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.
Working for one of the UK’s local authorities offers many benefits, including a good salary and a reliable pension. Until recently, most local authorities provided their employees a final salary pension, which keeps up with inflation and ensures you can maintain a good lifestyle in your retirement years.
However, some financial advisers out there recommended that people like you transfer their enviable final salary pension to riskier fixed pensions. If this happened to you, you might be the victim of a missold DB transfer (defined benefit), and you could be eligible for defined pension compensation.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised the alarm over the increasing number of missold salary swap cases they’re seeing. They warn that independent financial advisers are purposely convincing their clients to switch valuable final salary pensions for inferior private schemes. These clients lost money – some even lost everything and are now destitute in their retirement years.
These financial advisers are often paid on a “contingent fee” basis. They only get paid if they convince their clients to switch, and they take a cut of the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV). The client gets duped, and the financial adviser takes off with their hard-earned pension money.
Did this happen to you? If you were missold salary swap products, you could be eligible for defined pension compensation – read ahead.
Local authority workers do a wide variety of different jobs, including social worker, caretaker, housing officer, lawyer, gardener, refuse collector, administrator, and accountant. They share one thing in common – they benefit from the local authority’s pension scheme. Until recently, most local authorities offered final salary pensions, also known as defined-benefit pensions.
Final salary pensions are enviable pensions to have. They keep up with the rate of inflation, which means that you don’t have to worry about the rising cost of living, and they have low or no fees. Best of all, they continue to pay out as long as you live.
In contrast, fixed pensions are pegged to the market, which means their value fluctuates. When the money is gone, it’s gone – you might outlive the value of your pension. Even worse, private schemes often invest in risky funds, which means you could lose everything.
Obviously, a final salary pension is the best option for retirees. However, financial advisers talked many people like you into swapping their final salary pensions for a ‘Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV). They promised high cash payouts and convinced them that a private pension would suit their needs.
This was terrible advice, and many people lost their retirement funds. Did this happen to you?
In almost all cases, pension transfers are the wrong choice, and no trustworthy financial adviser would recommend one. However, if you were missold salary swap products, you could recoup some of your losses with a defined pension claim. Our expert Allegiant team can help you access the final salary transfer compensation you deserve.
To have your prospects assessed by our specialist team, simply fill in our online form.
Apply NowIn this article, Allegiant’s Pensions & Investments Manager, Andy Ramsay, explores the fundamental differences between the Court and Ombudsman routes for resolving pension & investment claims. The article highlights key differences in:-
Andy further explores outdated preconceptions about Claims Management Companies. This short summary is essential reading for anyone planning on making a pension or investment claim with the assistance of a CMC or law firm.
Click to ReadYou may have heard of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), but do you fully understand its vital role within the UK’s financial services sector? In this short piece, we look at:-
This article will be of particular interest to anyone with a potential compensation claim against a financial service provider that has collapsed.
Click to ReadThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has identified ‘serious and ongoing failings’ by both Individual Financial Advisers (IFAs) and Self-Invested Personal Pension Providers. Typically, mis-selling is related to the “wrong” type of investor being given poor or misleading advice as to what investments were relatively safe and right for them. In this summary, we look at What a SIPP is, and how they have been mis-sold, together with the FCA’s review into sector malpractice.
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.
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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.