The FCA has told two individuals who poorly advised people to transfer out of defined pension schemes to pay more than £85,000 in fines.
The regulator has banned Steven Hodgson and Paul Adam of Vintage Investment Services from advising on pension transfers and opt outs. They will also be banned from holding senior management positions at regulated firms.
The poor advice includes transfers out of the British Steel Pension Scheme.
Hodgson and Adams have been told to pay £32,700 and £53,200 respectively to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which will contribute towards redress owed to Vintage customers.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight said: "People rely on good-quality pensions advice to secure a comfortable retirement.
"Mr Adams and Mr Hodgson fell far short of this basic expectation, earning significant fees for themselves in the process. Their fines will go to the FSCS to offset the cost of their failings."
Between January 2016 and December 2017, Vintage advised 97 per cent of its defined benefit pension clients to transfer out of their pension, with almost 99 per cent of those customers doing so.
Overall, 165 people transferred out, including 93 members of the BSPS. The average completed transfer value was over £420,000 (£375,000 for BSPS members).
The FCA said the pair were responsible for this poor advice, two thirds of which did not meet the required standards. 132 customers continued to pay Vintage for ongoing advice after being wrongly advised to transfer.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
