Redress newsletter - January 2024

I know from my own?experience helping people and organisations through pensions redress how bewildering the process can be. I’m keen to make the journey less painful for my clients and improve awareness of how redress works.

First Actuarial have given me the opportunity to provide support to professionals caught up in the pensions redress process and we’re now launching a monthly newsletter to share insights and provide updates on relevant developments in the world of redress. We want to help you avoid pitfalls and get the best possible outcomes when resolving pension transfer complaints.

We’ve also developed the First Actuarial Redress Index, which shows recent trends in redress.

In this first issue we look at how much redress you might have to pay.

I’ve received a complaint about a defined benefit pension transfer – how much redress might I have to pay?

Redress arising from a defined benefit pension transfer varies a great deal, depending on:

? When the consumer transferred out

? How generous the transfer value was

? How well the transfer value proceeds have performed

? Market conditions at the point when redress is calculated.

Most defined benefit transfer redress cases that we see relate to one of the following:

? Transfers implemented after 2015 when pensions freedoms took effect

? Transfers that took place during the 1990s.

The First Actuarial Redress Index monitors the estimated redress on pensions transfers that took place after 2015. This shows that average redress has fallen by around 80% since the start of 2022, and in some cases there may no longer be any redress due.

This is because annuity prices have been falling and redress reflects the cost of purchasing an annuity to replace the lost defined benefit pension.

However, for transfers that took place in the 1990s redress may be significantly higher. This is because transfer values paid in the 1990s were typically much less generous than those paid in more recent periods.

How can First Actuarial help me?

Learn more about what we do at Pension transfer redress services - First Actuarial or get in touch with me at [email protected] to find out more.