Elaine Turtle: Adviser frustrations in lockdown

As the UK moves into the 7th week of lockdown and the world has changed beyond all recognition, it has also been a time of reflection. In the pensions sector, we normally focus on face to face contact, this is especially true with SIPPs as they can be such a complicated product that advisers and clients rely on support. Everyone needs to work together providing the technical guidance and administrative excellence that is required to run successful SIPPs and avoid any regulatory or tax issues. Our normal working practices were whipped away from underneath us without much warning, but looking around us the whole sector has moved quickly to change these working methods. SIPP operators have put the wellbeing of staff, their families, clients and advisers first. Balance sheets and profitability have rightly come second, this is about people’s lives and having people working from home was far safer than risking the spread of this deadly infection. For some SIPP operators, they have had to upscale very quickly and invest in hardware and software to enable staff to efficiently and securely work from home. This has been a huge investment for some and interestingly, while video conferencing and communication tools such Microsoft Teams have been easy to install, it has been Alexander Graham Bell’s invention (well he did patent it first), the telephone, that has caused the most problems for some firms. You may think this is odd, especially when most firms are happily undertaking video conferencing and webinars, so how is a simple telephone call so complicated? If I am honest, I thought the same thing, but a number of advisers that I have spoken to during lockdown have explained that they are only able to receive email help and technical support from some pension and platform providers. This appears to be due to them not having enough phone lines, that their IT infrastructure doesn't allow calls to be transferred, or simply that large teams now can’t sit together in the same space. This can be very frustrating for advisers and clients who need immediate help and especially true of older clients who can find email difficult and it is good if they can speak to someone. So in this continuing period of lockdown, where skeleton staff are physically in offices making sure the post is acted on, socially distancing and avoiding touching anything unnecessary, and staff are working from home missing their colleagues and the interaction that office life provides, we should all be grateful that we are continuing to help our clients at a time when they are worried and may be fearful for their own safety. Stay safe and socially distance everyone. Elaine Turtle is a director at DP Pensions

Elaine Turtle: Adviser frustrations in lockdown

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