How do I get advice when I can’t leave my island home?

M.G. writes: My wife and I live on the Isle of Man. We are buying our ‘for ever’ home here, but need capital from my Royal London pension plan. Royal London will not release the money unless I first seek advice from a financial adviser in the UK, but the pandemic means I cannot leave the island.

THE Isle of Man has been in neartotal isolation from the outside world throughout the pandemic. Anyone arriving has needed a permit to land, followed by a period of isolation, backed up by the threat of jail sentences for breaking the rules. If you had left the isle to meet an adviser, you would been confined to home on your return.

Because of the large number of scams involving unlocking pension pots, Royal London has no choice under the UK’s financial regulations but to insist you talk to a specialist adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. There is some good news though. I suggested you could be advised by phone, letter, or in an online meeting, with no need to travel, and Royal London has agreed. Or, you can take 25 per cent of your pot without having to seek the same advice that is needed if you want to withdraw it all.