How to transfer your pension to another provider, step by step

To transfer a pension, check your old scheme allows it, pick a scheme that will accept the money, then apply to the old provider in writing.

That is the short answer to how to transfer a pension from one provider to another; the rest of this guide covers each step, what can hold a transfer up and what to weigh first. If the answer depends on your own pots, guarantees and tax, an FCA-authorised adviser can weigh up that detail with you, and sending the enquiry form on this page carries no charge.

Can you transfer a pension, and does the kind of pension matter?

GOV.UK gives the basic rule: "You can transfer your UK pension pot to another registered UK pension scheme." It lists common reasons people look at it: changing job, a scheme being closed or wound up, wanting a better scheme, or having "pensions from more than one employer" and wanting to bring them together.

The words "pension transfer" cover several different things, and the steps differ:

• A pot of money (defined contribution). The FCA describes a defined contribution pension as the kind "where you build up a pension pot". This is the case the step-by-step below is written for. The Pension Schemes Act 1993 says a member "who has transferrable rights in relation to money purchase benefits acquires a right to take their cash equivalent". The cash equivalent is the sum the scheme will pay across.
• A promise of income (defined benefit, or final salary). The FCA describes it as an income for life that usually rises each year. Moving it to a pot is treated differently, with a legal advice step, and has its own section further down. Our guide to final salary pensions explains how they work.
• A pension already being paid. If you are already drawing money, the position is different; see moving a pension that is already in drawdown.
• A move overseas. Only certain overseas schemes qualify, and tax can apply. See the overseas section below.

You can also leave pots where they are. If you cannot remember what you have, start with finding a lost pension. The gov.uk service for finding contact details does not tell you whether you have a pension or what it is worth, but it can give you the contact details to ask.

How to transfer a pension, step by step

This is the general order for a pot. Each provider has its own forms and wording, so treat it as a map and use the instructions the two firms give you.

1. Find out what you have and what moving it would change

Get a recent statement for each pension you are thinking of moving, with the provider's name, the plan or reference number and its current value. Before going further, GOV.UK says that if you transfer you may have to pay a fee, may lose the right to take your pension at a certain age, may lose any fixed or enhanced protection you have, and may lose any right to take more than 25% of your pot as a tax-free lump sum. It adds that your pension providers can tell you whether any of these will apply. Ask the old provider those questions in writing and keep the replies. The cost of transferring and what happens to a protected pension age have their own guides.

2. Decide where the money would go

The receiving scheme has to be willing to take it. Contact your current pension provider and the provider you want to transfer to, and check that your existing scheme allows a transfer of some or all of your pension pot and that the scheme you want will accept it. So a partial transfer, rather than the whole pot, is something to ask about rather than assume.

Choosing the destination is its own subject. See choosing where to transfer to, and for the most common destination moving a pension into a SIPP. One warning from GOV.UK applies to every choice: HMRC registration for tax purposes is not a sign that the government endorses a scheme.

3. Check the firm and who is advising you

If anyone is advising you, the FCA says to check that it has authorised them, and not to take advice from a firm that got in touch with you first. Its Firm Checker makes it easier to see whether a firm is authorised and holds permission for the service on offer. If the receiving firm contacted you first, stop and read the scams section below.

4. Apply to the old provider, in writing

Under the 1993 Act a member "may only take it by making an application in writing to the trustees or managers of the scheme", where "it" is the cash equivalent. The legal application is to the scheme the money is leaving, so whatever the new provider does on your behalf, check that the old provider has received your request and note the date. Ask both firms which documents they need.

5. Answer any questions the old scheme asks

The old scheme has duties to check the transfer is safe. Those checks are explained in the next section; leaving the scheme's questions unanswered can stop the transfer.

6. Wait for the money to move, then check it arrived

For a pot, the Act says the trustees or managers must carry out what the member requires within six months, starting from the date of the application, with exceptions, including where a condition for the transfer has not been met. That six months is a legal limit on the scheme, not a typical time; see how long a transfer takes. The 2021 conditions regulations refer to the member being sent "confirmation that the transfer to the receiving scheme has been made". Check the new plan shows the amount you expected.

What checks can slow or stop a transfer?

Since 30 November 2021, the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021 have set conditions that the old scheme's trustees or managers must be satisfied about before a member's right to a transfer can be used. The regulations say the prescribed conditions "are the First Condition and the Second Condition", and a transfer needs a decision that one of them is met. They apply in England, Wales and Scotland.

