Good to know: You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your pension provider or intermediary. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Pension Ombudsman yourself for free if the firm is still trading. For eligible failed firms, you can refer a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for free.
Are you a Ford missold salary swap victim?
Ford has recently started to offer their employees a hybrid pension plan that consists of a 50% final salary pension and a 50% lump sum. Sadly, some pension holders have been given negligent advice to transfer their final salary pension now, to an inferior private scheme. If you are a victim of a Ford missold DB transfer, you could be entitled to make a salary swap claim.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised alarm bells over independent financial advisers. These advisers continue to give negligent or misleading advice to Ford pension holders. They recommended missold salary swap products without considering their suitability for individual clients.
In some cases, this bad advice is down to negligence, but in many other cases, it is very much intentional. Most independent financial advisers are paid on a ‘contingent fee’ basis – they only earn income if they convince you to make the switch. This payment structure convinced many advisers to put their own financial interests above yours. Does this sound familiar?
If you are the victim of a missold DB transfer, you might be entitled to defined pension compensation – read ahead.
If you work for the Ford motor company (or worked for them in the past), you were offered enrolment in a final salary pension. This might represent half of your total pension or the entire pot.
Final salary pensions (also known as defined benefit pensions) are desirable pension products that continue to pay out for the rest of your life. They keep up with the rate of inflation, which ensures that you will always be able to afford your standard of living. Best of all, they don’t have any high fees or extra costs.
In contrast, private pension schemes are often tied to market rates, which means they can tank when the market fluctuates. They are risky and often come with exorbitant annual fees. Private schemes draw from a fixed pot, and when the money runs out, it’s gone – you can easily end up destitute during your retirement years.
The problem arises when financial advisers recommend that pension holders trade in their final salary pensions for a ‘Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV). Theoretically, the lump sum allows the pension holder to invest in better options, but it’s extremely rare for a Ford pension transfer to benefit you. In reality, the financial adviser benefits from a large commission for suggesting the transfer, but conversely the pension holder misses out on secured pension income in later life.
If you were convinced or cajoled into a missold salary swap involving your Ford pension, you might be entitled to final salary transfer compensation. In almost all cases, these types of pension transfers are unsuitable, and your financial adviser was wrong to recommend this option.
Thankfully, our expert Allegiant team can help you make a defined pension claim. If successful, you could receive defined pension compensation and get back some of the income you lost.
To have your prospects assessed by our specialist team, simply fill in our online form.
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Click to ReadPre complaint investigation and analysis. No paperwork? Don't Worry! We could still help.
Once we've assessed claim prospects, we make a pension complaint to the Ombudsman or FSCS, where appropriate
Pension complaint response received. We'll carefully analyse the response and advise you on how to proceed.
If appropriate resolution cannot be reached with a live firm, and we disagree with their stance, we will refer the claim to Ombudsman on your instruction.
As of the 1st March 2022 we have implemented a new fee structure which we have explained below. If you signed your contract with us prior to the 1st March 2022, please refer to your signed claims pack for our previous fee terms.
Our fees are owed upon a successful claim and will depend on the Gross Compensation you receive. “Gross Compensation” means the amount awarded to you whether this is paid directly to you or paid into an investment or pension, and prior to any deduction of any income tax due to HMRC on your award. Please refer to the definition of “Gross Compensation” and Section 5 of our Terms of Engagement for further information including a table showing how our fees work in different scenarios.
If successful, your fee will be calculated based on which band your redress falls into and will be charged by whichever is the lowest of:
The below table outlines the redress bands, the maximum percentage rate of charge and the maximum total charge is for each band.
Band | Redress | % Charge (with VAT) | Maximum charge (with VAT) (£) | Maximum charge (without VAT) |(£) |
1 | 1 – 1499 | 36% | 504 | 420 |
2 | 1,500 – 9,999 | 33.6% | 3000 | 2500 |
3 | 10,000 – 24,999 | 30% | 6000 | 5000 |
4 | 25,000 – 49,999 | 24% | 9000 | 7500 |
5 | 50,000+ | 18% | 12,000 | 10,000 |
Examples of how this would work in practice:
Band | Lower example | Higher example |
1 | You receive £100 in redress; our fee would be £36. | You receive £1499 in redress; our fee would be £504. |
2 | You receive £1,600 in redress; our fee would be £537.60. | You receive £9,999 in redress; our fee would be £3,000. |
3 | You receive £12,000 in redress; our fee would be £3,600. | You receive £24,999 in redress; our fee would be £6,000. |
4 | You receive £30,350 in redress; our fee would be £7,284. | You receive £49,999 in redress; our fee would be £9,000. |
5 | You receive £55,000 in redress; our fee would be £9,900. | You receive £100,000 in redress; our fee would be £12,000. |
Please note, the above fee examples are for illustration purposes only. They are not an estimate of the likely outcome or fee you will need to pay. Each claim depends on its own merits.
It is possible that our fee may become payable before you have access to your pension or investment which may result in you having to pay our fee from your own funds
You can cancel for free at any time within 14-days without giving any reason and without incurring any liability. You can communicate your cancellation by telephone, post, email or online.
You can cancel this agreement at any time after the 14-day cancellation period. However, if a complaint submitted by us is successful, the Success Fee will apply in the usual way.
You can cancel by post: Allegiant Finance Services Limited, Freepost RTYU–XUTZ–YKJC, 400 Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE; (b) by email: [email protected]; (c) by telephone: 0345 544 1563; or (d) online at https://allegiant.co.uk/compliance/cancellation.
Our small, dedicated pensions team provide a personal touch
We’ll treat your claim as strictly confidential. Your personal information is safe with us.
We’ve serviced over 100,000 clients across all service lines since our inception in 2010.
We could still help if you don’t have all your paperwork or details. Our team are experienced in helping locate paperwork where possible.
Our online application system and claim audit surveys enable us to offer an efficient and convenient claims journey.
Good to know: You do not need to use a claims management company to make your complaint to your pension provider or intermediary. If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Pension Ombudsman yourself for free if the firm is still trading. For eligible failed firms, you can refer a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for free.