Deb Nolan, IFA Leeds / Bradford – Understanding your financial entitlements

Friday 31 March, 2017

Deb Nolan, Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) Leeds / Bradford – Understanding your financial entitlements

This case study ‘The value of an independent financial adviser – understanding your financial entitlements' is part of our ‘The value of an independent financial adviser’ series.  Read Simon Hawker, independent financial adviser St Albans – The value of an independent financial adviser.

Deb Nolan is an independent financial adviser in Leeds / Bradford.  She opened our West Yorkshire office in January 2013.  She offers independent financial advice to clients throughout the whole of Yorkshire, (including Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Skipton and Huddersfield).  Deb is a member of our Leeds / Bradford financial planning team.

Current situation

Deb Nolan, financial consultant, Leeds / Bradford, spends much of her time giving pension advice, especially given the recent changes to pension legislation.  She also has the Chartered Institute of Insurance (R08) Pensions Update qualification.  

Recently, she has advised many members of money purchase occupational pension schemes, some of whom have scheme-specific tax-free cash protection.  This means those members had a right to more than 25% tax-free cash from their pensions when the rules changed on 6 April 2006 and this was protected for them.    

How Deb Nolan, pension adviser Leeds / Bradford added value with her independent financial advice:

1.    Understanding the entitlements of occupational pension schemes and how the rules apply

Deb is aware of how the tax-free cash pension legislation changed in 2006 and how it can affect certain occupational pension scheme members.  In her experience, some members were unaware of their entitlement, but found their pension providers didn’t mention the enhancement at all, which could be extremely detrimental if it was missed altogether.  She managed to point out cases where there might be entitlement, explore this with the relevant provider and, in many cases, ensure the member received the enhanced amount of tax-free cash.

Deb discovered other members found that their pension provider said they ‘might’ have an entitlement and were sent lengthy forms to complete.  Many of the questions on those forms were asking for information from over ten years ago and many members were struggling to complete them.  Deb investigated such cases, ascertained what information the provider already held and, helped the members complete the forms, liaising with the providers in order to get all relevant information.  

Deb Nolan independent financial adivser Leeds / Bradford says:

‘When I spoke to some pension members they weren’t aware that they could claim more than 25% tax-free cash from their pension.  For some schemes, I was able to provide them with an approximate tax-free cash pension entitlement by knowing their incomes and pension values from April 2006.  For others, we ascertained enough information to work out if there was likely to be enhanced tax-free cash available and then ensured the relevant forms were completed, so this valuable benefit was not lost.’

Key considerations for a client with complicated pension entitlements

•    Seek independent financial advice to ensure that you receive all the pension benefits you are entitled to
•    Regularly check how much your pensions are worth and inform your pension provider if you change your address
•    Always complete a pension scheme nomination form and review it regularly

Summary

The pension members eventually received the correct tax-free cash lump sums, in excess of the standard 25% entitlement.  Due to Deb’s perseverance in obtaining relevant and accurate information, many members benefited from paying much less tax.

Other case studies in 'The value of an independent financial adviser' series:
Mark Bowen, independent financial adviser, St Albans - Reviewing your defined benefit pension scheme

 

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