up by you as opposed to an employer

Prize draw terms and conditions. The promoter is The Pension Solutions Group Limited (company no. 06683561)] whose registered office is at The Coach House, Box House, Bath Road, Box, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 8AA. The prize draw is open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of The Pension Solutions Group and PSG SIPP Limited, their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. Route to entry for the competition, full terms and conditions and details of how to enter are available via www.tpsg.co.uk/win-a-goody-bag The competition will also be promoted on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified. Closing date for entry will be 31st October 2020. After this date then no further entries to the competition will be permitted. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

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We don’t just have clients and partners, we have fans!

Mark

Richard

Great UK SIPP provider for International Clients

Thank you

I work with a number of UK SIPP providers and PSG are head and shoulders above the rest. Everything from their marketing to on boarding team is on point and on the odd occasions we’ve had issues they are quickly resolved. For international clients looking at a U.K. based SIPP there is no other provider that does it as well for a comparable price!

Keep up the great work PSG!

The Pension Solutions Group are not just our advisers and technical support.

We see their business and people as business partners supporting ourselves and our clients. This is a forwardthinking business with traditional client service at heart. I highly recommend them. Great people.

Rodney Very good experience

Conor Fantastic Service Having worked with multiple UK SIPP providers in the UK, it’s clear that PSG SIPP are the best providers by a considerable margin. The team themselves are great to work with and the service provided is cost-effective and extremely efficient.

I’ve had a very good experience with TPSG. They have been immensely flexible and efficient when providing solutions for my personal needs. I hope they continue the great service.

People love us TPSG voted ‘Best Bespoke Pension Solutions Provider’ (SME News Finance Awards 2019) PSG SIPP voted International Finance Winner at the (Acquisition International 2019 Awards) Rated ‘Great’ on Trustpilot (TPSG & PSG SIPP)

PSG SSAS Flexible Future Planning No two individuals or businesses are the same, but if you’re plotting a path to long term financial security, a SSAS can sometimes be the best possible option. Discover more about our highly business friendly pension.

Product Features • Invest without restrictions • Expert, portfolio-based administration • No hidden charges and no percentage-based fees • Access our most senior team members • Move to a more efficient business model

Find out more here