Your Client, our risk
IFA FAQs
Most of the questions you may have about how our process works, you will be able answered in the Defined Benefit Pension Transfer section. In the most part, the bulk of the questions we receive from introducing IFAs are around how the fee structure works and whether we accept Insistent Clients, these are answered below.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to either call us, or complete the Get in Touch form at the bottom of this page.
What if a client can’t afford to pay for full advice?
There is an option for us to carve-out individuals in serious financial difficulty or serious ill health.
For these individuals, a fee is only paid if a pension transfer goes ahead, in which case our fee can usually be deducted from the pension fund itself.
We will automatically investigate if someone is eligible for carve-out at the abridged advice stage.
If they receive full advice and decide not to proceed with a transfer, assuming they have been eligible for carve-out, they will not have to pay a fee.
If a client proceeds with full advice, when do they have to pay the fee?
The client does not have to pay the fee until the very end of the process has been completed.
In most cases, if a transfer has gone ahead, we would expect to be able to deduct the fee directly from the receiving pension fund once the transfer has completed, so they will not have to do anything.
If a transfer has not gone ahead, then at the final stage of closing their file, we will write to the client requesting settlement of the fee.
What is the latest a client can stop their enquiry without paying a fee?
This means they will have been able to discuss their case with a fully qualified and fca regulated adviser and received our abridged advice report, where the outcome of our recommendation will either be a transfer is not suitable or, we are unable to ascertain suitability.
Read our Guide to Abridged Advice for a more details.
Can a client always pay the fee out of their pension fund?
If a transfer goes ahead then a client can usually pay the fee direct from the pension fund. This has the advantage of it being deducted from a virtually tax-free fund, rather than being paid out of taxed income or savings.
However, if they prefer, they can pay us by cheque or via bank transfer, this might be preferable if they are transferring their pension for inheritance tax planning purposes and wish to maximise potential death benefits.
Where a workplace pension scheme (wps) has had to be recommended, some of these are unable to facilitate the deduction of our advice fee, in these circumstances, the client will need to settle our fee directly before a transfer goes ahead.
As the introducer, do I have to charge an initial fee?
In a word, no. A lot of introducers these days just charge an ongoing fee, which they can take once the agency is switched back to them. This will cover regular reviews and updates for their client.
If I charge an initial fee, how is this paid for?
Many introducers prefer to charge a fixed initial administration fee, to cover their time for gathering the first stage of pension information and completing the fact-find with their client. This administration fee can be paid direct to the introducer by their client before that person is introduced to us. In these instances, we do not need to be informed or take it into account within our analysis.
Can you deduct the initial fee on my behalf?
Yes, but you must bear in mind that if you ask us to arrange payment of your initial fee, whether that is a fixed amount or percentage of the clients pension fund, this will have to apply if the client elects to proceed to full advice and irrespective of whether a transfer goes ahead or not.
What if our advice is not to transfer but a client wants to go ahead anyway?
If a client does not want to take our advice, in certain circumstances we could still proceed with transferring their pension if they insist.
However, we reserve the right to refuse such a transfer if it is particularly unsuitable.
Read our Guide to Insistent Clients for more details.
Can I decide the product destination and investments?
Whilst we will consider any suggestion from our Introducing IFA’s, as we have responsibility for both the product and investment recommendation, the final decision is ours.
What our IFA clients say
Having been introduced to the team at Grove for clients considering their Defined Benefit options, it has been great to strike up a working relationship with the firm. It is hugely important that our clients enjoy a positive experience with those we entrust to work alongside us and the IFA Liaison team are particularly helpful in ensuring that we are in a fully informed position throughout each stage of the process
Daniel Galbraith - Adv DipFA Chartered ALIBF
Kilgour Wealth Management Ltd
I have been dealing with Grove for several years now and I have to say they are a great firm to deal with, they are first class with communication, for me the bigger issue how my clients perceive them, and everyone says the same thing, they were very friendly, clear and informative, that to me it’s worth its weight in gold. I find the staff to be very approachable and knowledgeable, I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone, they are a 5-star firm who give 5-star service. One of the bests parts of dealing with these guys are that once the transfers have completed, Grove transfers your clients back to you really quickly and then you take back over managing your clients again.
Tony Errington
IFA Consultants Ltd
We recently referred two cases to Grove Pension Solutions. Grove has a very smooth abridged advice process that allows introducers to refer cases and have them initially assessed without incurring cost for the clients. When it is agreed to proceed to the next stage, we found their fee structure, advice process, and their communication with us, to be outstanding. We got regular updates from their superb IFA Liaison staff and understood what stage we had reached all the way through the process. Their IFA website portal is also very easy to navigate and a most useful resource. We have used other approved DB transfer specialist firms before, but Grove is the main one we intend using in future. I can highly recommend this firm.
Alistair Paterson - Director
Murray Paterson Ltd
You have been 1st class with your interactions and I just want to put on record my sincere thanks for all your hard work with all of my case submissions. It really does make a difference having someone like yourself at the end of the phone.
Christian Derrick
Stephenson Johnson Financial Planning Ltd
I have referred Defined Benefit cases to Grove for several years. I have found that the team are very helpful in ensuring that clients have a positive experience. They seamlessly take clients through the advice journey, ensuring that the client is aware of each step of the process.
My interaction with both Matt and Max in particular from the IFA liaison team has been critical in ensuring a high level of client care.
Sheilen Savjani
Sovereign Financial Planners
Get in touch
If you would like to find out more about our DB pension transfer service for IFA's or visit us, get in touch below and one of our IFA Liason Team will contact you.