The Work and Pensions Committee has urged regulators “to get their houses in order now” to protect pension scheme members from another mis-selling scandal.
Following the recent announcement that the New British Steel Pension Scheme has been given the go-ahead, chair of the committee Frank Field said on Thursday that this “brings welcome certainty to the BSPS members who opted for the new scheme”.
But he said this stands in stark contrast “with the great anxiety faced by the minority of steelworkers conned into unsuitable investments”.
The committee published correspondence from the Financial Conduct Authority detailing the restrictions it had placed on the operation of nine adviser firms linked to BSPS members. One, Active Wealth, has now gone into liquidation.
Field welcomed the watchdog’s latest update “on the advice firms caught in their dragnet” but said that it is crucial that the FCA looks not only at the specific firms that were active around British Steel, but also “any and all connected entities that seek to pick up where those firms left off”.
He added: “We warned of a major mis-selling scandal developing around BSPS, and right now that risk is still real. BSPS won’t be the last scheme restructured in this way. The regulators need to get their houses in order now to protect pension scheme members next time.”
