Clearly, shopping around for the right pension can mean the difference between a miserable and comfortable retirement. When deciding what do with your pension, it is crucial that you receive appropriate independent advice to explain what options are available. Many people are used to doing this for their insurance needs already, so it makes sense to do the same with the form of income that will dictate what sort of lifestyle you have on retirement.
Therefore, the review will focus on understanding the extent to which pensioners can compare the larger range of retirement options available to them since the introduction of the new pension freedoms. The FCA was quoted as saying: ‘We want to understand whether savers can compare products, shop around, switch providers where they are not receiving what they want and make good, informed, decisions’.
The watchdog’s remit is to look at the availability of options for people moving towards retirement.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. With $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt. Their bankruptcy filing was the largest in history and prompted an immediate fall in the FTSE 100 of 4%. It was the beginning of a slump that by Christmas of 2008 had resulted in 23% being wiped off the value of Britain’s top 100 companies. As a stock market crash, it ranks alongside the dotcom bubble and the shock of 1987. However, while living standards have flat-lined since that date, the stock market revival has been spectacular. Many investors were, however, spooked by the financial crisis of 2008 and liquidated their investment portfolios. Unfortunately as shown below – they lost out on the bull run of the next 10 years.