We are introducing temporary asset retention rules which apply to certain firms who provided transfer advice to British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members.
What we are changing
The temporary asset retention rules require firms to have sufficient funds to meet redress liabilities if they provided unsuitable BSPS advice. This will help make sure the firms responsible for redress liabilities meet the cost of those liabilities, rather than the costs falling to other Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) levy payers, and ultimately being passed on to consumers.
Who this applies to
This policy statement will affect firms that provided BSPS members with advice to transfer between 26 May 2016 and 29 March 2018, and their insurers.
Next steps
The asset retention rules take effect at 12.01am on 27 April 2022 and will continue until 31 January 2023.
Any firm who provided advice to BSPS members resulting in members transferring out of the scheme between 26 May 2016 and 29 March 2018 (or who was responsible for an appointed representative that provided such advice) should take immediate action to decide whether they are in scope of these rules.
In scope firms must notify us of the outcome of their initial assessment by 27 May 2022, certified by the firm’s compliance officer or, if that is not possible, another appropriate senior manager. We are making a system available for submission of these notifications, and firms can also send their submission to [email protected].