In Focus: Regulation under reform  

Amendment to prevent future scandals like British Steel to become law

The FCA has been approached for comment.

The BSPS case

During 2017, BSPS members were asked to make decisions about their pensions as part of a restructure of the scheme.

Article continues after advert

About 8,000 members transferred out of the scheme, with transfers collectively worth about £2.8bn.

But concerns about the suitability of the transfers were soon raised, leading to an intervention from the Financial Conduct Authority that resulted in a number of advice firms – key players in the debacle – stopping their transfer advice service, while others went out of business.

The debacle created a mountain of liabilities, which lawyers believe could end up costing the industry up to £300mn.

The FCA announced last year that it plans to deliver £71.2mn in compensation to former members of the scheme who received unsuitable advice. 

The scheme covers those who transferred out between May 26, 2016 and March 29, 2018. 

However, in February this year a number of steelworkers wrote to the FCA expressing concerns about the regulator’s calculations for the scheme.

amy.austin@ft.com