Long waits for pension transfers, taken from small samples of pension transfers, are not indicative of the overall market, says Origo.
Origo can provide a clear market barometer on transfer times, as it deals with over a million transfers in a year and the vast majority of the market, over 150 brands, use the Origo Transfer Service for their defined contribution pension transfers.
Taking 12 months of data to the end of June 2023 and looking at the top 10 providers by transfer volume, half of the transfers they undertook were transferred out in 3 to 8 calendar days. It is worth emphasising here that it is calendar days rather than working days.
The average across the 10 providers, who collectively account for 70% of transfers through the Origo Transfer Service, is 11 calendar days.
The latest data for the Origo Transfer Index – a quarterly report on the data of 28 providers accounting for around 80% of transfers through the Origo Transfer Service – shows that for the 12 months to the end of June 2023, the average time for a pension transfer was 13.6 calendar days. This is effectively 10 working days.
Anthony Rafferty, CEO, Origo, says: “It is disappointing when the narrative on transfer times is presented as negative for the market as a whole. The data shows that it is more often the performance of the outliers in the market that raise overall transfer times and can cause frustrations in the market. The majority of providers are doing sterling transfer work day-in day-out for consumers.
“The frustrations exist with some providers in the occupational pension market, who are still taking up to several months to transfer customers’ money. This is largely because the process is undertaken manually, paper-based, and consequently, slowly. Given the chance, we can help them, substantially.
“Not every transfer is straightforward and there is no doubt also that the new regulations designed to help protect consumers against pensions scams have contributed to the recent uptick in transfer times.
“We believe the overall average speed of transfer can be improved further. Full integration of the process with organisations’ back-office systems, for example, can significantly improve transfer times.
“Overall, however, the market is delivering what we know consumers want – their transfer done quickly and safely.”