• The First Condition covers transfers to certain receiving schemes: a public service pension scheme, or a master trust or collective money purchase scheme authorised by The Pensions Regulator and on its list. In those cases the old scheme "must not require that the member provide evidence or information apart from the details necessary" to identify the receiving scheme.
• The Second Condition applies to "all transfers to which the First Condition does not apply". It is met when no "red flags" are present, and the old scheme may ask you for evidence or information to decide.

The regulations list six red flags. Two concern you directly: failing "to provide a substantive response to a request for evidence or information", and, where the scheme has required the scams guidance described below, not providing "the specified evidence that this has been taken". The others are someone without "the appropriate regulatory status" carrying on a regulated activity for the member, a request made after "unsolicited contact for the purpose of direct marketing of the transfer", the member having "been offered an incentive to make the transfer", and the member having "been, or considers that they have felt, pressured to make the transfer". An incentive "includes an offer of one or more free pension reviews, access to some or all of the member’s pension savings before they attain normal minimum pension age, a savings advance or cashback from their pension savings".

Amber flags include "any high risk or unregulated investments included in the receiving scheme", "any unclear or high fees being charged by the receiving scheme" and "any overseas investments included in the receiving scheme". Where an amber flag is found, the member must take "the guidance in respect of pension transfer scams provided to the member by the Money and Pensions Service" and give the scheme evidence that they have done so. If neither condition is met, the scheme must tell the member, "within the period of 7 working days after the date of that decision", that "the member has lost their right to use the cash equivalent in respect of that request".

More on flags and delays: transfer rules and red flags.

What to weigh before you move a pension

A transfer swaps one set of terms for another. Points to put side by side:

• What you would give up. The answers to the questions in step 1. If a plan is with-profits or carries a guarantee, see moving a with-profits pension, guaranteed annuity rates and market value reductions.
• What the new plan costs. The charges on each plan, and any platform or fund charges within it, are covered in pension charges.
• How the money is invested. Moving into a plan that holds investments means what it is worth can drop as well as grow, and you might get back less than went in. With a defined contribution pension the value of the pot depends on how the investments perform. Whether the old investments are sold or moved across as they are is a further question; see in specie transfers.
• Tax. The usual position is covered in tax on a pension transfer. GOV.UK warns that moving your pot anywhere other than a registered UK scheme counts as an unauthorised payment, and tax is payable on the transfer.
• Whether combining helps you. Reasons to merge and reasons not to are weighed in should I combine my pensions? and, for small pots, whether small pots are worth moving.
• Whether taking some money first matters. If you want your tax-free cash before you move the rest, see taking 25% and transferring the rest.

Free, impartial information is available. GOV.UK says you can get it about transferring your pension from MoneyHelper, and that advice from an independent financial adviser usually has to be paid for. If your pots differ in charges, guarantees or investments, or you hold any with a promised income, an FCA-authorised adviser can set them against your plans and the rest of your retirement income in a single conversation. The form on this page forwards your enquiry to one, with no cost to you.

How to spot a pension transfer scam

The FCA says pension scams often involve attractive offers that aim to persuade you to transfer your pension pot or release funds from it. Its list of warning signs includes a guaranteed better return on your pension savings, high-pressure sales tactics, unusual investments "which tend to be unregulated and high risk", and complicated structures "so it isn’t clear where your money will end up". Its advice on contact you did not ask for is direct: if you get a cold call about your pension, hang up, because such a call is illegal and probably a scam.

Two further points from the FCA bear on any transfer. First, if someone gets in touch out of nowhere offering to look over your pension for free, that is likely to be a scam. Second, anyone thinking about changing their pension arrangements should get financial guidance or advice beforehand, from a firm you have checked is authorised and that did not approach you.

If you think you have been targeted, the FCA's contact line is 0800 111 6768, and GOV.UK says to "Contact Report Fraud if you’re transferring a pension and are concerned about a scam." See how pension scams work, how to report one and FCA, Pension scams.

Defined benefit pensions, public sector schemes and moves overseas

Final salary and other defined benefit pensions. The FCA says:

The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) believe it’s in most people’s best interests to keep their DB pension. You can’t reverse a transfer, so you need to make sure you understand the risks so you can make an informed decision.

