Operation CHIVE, the pro-bono initiative set up to help British Steel workers with their pension transfers, has gained backing from the Personal Finance Society (PFS).
PFS chief executive Keith Richards (pictured) told Professional Adviser the body supported the initiative and would help to spread the word.
“We support the efforts of Alistair Rush and the great initiative of CHIVE, which has already seen a number of professional advisers pool their support.”
Richards said there had been concerns that a minority of advisers would risk bringing the majority into disrepute.
However, he said advisers who had positively galvanised behind the pro bono initiative bolstered the advisory community’s standing.
Operation CHIVE – short for ‘Counselling, Help, Information, Volunteer Exchange’ – will see advisers and other members of the financial services community give free guidance to those affected by the collapse of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).
Echelon Wealthcare managing director Alistair Rush set up the initative through his blog, where he urged advisers to get involved and help out.
Combined effort with FCA
Richards had a warning for advisers carrying out volumes of British steel transfers: “Any adviser who is being overly commercially focused and not following the right professional standards should be concerned about future follow-ups from the regulator because clearly, this is a high profile matter.”
He then said the trade body would work alongside the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide guidance and support for members of the scheme.
“The FCA has commented that it recognises the majority are doing a good job, so the regulator providing balance into the market helps to mitigate the risk of negative perception in terms of reputation, but more importantly I think we need to work more with the regulatory proactively.
“We’re talking to the FCA to see how we can combine efforts to provide more guidance and support for members of the scheme.”
The CHIVE pro-bono sessions will take place next week on 11 and 12 December in Port Talbot, Corby, Shotton, Scunthorpe and Llanwern, each of which has a British Steel site.
British steelworkers have until 22 December to decide whether to move their DB pension pots into a new plan that is being created or stay in the current fund, which will be moved into the Pension Protection Fund.
There have been instances of some advisers being drawn to this issue by the sheer number of steelworkers potentially looking to transfer.
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