Which pension provider should I transfer into?

Where to transfer a pension comes down to two things: which registered UK schemes will take the money, and what the move would cost you or take away.

Anyone asking where the best place to transfer a pension is really has two questions: where the money is allowed to go, and what to compare before it moves. This page lays out both, and names no provider as the winner. Individual pots call for individual attention, which a general page cannot supply: an FCA-authorised adviser will ring after you have completed the form on this page, and you pay nothing for the call.

Where can you transfer a pension to?

GOV.UK says you can transfer your UK pension pot "to another registered UK pension scheme". In practice that gives three kinds of destination:

• A new employer's workplace scheme. Handy if you want everything with one provider, but not guaranteed to be open: MoneyHelper says some schemes "might also only accept transfers in during the first year of you joining – or not accept transfers in at all". See moving an old pension into a new employer's scheme.
• A personal pension or SIPP. Here you pick the provider yourself rather than having your employer's scheme assigned to you. Details are in moving a pension into a SIPP and what a SIPP is.
• A pension you already have. Combining pots into one of your existing plans is a transfer like any other, and MoneyHelper notes you can choose which pensions to move and which to keep separate. The pros and cons of merging are in should I merge my pensions.

Two checks apply whichever you choose. GOV.UK says to find out whether "your existing pension scheme allows you to transfer some or all of your pension pot" and whether "the scheme that you wish to transfer into will accept the transfer". It also notes that a scheme being registered with HMRC for tax purposes is not an endorsement by government, so registration alone does not tell you whether it suits you.

What should you compare before choosing a scheme?

MoneyHelper lists what moving a defined contribution pension to a different scheme might bring: lower fees, different investment options and more ways of taking money out. Those give four comparisons to make, side by side, for the scheme you hold now and the one you are considering:

• Charges. A fee that is only slightly lower can still change what the pot is worth by a lot, especially if it stays invested for many years. Ask for the annual management fee and any other charges in writing. Charges are explained in pension charges and fees.
• Investment choice. Whether you can choose your own funds, and how your money would be invested if you do not.
• Ways to take money. Where your provider will not let you take income as several lump sums and another scheme will, that difference alone can justify a look.
• The age you can claim. MoneyHelper's guide to defined benefit transfers lists this among the checks on a new scheme: its normal pension age might be older than at your existing one.

The cost of the move itself is a separate matter: GOV.UK notes the move itself can carry a fee. The page on what it costs to transfer a pension covers that.

Comparing one scheme with another is not the same as being advised which to pick. Which side of each comparison weighs more depends on your own pots, so it helps to describe both schemes to an FCA-authorised adviser; arranging a phone call for that starts with the enquiry form, which sits on this page.

What could you lose by leaving your current scheme?

A transfer "usually cannot be undone", MoneyHelper says, and a scheme that lacks the features of your existing pension means you "lose them by moving". Before comparing prices, ask your current provider whether you hold any of these. MoneyHelper's advice is to always check whether your existing schemes have special features or guarantees, and whether there are exit fees or other penalties for leaving.

• Exit fees or penalties. The provider can tell you whether any apply. A related deduction is covered in what a market value reduction is.
• Bonuses on with-profits funds. Some funds, such as with-profits funds, pay an extra amount after a certain date, typically called a terminal bonus. See transferring a with-profits pension.
• Guaranteed annuity rates. A policy with guaranteed annuity rates might convert the pot into more guaranteed income than other providers would pay.
• An earlier pension age. You might face a longer wait to draw your pension if the scheme you hold now has a protected minimum pension age below 55, or still lets you draw from 55 after 6 April 2028, when the minimum moves up to 57. Read will I lose my protected pension age.
• Tax protections and a larger tax-free sum. GOV.UK says you may lose any fixed or enhanced protection when you transfer, and any entitlement to tax-free cash beyond a quarter of the pot.

Your own providers are the ones who can say which of these apply to you, GOV.UK adds. Take their answers in writing before you decide anything.

Does a defined benefit pension need advice before you transfer?

Yes, when the transfer value of the safeguarded benefits is over £30,000 and the money is going to a defined contribution scheme. The £30,000 test is in regulation 5 of SI 2015/742. It says trustees or managers "are not required to carry out the check in section 48(1) of the Act if the transfer value of the member’s or survivor’s subsisting rights in respect of safeguarded benefits under the pension scheme is £30,000 or less on the valuation date". Put the other way round, above £30,000 the trustees or managers must check that you have taken appropriate independent advice. MoneyHelper puts it in plain terms: "If your defined benefit pension is worth over £30,000, you must get financial advice before you’re allowed to transfer it to a defined contribution scheme."

The FCA's guidance goes further: "The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) believe it’s in most people’s best interests to keep their DB pension." It lists what a move to a defined contribution scheme gives up, starting with the DB scheme's guaranteed income for life, which also protects dependants. The FCA also says a transfer cannot be reversed, so with a DB pension the first question is whether to move at all, not where to. The background is in final salary pensions, and how to find a pension transfer specialist explains how to find and check the adviser.

What should make you wary of a transfer offer?

If you look for an adviser, the FCA says to make sure the firm is authorised by it and to refuse advice from any firm that made the first contact itself, since that may be part of a scam. Its pension scams page shows how to check a firm.

Whatever you compare, watch for the warning signs. Among those the FCA lists for pension scams are a guaranteed better return on your pension savings and high-pressure sales tactics. An offer built on either is a reason to pause before comparing anything. How the scam checks by your current provider work, and what red or amber flags mean, is in the pension transfer rules; the sequence of steps is in how to transfer a pension, and timing is in how long a transfer takes.

Where can you get help choosing?

MoneyHelper's guide says a regulated financial adviser can tell you whether you would be better off transferring and recommend schemes or products to move to. The free government-backed guidance service is explained in what Pension Wise is. To have the comparison applied to your own old pots, an FCA-authorised adviser can phone at no charge after you send this page's enquiry form with your number.

More questions about choosing where to transfer

Which pension provider is best to transfer to?

There is no provider that suits everyone, and no ranking here. What counts for you is the fit between the features you would give up and the charges, funds and options you would gain. Choosing a consolidation service goes through the same trade-off.

Can I transfer my pension into a SSAS?

That depends on whether the SSAS will accept the transfer, which is one of the two checks GOV.UK lists. How that works, including for defined benefit pensions, is in transferring into a SSAS.

Do transfer bonuses or rewards make a scheme better?

An offer is one more thing to weigh, not a reason on its own, and the charges and features come first. Transfer bonuses and cashback looks at them in turn.

Is a pension transfer taxed as income?

Not when it goes where GOV.UK's guide to UK transfers says it can: another registered UK pension scheme, or a deferred annuity contract. Moving the pot anywhere else, or taking it as an unauthorised lump sum, counts as an "unauthorised payment" with tax to pay on the transfer. Wider tax questions are in tax when you transfer a pension.

Are there pensions that cannot be moved?

MoneyHelper says you can usually transfer at any point unless the scheme rules list restrictions. Its examples are defined benefit schemes that might not allow a transfer out once the pension has started paying, within a year of normal retirement age, or from an unfunded public sector scheme such as the NHS or Teachers' Pension Schemes. Your providers can explain the rules that apply to you.