Pension savers given ’28-day’ warning amid expert concerns over ’disappointing’ delays

07 August 2024 , 08:49

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The new figures from My Pension Expert highlight how savers still face ’significant delays’ when trying to move their money, with an improvement of just one day compared to the previous year

Retirement savers are still waiting a "disappointing" 28 days on average for companies to transfer pension funds to a new provider.

The new figures from My Pension Expert highlight how savers still face "significant delays" when trying to move their money, with an improvement of just one day compared to the previous year, when the average wait for 29 days. My Pension Expert analysed data from 5,163 pension transfers that it managed on behalf of clients during the 2023/24 financial year for its latest Retirement Fairness Index. 

The retirement advice firm found some providers are taking up to 96 days to transfer funds, while the quickest time was 18 days. While certain delays are necessary, such as fraud checks, My Pension Experts said the reason for the delay is rarely communicated to the customer.

Sanlam (18 days), Sun Life Financial of Canada (22 days), Fidelity (22 days), Standard Life (22 days), and Legal & General (23 days) were the quickest of the companies to transfer pension funds to a new provider, while Mercer (96 days), NOW: Pensions (69 days), and TPT Retirement Solutions (67 days) took the longest. 

If you’re considering moving your pension, you’ll need to check if your existing pension scheme allows you to transfer your pension and if the new provider will accept the transfer. 

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 to allow people to manage their retirement savings as effectively as possible.

“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.”

Elizabeth Baker