Following on from my previous blog about the importance of shopping around for the best annuity; the FSA has just released the findings of their own review into this important aspect of financial planning, with particular emphasis on those people with company pension schemes
The regulator's review focused on the information given to scheme members in the run-up to their retirement.
It examined the advice given about shopping around for a pension with the cash from their pension funds - known as the open market option.
And it looked at whether or not scheme trustees and administrators used plain English.
The regulator found that:
• 57% of the schemes it examined had "some scope for improvement" in the standard of information they gave
• 30% were breaking the law, mainly by not giving out information to their members on their options at least six months before retirement
• 6% had serious problems with their literature or retirement processes
• 2% did not offer the open market option at all.
"This exposes the members of those schemes to the risk of making uninformed decisions about their retirement income," the regulator warned.
"This could lead to the member receiving a lower level of income than if they had been equipped with clear, straight forward and relevant information."