The High Court ruled in favour of the FCA in a civil action against two firms and their directors who induced clients to transfer their pensions in SIPPs and alternative investments without FCA authorisation.

The FCA wants improvements in the ‘value for money’ members of workplace pensions and some SIPPs receive.

The regulator has today launched a Consultation Paper on changes that may be needed to ensure workplace pensions scheme members get a better deal.

The launch follows a review which suggested some governance committees were “ineffective” in challenging firms to ensure value for money in workplace schemes.

Following the review the Consultation Paper has been brought forward.

The  Consultation Paper CP20/9 looks at ways to make workplace pensions better value for money.

The watchdog says its proposals aim to make it easier for Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) and Governance Advisory Arrangements (GAAs) to compare the value for money of pension products and services.

This should enable them to be “more effective” in assessing value for pension scheme members.

IGCs oversee the value for money of workplace personal pensions provided by firms like life insurers and some SIPP operators.

They provide independent oversight of workplace personal pensions in accumulation  and will oversee the investment pathway solutions that will have to be offered from 1 February 2021. IGCs act on behalf of consumers who are likely to be “uninvolved or less engaged” with their pension savings, says the FCA.

The FCA review found that:

• Some IGCs lack the necessary independence and were ineffective at challenging firms to ensure value for money for workplace pension scheme members
• Those IGCs which maintained independence from the firms whose pension schemes they had responsibility for delivered better outcomes for pension scheme members
• GAAs operated by third-party firms on behalf of pension providers were less effective at delivering meaningful improvements in value for money
• Over the period of the review (2017-2019) the FCA found there had been a “small reduction” in charges across all pension savings, although this has not been directly linked to IGCs and GAAs.

Megan Butler, FCA executive director of supervision - Investment, Wholesale and Specialists, said: “This Consultation Paper will help to ensure that pension scheme members are getting value for money.

“Our separate review into IGCs and GAAs lays out the key lessons that need to be learned to ensure that workplace pension holders get a fair deal.

“The FCA has carefully considered these findings and is asking firms that do not meet our requirements to make improvements.”

Overall, the FCA found that a number of IGCs were working well to provide value for money for their members however, a lack of consistency in the way they operate meant that members of some workplace pension schemes may not be receiving value for money.

The FCA has sent feedback letters to firms to ensure they make improvements to the way they work with their IGC or GAA.

The Consultation Paper has a deadline of 24 September and includes proposals for a framework for the annual IGC and GAA value for money assessment process, including a definition of value for money and three key elements of value for IGCs to use when conducting their assessments.

 • The Consultation Paper and the Thematic Review.

The Financial Conduct Authority says it will ban most contingent charging on DB pension transfers as part of a raft of measures designed to tackle ‘weaknesses’ in the DB transfer market.

The FCA has today launched a survey of 13,000 regulated firms to assess how their ‘financial resilience’ may have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Liberty SIPP Limited has entered administration, opening the door to FSCS compensation claims for hundreds of clients.

The FCA is to give staff at regulated firms an additional 12 months to pass professional exams due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Complaints about regulated firms topped 6m in the second half of 2019, according to data published by the FCA today.

Andy Bell, chief executive of platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell, has welcomed news that the rules on 10% ‘investment drop’ letters will be relaxed for six months.

The FCA has reduced a £93,800 fine imposed on pension adviser Lloyd Pope, a former director of now dissolved firm TailorMade Independent Ltd, by approximately £70,000.

The FCA has ruled out - at least for the time being - a complete ban on short selling as it works closely with international regulators to ensure that financial markets remain “open and orderly.”