Pension Transfer Advice

Finance articles

Pension Transfer Advice – Make The Most Of Your Pension Pot

If you have been building up a pension fund, you may have started to feel concerned about the way it is performing. Like many people, you may not have realised that you can transfer your pension to a more profitable fund. If you are not aware of this, you could actually lose out by not making the most of the pension pot you have built up.

So what are the reasons you might want a pension transfer? There are a number of possible reasons.

  • You may have found that your current pension fund is under-performing compared to the market average.
  • The charges for your present pension plan may seem quite high and you would like to find a cheaper plan.
  • If you have an older pension plan, you may find that more modern plans are more flexible – e.g. they may offer the possibility of varying your contributions or investing in different types of assets. What’s more, the best companies have opened up the market to enable you to choose from a variety of funds, rather than limiting you to those from the company your pension is with.
  • Additionally, an older scheme may not provide death benefits. This would mean that if you were to die before taking your retirement benefits, it would just repay your contributions to your beneficiaries – so you would lose any growth that had built up. You could transfer to a scheme that would pay the full fund value on death.
  • It could be that your circumstances have changed – e.g. you have left your job, or you want to retire early and release cash.


So how easy is it to transfer your pension? Well, it can be quite complicated if you want to make sure you get the same growth and range of benefits. There are an incredible range of products on the market, all with different benefits, and each with its different pros and cons.

That’s really why you need pension transfer advice. You can ask for pension transfer advice from an Independent Financial Adviser.

  • The adviser will examine all aspects of your current pension, what its transfer value is (including exit penalties if any), and reach a projection of benefits through to your chosen retirement age.
  • He/she will then scan the market to find a pension that performs to at least the same level as your current pension, and offers at least similar and preferably better benefits. The adviser will use different research tools to compare various aspects, e.g. cost, growth, flexibility and the financial strength of the company.
  • The adviser will look carefully at your age and personal circumstances, to ensure a particular pension is right for you. For instance, a pension that might be excellent for you if you are 40, might not be suitable for you if you are coming up to retirement. In some circumstances, the adviser might advise you against switching – for instance, if your current pension is a final salary scheme, when you would be giving up guaranteed benefits for non-guaranteed.
  • Don’t expect all this to take place at a single meeting. It will take the adviser some time to consider your situation and research the market carefully.


Given the vast number of products available, it would be difficult if not impossible for you to research the entire market on your own. By looking for pension transfer advice, you can be sure of finding the pension that’s most suitable for your needs.

EB May 2008