TISA responds to DWP report on automatic transfers
Commenting on the DWP report on automatic transfers: consolidating pension savings, David Dalton-Brown, Director General of TISA and TeX Chairman said:
“We welcome the report announced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and that they have selected Open Standards pension transfers to support the automatic pot-follows-member initiative. We see this as very positive for consumers and the pension industry.
The adoption of the industry open standard ISO 20022 messaging set and commitment to use the existing UKFMPG market practice for pensions transfers underscores the DWP’s commitment to promoting open, healthy competition in this important area. This is very welcome. We are sure it will encourage more firms to enter the market to provide solutions that work for customers and firms in delivering lower costs and a speedier service. By building on existing open standards and message sets this should enable the industry to more easily meet the DWP’s goals of enabling swift, cheap and secure automatic transfers.
“TeX, the cross industry ‘transfer club’ has been a strong supporter of open standards to drive efficiencies and innovation. It was established to do just that in the form of a cross-industry, open standards based transfer club for investments. Membership among platforms and fund managers exceeds 95% of UK fund assets and this has led to significant increases in electronic transfers, resulting in greatly reduced transfer times and security for customers.
“Following on from this, and in response to demand from industry firms, TeX extended its services and supporting infrastructure to support pension transfers in April 2014. As with investments, this is based on the ISO open standards and common message set. These, with supporting contracts and services, facilitate the automated, rapid and secure transfer of a client’s pension assets between providers. It is designed to provide consumers with a higher level of service and security in the way their savings and investments are managed. Additionally the use of open standards ensures that the market is open for any service provider to offer transfer services.
“We believe the DWP’s decision will ensure automated transfers of members’ savings (pot-follows-member) will have the benefit of operating under a single open standard, and we welcome this. We believe this will be good for customers, as their money is not tied up by unnecessary delays. It will be good for firms, as their costs are driven down through adoption of these standards. And it will be good for long term saving, as customers will be able to consolidate their pension savings much more simply and easily, see how much they’ve got and how much more they need to provide for their future. In addition, the adoption of these open standards and existing message sets support not just pot follows member, but the wider pensions transfer market.
“We owe it to customers to ensure that this functionality is available and then to reduce the time it takes for these transfers to take place. We will continue to work with the financial services industry to encourage fully integrated electronic processes between providers so that transfers in minutes, rather than days, become the norm. We see this as a great opportunity for all parts of the pensions industry to embrace open standards to improve competition, drive-up standards and reduce costs for consumers and providers.”
For a copy of the paper go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/402860/automatic-transfers.pdf
TeX was established by TISA to help facilitate the electronic transfer of wrappers and assets between fund managers, platforms, wealth managers and any firm which holds assets on behalf of investors. As a result of this initiative a transfer framework comprising of technical standards based on ISO 20022 was developed. This has enabled the industry to introduce common standards of processing and common service level agreements to which all participants need to comply.
For further information, please contact:
Carol Knight, Director, TeX – Tel: 01642 666989
Email: carol.knight@tisa.uk.com
Jeffrey Mushens, Director, TeX – Tel: 07939 575093
Email: jeffrey.mushens@tisa.uk.com
Issued on behalf of TeX by Newgate Communications, contact Sara Lyons – Tel: 020 7680 6554
Email: sara.lyons@newgatecomms.com
Notes for Editors
TeX
TISA Exchange Limited (TeX) has been established to help facilitate the electronic transfer of wrappers and assets between fund managers, platforms, wealth managers and any firm which holds assets on behalf of investors. 72 groups have joined TeX and members administer over 91% of platform assets and over 89% of industry funds under management. www.tisaexchange.co.uk
TISA
TISA is a not-for-profit membership association operating within the financial services industry. We represent the interests of over 145 member firms involved in the supply and distribution of savings and investment products and services.
TISA has a highly successful track record in working cooperatively with government, regulators, HMT, DWP and HMRC to improve the performance of the industry and the outcomes for consumers. Policy and regulation continues to be the major focus for our members with regard to corporate responsibility.
TISA and its members’ remit is evolving into a clearer focus on pro-active consultation in the regulatory world in order to influence policy and associated regulation before its creation, rather than reacting to issued policy directives. This will help to ensure a more considered policy creation from the authorities.
Website: www.tisa.uk.com