How long does a pension transfer take, and why the delays?

A pension transfer often takes a few weeks, but the law gives a scheme up to six months, and safety checks or paper forms can make the wait much longer.

How long does a pension transfer take?

Two to six weeks is a common span, according to MoneyHelper's guide to transferring or combining pensions, and your provider is allowed up to six months to deal with the request. Where yours falls depends on how the two firms pass the money between them and on what checks the old scheme runs. With several pots or a final salary pension, timing is one strand of a bigger decision that an FCA-authorised adviser can untangle with you. That conversation is free, and this page's form can set up the call.

Providers publish their own estimates, and they differ. Each row is that firm's wording on its own page:

These are estimates, not promises, and the firms do not all start the clock at the same point. Aviva suggests asking both providers for their current turnaround time when you start. Provider-specific steps are in the guides to Legal & General, Royal London and PensionBee, and the order of a transfer is in how to transfer a pension.

Origo electronic transfers or paper: which is quicker?

Electronic transfers are generally quicker. With Origo, an electronic transfer service many providers use, the new provider asks for your funds, the old one runs its checks, sells funds if needed and sends the money, and the new one confirms receipt. PensionBee says electronic transfers typically take up to two weeks, while paper ones, with signed documents posted between you and both firms, can take several months. Legal & General suggests asking a new provider whether it uses Origo before you start.

Origo is no guarantee of speed. Aviva says that even when the new scheme asks through Origo, the old one may need extra information for the checks the law requires, and that selling investments into cash can lengthen the process.

Providers can choose to publish their times in Origo's Transfer Index. The edition for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 (published 8 July 2026) covers transfers successfully ceded via the Origo Transfer Service, and its overall row shows an average of 11.1 calendar days, or 10.1 days for "simpler" transfers, which were 85.5% of the total. The clock runs from when funds are requested on the service until they are sent; paper transfers are not counted. "Simpler" means wholly in the ceding provider's control, unlike transfers waiting on trustees, on investment managers selling funds, or on steps to protect safeguarded benefits. Product mix varies between firms, so no average is a promise for your pot.

Why is my pension transfer taking so long?

Common causes include:

• Paper or post. Signed forms travelling between you and both firms are slower than the electronic route described above.
• Selling investments. Holdings that must become cash first can extend the process; in specie transfers covers moving them as they are.
• Checks and mismatched details. Legal & General warns that extra checks to meet regulatory requirements may delay a transfer (see the next section), and asks that your contact and personal details match what the new provider holds.
• Missing or slow replies. Under the 2021 regulations, evidence the old scheme asks for must come directly from you even if someone represents you in the transfer; the scheme may let a deputy, an attorney or, in Scotland, a guardian answer on your behalf.
• Demand and pension type. Aviva says a provider's timeline can shift with demand and the time of year, and that defined benefit pensions generally take longer because their extra benefits need researching.

Which of these apply depends on each plan. An adviser can go through every pot with you in one conversation: use the enquiry form here and they will phone back at no cost.

Red and amber flags: what checks can hold a transfer up?

Since 30 November 2021, the old scheme has had to decide that a transfer meets one of two conditions, under the Conditions for Transfers Regulations 2021, before it can pay out. Unless the money has already gone, you must be told about that requirement within one month of your request. The flags are explained in the transfer rules guide and how pension scams work; this section covers their effect on timing.

Where the money is going matters. Moving to a public service scheme, or to a master trust or collective money purchase scheme on the Pensions Regulator's (TPR's) authorised list, comes under the first condition, and the old scheme may ask you only for the details it needs to pinpoint the receiving scheme.

Everything else falls under the second condition, and the scheme may put questions to you. Two flags turn on how you respond. Failing to give a substantive reply to its request is itself a red flag, which stops the transfer. An amber flag means you must take MoneyHelper's pensions safeguarding guidance and send the scheme the evidence that you did, and not sending it also counts as a red flag.

You book and attend that session yourself, through the link the scheme provides. TPR's guidance points out that a Pension Wise appointment will not do instead, and says people moving several pensions should be told to ask for all the transfers before booking, so that one session covers them.

