The FCA has published a Consultation Paper 14/11: Retirement reforms and the guidance guarantee (CP14/11). CP14/11 is intended to be read in conjunction with the government’s formal response to its March 2014 consultation on pensions reforms.
The guidance will be of interest to:
- providers of pensions and retirement income products;
- trustees of Defined Contribution (DC) schemes (and schemes with a DC element);
- employer sponsors of DC schemes (and schemes with a DC element);
- providers of other financial services products that play a role in consumers’ retirement planning;
- those providing advice and information in this area already;
- distributors of financial products, in particular retirement income products;
- trade bodies representing financial services firms;
- consumer representative bodies;
- charities and other organisations with a particular interest in retirement and/or financial services more generally; and
- individual consumers.
Delivery partners, that is those that are independent, have no conflicts of interest but will not be FCA-authorised, will be expected to comply with a set of standards that are to be drawn up and monitored by the FCA. Those standards will cover the following:
- ensuring the guidance is free at point of delivery;
- consistency and quality of the delivery of the guidance;
- professional standards;
- communications;
- systems and controls;
- complaint management;
- the information the delivery partners will use in giving the guidance;
- content of the guidance session;
- helping the consumer to take the next step; and
- providing a record of the guidance.
The deadline for responses to CP14/11 is 22 September 2014. The FCA intends to publish final standards and rules in a policy statement in late autumn 2014.
View CP14/11 – Retirement reforms and the guidance guarantee, 21 July 2014
View Freedom and choice in pensions: government response to the consultation, 21 July 2014
