My Pension Expert’s 2024 Retirement Fairness Index has highlighted the lengthy times retirement planners in the UK must wait for pension pots to be transferred between providers, with the issue showing little sign of improvement.
The independent retirement advisor analysed data from 5,163 pension transfers that it managed on behalf of clients during the 2023/24 financial year. Measured from the date an application was submitted to a pension provider to when My Pension Expert received confirmation that the fund had been transferred, the analysis revealed that on average it took 28 days for ceding companies to move the money.
This was an improvement of just one day compared to My Pension Expert’s 2023 Retirement Fairness Index – the average transfer time in 2022/23 was 29 days.
Certain elements of the process are necessary (such as fraud checks) and do result in some delays. However, there are circumstances when a transfer from a ceding company – pension scheme members’ existing providers – to a new provider is delayed unnecessarily, and the reason for the delay is rarely communicated to the customer. Consequently, with an average waiting time of 28 days, savers are experiencing a great deal of stress and uncertainty
Sanlam (an average of 18 days per transfer), Sun Life Financial of Canada (22 days), Fidelity (22 days), Standard Life (22 days), and Legal & General (23 days) were the quickest of the ceding companies when it came to transferring their customers’ funds to a new provider.
Mercer (96 days), NOW: Pensions (69 days), and TPT Retirement Solutions (67 days) were the ceding companies that took the longest average time to transfer funds, according to My Pension Expert’s data.
Lily Megson, Policy Director at My Pension Expert, said: “The tiny improvement in pension transfer times is disappointing. It highlights the ongoing challenges faced by UK retirement planners, who regularly face significant delays when moving their savings between providers.
“The process remains slow and lacks transparency. Customers regularly face significant delays when moving their savings. Clear visibility into the status of a pension transfer is essential in financial planning – improving the speed and communication of the process is vital not only to eliminate undue stress, but also allow people to manage their retirement savings as effectively as possible.
“It is timely that this year’s Retirement Fairness Index comes just before a general election. We urge the next Government and the pension sector to collaborate on minimising unnecessary delays and improving communication. By doing so, we can create a fairer and more transparent industry, thereby restoring and maintaining the trust of savers.”
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