— FCA, Considering a defined benefit pension transfer, last updated 24/04/2025, accessed 17 October 2026

Where a member has safeguarded benefits, the Pension Schemes Act 2015 says the trustees or managers must check that the member or survivor has received appropriate independent advice before a transfer payment that is made to acquire flexible benefits under another scheme. The check does not have to be made where the transfer value of those benefits is £30,000 or less on the valuation date (SI 2015/742, regulation 5, as substituted from 6 April 2018). That value ignores any reduction the scheme makes for underfunding, so a reduced statement below £30,000 does not by itself take you under the line. Above that, the scheme must check you have had the advice before it pays; as the FCA puts it, "you may have to do this by law". Nothing here is a recommendation to transfer from a defined benefit scheme. For the risks, see should I transfer my final salary pension? and, for how to find a specialist, finding a pension transfer specialist. Public sector schemes have rules of their own: see the guides for the NHS and Teachers’ pensions, and ask the scheme which rules apply to you.

Moving a pension overseas. GOV.UK says the overseas scheme "must be a ‘qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme’ (QROPS)" and that "If it’s not a QROPS, your UK pension scheme may refuse to make the transfer, or you’ll have to pay at least 40% tax on the transfer." It adds: "You may have to pay 25% tax on a transfer." This guide covers UK rules only; the country you live in or move to may have its own rules and taxes on the money, so get advice there too. See what a QROPS is and moving a UK pension to another country.

Where the rules apply. The conditions regulations "extend to England and Wales and Scotland". If you live in Northern Ireland, ask the scheme which rules apply.

Common questions about transferring a pension

Can I transfer only part of my pension?

Check whether your existing scheme allows a transfer of some or all of your pension pot. Whether yours allows it, and whether the receiving scheme will take part of a pot, is for the two schemes to say.

Do pensions transfer automatically when I change jobs?

A transfer is something you start. Changing job is one reason you may want to move a pension, and the 1993 Act describes taking a cash equivalent as something a member does by application in writing. If you have lost track of an old pension, finding a lost pension is the first step.

Is there a standard form or letter for a pension transfer?

Not for transfers between UK providers. The law asks for a written application to the scheme the money is leaving, and each firm sets its own paperwork, so ask for its current form. For transfers overseas, GOV.UK says "Form APSS 263 tells you what information you’ll need to provide before making a transfer."

Can I transfer my pension to my bank account?

GOV.UK says that transferring your pension pot anywhere other than another registered pension scheme counts as an unauthorised payment and you will have to pay tax on the transfer. Taking money out of a pension legitimately is a different process with its own tax rules; see taking money from your pension.

Do I need advice to transfer a pension?

For safeguarded benefits such as a final salary pension with a transfer value above £30,000, the law requires the scheme to check that you have taken appropriate independent advice. The 2015 Act defines safeguarded benefits as any benefits other than money purchase benefits and cash balance benefits, so its check does not reach a plain money purchase pot; if a plan carries a guarantee, ask the provider whether it counts. For any move, the FCA says to get financial guidance or advice beforehand if you are thinking of changing your pension arrangements. When the advice is a legal requirement, and what the adviser has to confirm, is set out in when you need advice to transfer a pension; pension advice covers what advice involves.

Does it cost anything to transfer a pension?

GOV.UK says you may have to pay a fee to make the transfer. Providers differ, and the details are in what it costs to transfer or combine pensions.

How do I transfer a pension from a particular provider such as Nest, Aegon or Scottish Widows?

The legal steps above are the same, but each provider's forms and timings are its own, so check them with the provider. Provider guides include Nest, Aegon, Scottish Widows, Royal London and Legal & General.

Your next step

If you are still unsure whether to move anything, an FCA-authorised adviser can look over your pensions as a set once you send the form on this page. The decision stays yours, and staying put is an option too.

Sources, accessed 17 October 2026: GOV.UK, Transferring your pension; GOV.UK, Find pension contact details; FCA, Pension scams; FCA, Considering a defined benefit pension transfer; Pension Schemes Act 1993, sections 94, 95 and 99; Pension Schemes Act 2015, section 48; SI 2015/742, regulation 5, as substituted by SI 2017/1272; SI 2021/1237 (Conditions for Transfers Regulations 2021), regulations 1 to 9.