Who introduces pension transfer business to AFSL?
The majority of our Introducers are IFAs (and other financial advisers), Accountants and Solicitors who are not regulated to offer pension transfer advice. However, some advisers who have the G60 qualification and could give advice still refer clients to AFSL as they do not get enough enquiries to establish a process for handling pension transfer advice themselves or they do not wish to pay the extra PII costs and FSA fees.

Will I retain my client?
Whilst AFSL must take over your client to be able to act for them in respect of their Pension Transfer, this is the only advice we will be involved in. The introducer’s agreement incorporates a no cross selling guarantee and you can still act for your client in the usual way for their ordinary financial planning.

Can I take over the client servicing once the advice has been given?
Once the policy has been issued and the commission paid to you, you are free to take over the ongoing servicing for your client if you wish to.

Can I choose the pension provider?
The product recommendation is part of the service provided by AFSL and the Introducer does not normally get involved. However, if you have previously recommended a particular pension provider or plan we will take that into account for our advice.

How long does each case take?
The transfer advice process normally takes between one and six months to complete depending upon how helpful the scheme administrators are. We chase the scheme administrators regularly and find that most transfers complete within three months.

Do we get regular feedback?
Yes. We keep you and the clients informed at regular stages and prepare monthly ‘pending lists’ for Introducers.

Will I get a copy of the report and recommendation?
We can provide you with a copy of the client’s TVAS report and/or suitability letter on request and with the client’s written consent.

Can I discuss the case with the AFSL adviser?
Yes, you can speak to Iain Crawford at Denton at any time by calling 0161 336 4550 or call our Pension Specialist Mick Houghton at Accrington on 01254 872737.

Who decides whether AFSL act on a fee or commission basis?
The client does. However, the Introducer can influence this to some degree. For example, a fee based Introducer might reassure his client that AFSL will act for them on a fee basis. However, a predominantly commission based Introducer might use the fact that there are no fees to encourage their client to seek advice from AFSL. It is important to note that we must act in accordance with the client’s wishes, rather than those of the Introducer.

Is there a cap on the amount of commission that can be taken?
There is no specific cap but on larger cases, it is possible that some commission will be rebated back into the policy.

Can I take fund based commission?
It is possible for the Introducer to take fund based commission, however AFSL’s share of the commission will still be taken as initial commission. The Introducer will not be able to take a high % of the full initial commission plus fund based commission on top.

Once the case has been completed, the case can be transferred back to the agency of the Introducer for servicing and receipt of fund based commission.

If I have no contact with the scheme, how will I know what my share of commission will be?
The amount of potential commission will depend upon the size of the transfer value, which cannot be known until a transfer takes place. The rate will also vary according to the policy and product provider used.

What about transfers from Personal Pensions?
This is a less heavily regulated area and it is envisaged that most advisers will deal with this on behalf of their clients. However, AFSL use O&M’s excellent Switching Profiler as a tool to help produce reports for this type of advice.

Is there a minimum Transfer Value when you are working on commission?
There is no set minimum transfer value where clients ask us to work on a commission basis. Therefore, for cases proceeding, we do expect to earn a minimum of £500 per case. In practical terms this means:

• For transfer values below £12,500, we will write to the client and ask for a £500 fee to be able to continue with the case. Most clients ask us to stop acting for them at this point, as they do not want to pay a fee.
• The commission payable on transfer values between £12,500 and £20,000 will not normally be enough for AFSL to earn £500 from our share. In these cases the introducer’s commission will normally be reduced below the usual share to pay AFSL’s £500.
• Cases above £20,000 will normally produce enough commission for the introducer to earn their agreed split and for AFSL’s share of commission to be £500.
  

NB. The £20,000 figure used is an indication, as commission rates vary from provider to provider.

Is there a minimum Transfer Value when you are working on fees?
No. For fee paying clients there is no minimum transfer value.

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