Clocks inside the checks. The same guidance (last updated 12 January 2023) tells schemes to send a reminder at least one month after first asking for evidence; if the evidence is still not enough a month after that reminder, the scheme may treat it as a red flag. Where it decides neither condition is met, the regulations give it 7 working days from that decision to tell you this request can no longer use your cash equivalent.

The rules may change. In a blog on 2 July 2026, TPR described a Department for Work and Pensions consultation with proposals including a "green list" of trusted, low-risk destination schemes and a 12-month exemption from repeat MoneyHelper appointments. They were proposals at that date, not rules, so check with the scheme which rules govern your request.

Is there a legal deadline for a pension transfer?

Yes: six months, though that is the limit on the scheme rather than a typical wait. Under section 99 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, for money purchase (defined contribution) benefits other than collective ones, trustees or managers must carry out your request "within 6 months beginning with the date of the application". For other benefits, such as a final salary pension, the six months run from "the guarantee date shown in the relevant statement of entitlement".

That guarantee date has its own window. Regulation 6 of the Transfer Values Regulations 1996 puts it within three months of your application for the statement of entitlement, or up to six months where, for reasons outside the trustees' control, the statement cannot be ready sooner; the transfer value guide covers the statement itself.

Section 99 also lets TPR, in prescribed circumstances, extend the period by direction. The six-month duty falls away if a condition under the 2021 regulations has not been met. It also falls away if the scheme could not carry out the independent-advice check for reasons outside its control, or the check did not confirm appropriate independent advice. That check covers safeguarded benefits with a transfer value above £30,000 (regulation 5 of SI 2015/742), as explained in when advice is required to transfer.

TPR expects most requests to be finished well before the deadline. On final salary pensions, the FCA's own position is that "The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) believe it's in most people's best interests to keep their DB pension." No timetable is a reason to rush that decision, and the FCA points out that a transfer cannot be reversed.

What can you do if a pension transfer stalls?

Start with the two firms. Ask the old provider whether it has the request, has sent the money or is waiting on you, ask the new provider whether anything has arrived, and note the dates. Answer scheme requests promptly and yourself, and book the MoneyHelper appointment if you are sent one.

If the delay continues, the Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) says to complain in writing, stating clearly that it is a formal complaint; occupational schemes should offer an internal dispute resolution procedure, and TPR's guidance says a scheme refusing a transfer should tell you about its own process for appealing.

Where it goes next depends on the firm. The Financial Ombudsman Service gives a business up to 8 weeks for most complaints; you can then go to it if there is no reply in time, or within 6 months of a final response you are unhappy with. For a firm not on the FCA Register, it points you to TPO. TPO is free, covers occupational and personal pensions, generally allows three years, and usually needs the firm's own process tried first, though it may step in when the other party overruns the allowed time without a reason.

Whether a particular delay counts as unreasonable turns on the scheme, what it has asked of you and the dates involved; the adviser who rings back after the form here can talk your timeline through, free. If you think a transfer may be a scam, read the FCA's pension scams guidance before replying to anyone.

Other questions about transfer times

How long does a SIPP transfer take?

It depends on what the SIPP holds. Origo's index says a specialist SIPP provider can be expected to face proportionately more delays from selling investments than a provider of less complex products. Ask both providers how long selling, or an in specie move, would take for your holdings.

Why has my transferred pension not shown up yet?

The old provider sends the money, then the new provider confirms receipt. Ask the first whether it has sent it and the second whether it has arrived, and keep an eye on your email, since Aviva says there may be things to sign electronically.

Can I speed up a pension transfer?

Not by hurrying the checks, but some hold-ups can be avoided: ask whether the new provider uses Origo, keep your details consistent, send signed documents in one go and answer the scheme quickly.

How long does a final salary transfer take?

Longer as a rule, according to Aviva, and the six months run from the guarantee date. Whether combining makes sense at all is weighed in should I merge pensions? and best pension consolidation, and costs are in pension transfer fees.

Prefer your timetable talked through alongside your pots? Request a call-back using this page's short form.