The mutual is targeting DB schemes with a service for trustees that offers members a range of tools to help understand their options under the new pension freedoms, which includes partial or full transfer to DC. Scheme members wanting to take this option are then passed to LV=’s advice arm.
The organisation has also created a robo-advice tool for the DC market that delivers fully automated full advice to scheme members for £199. Fulfillment of advice offered costs a further £499 if the individual wishes to proceed.
The DB service, called LV= Pension Compass, has been created in response to feedback from trustees concerned about how to navigate the new pension landscape where members cannot afford advice. The tools allow members to compare and contrast the new income options to the guaranteed benefits offered by their current final salary arrangements. It also looks at the pros and cons of the income solutions available to them, addresses how much income they need to achieve to fund their retirement and how they can deal with longevity risk and outlines the solutions that best suit their individual needs.
The robo-advice DC tool, called Cora, which stands for Clear Online Retirement Advice, uses algorithms to offer full advice, taking into account factors including debt, means-tested state benefits and attitude to risk. The service is an extension of its existing proposition in the individual market, and can offer end-to-end advice online, although adviser telephone support is available. Product options include a whole of market annuity range, although drawdown is restricted to LV=’s proposition, which runs at a base 0.25 per cent charge for the cheapest option, which invests in BlackRock-run passive funds.
LV= Retirement Solutions head of distribution Steve Lewis says: “Our drive as a mutual is to address the issue of the mass unadvised sector, where we have so many people approaching retirement who do not have advice. LV= is the most trusted consumer brand in the market, and we believe advisers will see how committed we are to delivering in this space.
“Much has been made about how this impacts on private pension savers and how best to support them in the new world, however the changes affect those in workplace schemes and pension trustees as well. LV= Pension Compass will ensure that pension scheme members are able to take advantage of the wider range of pension income solutions now available to them and to support pension trustees in discussions they have with members about their options.”
