Published on 12, July, 2020
Somehow I once managed to hold down a job long enough to accrue a bit of a pension pot which I now need to transfer/get at. To do this you now have to have a form signed by an 'IFA' or independent advisor. So I did my usual trick which is email a few as I can't use phones or do face to face and got nowhere. Most either don't reply or email back demanding my phone number. Also their websites to me are rather evasive or lacking precise details which winds me up a lot. And they are mainly focussed on luring you into a lifelong relationship involving ongoing fees. I wonder if anyone here has managed to use an IFA? Any tips? Maybe there is an autism aware one somewhere? PS remember to be careful divulging financial info in emails!!
I have a friend who works at a pension company. They tell me they often ask for a letter from an IFA to stop people getting scammed. A lot of con artists will try to persuade you to shift your pension into a dodgy scheme (and be honest how would you know a dodgy scheme from a legit one) to scam you out of money. So pension companies prefer to deal with competent middle men. That said there is no rule that you have to have an IFA and I'm not sure they can refuse you if you insist? They may make you sign a form to acknowledge that they've warned you you are probably being scammed.