National retirement adviser LEBC has given up its DB transfer permissions following an FCA review.

There is a common mis-conception that Defined Benefit transfers are the scourge of society, an inherent evil that must be stamped out. This is far from true.

The rapid increase in DB transfer values has been the main spur to the rise in transfers and not greedy advisers seeking contingent charging fees, says AJ Bell.

The FCA has set out plans to ban advisers from contingent charging based on a positive recommendation to transfer out of a defined benefit scheme.