On the go:The Financial Conduct Authority is preparing to review its redress guidance for unsuitable pension transfer advice by the end of the year and has clarified what it expects of financial advice companies in the meantime.
In a statement published on Wednesday, the City watchdog confirmed it will start its periodic review of the guidance, which dictates how companies must calculate any redress due, by the end of 2021.
This guidance was first published in October 2017, and at the time the regulator committed to review the guidance at least every four years.
In its statement, the FCA set out its expectations of companies while the review is ongoing, saying they should continue to assess complaints about unsuitable advice “fairly, consistently and promptly” and calculate any redress in line with the current approach.
However, it warned companies to adhere to its latest set of clarifications on adviser and product charges when calculating redress and to contact clients if they think additional redress could be due.
It stated: “As part of the process of preparing for the review, we have identified some areas where firms may also benefit from clarification on how we currently expect redress to be calculated when following the guidance.
“Firms should ensure that they, or any actuarial specialist they have outsourced a redress calculation to, take the following actions when determining the amount of redress to offer. Firms not meeting these expectations should make appropriate changes to their processes before issuing any new redress offers.
“Where firms have already carried out calculations that do not meet the expectations in our guidance, it may be appropriate to review those calculations and contact consumers where they determine that additional redress may be due.”
This article originally appeared on FTAdviser.com
