How much does it cost to combine or transfer pensions?

Pension transfer fees depend on the pension: exit charges, lost guarantees, the new plan's charges and, for final salary pensions, advice can all cost you.

Whether you can combine pensions for free depends on what each old pension carries and what the new one will charge. For defined contribution pots, Pension Wise is a first stop; MoneyHelper describes it as free, impartial and backed by government. Should you want your own pots' exit terms and charges compared line by line, an FCA-authorised adviser can take that on; asking costs nothing, and the request goes through the form on this page. The steps of a transfer are in how to transfer a pension.

Is it free to transfer or combine pensions?

Sometimes, but nothing guarantees it. Among the things GOV.UK says a transfer may mean are that you have to make payments to the new scheme or have to pay a fee to make the transfer, and your providers can confirm whether any of them applies to you. Its other items, such as losing a protected pension age, are covered in how to transfer a pension.

So whether it costs money to transfer a pension is written in the paperwork of the pension you are leaving and the one you are joining, and the amounts are for each provider to give you in writing. The costs fall into four groups: charges for leaving, benefits you may give up, the new plan's charges, and advice.

Exit charges: what the law caps

MoneyHelper lists transferring your money to a new scheme, often called an exit or transfer fee, among the one-off fees some providers charge. One kind, the early exit charge, is capped by law. Section 137FBB of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 defines it as a charge imposed under the scheme on a member who has reached normal minimum pension age and takes, converts or transfers benefits, but only if the member does so "before the member's expected retirement date". Normal minimum pension age is 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028, according to HMRC's policy paper on increasing normal minimum pension age.

• Personal and stakeholder pensions (FCA rules, COBS 19.6A). No early exit charge for a member who joined on or after 31 March 2017. For earlier members it cannot exceed "1% of the value of the member’s benefits being taken, converted or transferred", or any lower amount the terms set at 31 March 2017, and there can be none where the terms had none.
• Workplace defined contribution schemes run by trustees (SI 2015/879, regulations 13A to 13C, in force since 1 October 2017). The same pattern: no early exit charge for members who "joined that scheme on or after 1st October 2017", and for earlier joiners a cap at the lower of 1% or what the scheme rules provided "as at 1st October 2017". The age condition is the same: the member must have reached normal minimum pension age.

Both caps apply only once you have reached normal minimum pension age, so they do not limit a charge on a younger member, and neither set of rules is written for defined benefit schemes. Ask the provider in writing about anything it calls an exit, transfer or administration fee. How exit charges sit beside a plan's other fees is in pension charges and fees, and an older plan that adjusts its value on exit is the subject of market value reductions.

The cost that is not a fee: guarantees and benefits you could give up

The largest cost of moving a pension may not appear on any charges sheet. MoneyHelper says to check whether your existing pension schemes have any special features or guarantees, and gives two examples from defined contribution plans: money invested in funds that "pay an extra payment after a certain date (like a ‘with-profits’ fund)", typically called a terminal bonus, and a policy that may let you convert your pension into a higher guaranteed income than you can get elsewhere, through guaranteed annuity rates. If the new scheme "does not offer the same features as your existing pension, you’d lose them by moving your pension." See with-profits pensions and guaranteed annuity rates for how each works, and protected pension age on transfer for another right a move can cost.

Defined benefit and final salary pensions

For a defined benefit pension, what you give up is the promised income itself, and the regulators' starting position is plain:

The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) believe it’s in most people’s best interests to keep their DB pension.

— FCA, Considering a defined benefit pension transfer, last updated 24/04/2025, accessed 18 October 2026

Among the FCA's list of what a move to a defined contribution scheme means is that you "Have to pay a DC scheme, and investment managers, to manage your pension and the investments in it, which is deducted from your pension pot", whereas MoneyHelper notes that "Defined benefit pensions also have no charges for you to pay." The guaranteed income and inflation protection you would lose are explained in final salary pensions and weighed in should I transfer my final salary pension?. Nothing here recommends a defined benefit transfer, which MoneyHelper says "usually cannot be undone". It also says "Most public sector pension schemes will also not allow a transfer to a defined contribution arrangement", so for an NHS, Teachers' or similar scheme, ask the scheme first.

What the new scheme will charge

Combining pensions swaps the old plan's charges for the new plan's. MoneyHelper says a move could "save you money if the other scheme has lower fees", and that even a slightly lower fee can make a big difference to your pension's value, especially if the pension will remain invested for many years. That is a comparison to make, not a promise, so ask the new provider in writing for what MoneyHelper calls "the charges that will be taken, including an annual management fee".

What each kind of charge is, and which are capped, is in pension charges; picking a destination is in choosing where to transfer to, and cashback offered for moving in transfer bonuses and cashback.

Paying for advice, including the £30,000 rule for defined benefit transfers

For a defined benefit pension or other safeguarded benefits, advice is a legal step and a paid one. Under section 48 of the Pension Schemes Act 2015, the scheme's trustees or managers have to confirm that the member or survivor has had appropriate independent advice before such a transfer, and the check does not apply where the transfer value, worked out before any reduction for scheme underfunding, is £30,000 or less (SI 2015/742, regulation 5; the detail is in when advice is required before a transfer). The FCA adds that advice on a transfer must be given or checked by a pension transfer specialist, a requirement that does not apply where the only safeguarded benefit involved is a guaranteed annuity rate (COBS 19.1.1A); see finding a pension transfer specialist.

MoneyHelper's guide to defined benefit transfers (archived copy, July 2026) says that this advice can often cost thousands of pounds, that you "must pay for the advice unless your employer has offered you a financial incentive to transfer out, then your employer must pay", and that "Abridged advice might be cheaper and will tell you if a transfer is not suitable – but you’d need full advice for a positive recommendation or to go ahead with the transfer."

A plain defined contribution pot is different. Under the Act, safeguarded benefits exclude money purchase and cash balance benefits, so its advice check does not reach an ordinary pot, though a pot carrying a guaranteed annuity rate can be caught. Advice on moving a pot is then your choice, at whatever the adviser charges. MoneyHelper says many advisers do not charge for an initial meeting, that your adviser has to give you their charging structure before providing any services, and that "a pension transfer will cost more in advice fees than simply arranging an ISA". If you took advice when you set up a pension, you may have agreed to pay your adviser using your pension fund. How advisers charge in general is in how much pension advice costs.

Smaller costs, and what to ask in writing

MoneyHelper says "A transfer often takes between two and six weeks, but your provider has up to six months to action your request." Ask both providers whether your investments will be sold and re-bought or moved across as they are (see in specie transfers), and whether any dealing charges follow; delays are covered in how long a transfer takes.

For a defined benefit pension, MoneyHelper says a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) "is usually valid for three months and your provider has up to three months to send it to you", and "You might have to pay for a CETV if you request more than one in a 12-month period", which is why "it’s often a good idea to find a financial adviser before requesting your CETV, to avoid it expiring."

Before moving anything, ask each current provider in writing:

• whether there is an exit, transfer or early exit charge, and how it is worked out;
• whether the plan has a guarantee, a terminal bonus or a protected pension age that would be lost;
• whether anything is charged for a transfer value or the paperwork.

Whether merging is worthwhile at all is the subject of should I combine my pensions?, with small pots handled in small pension pots. MoneyHelper warns that being pushed to move your money by a cold call, visit, email or text is likely a scam; see FCA, Pension scams and transfer rules and red flags. When the answers come back, an exit charge, a lost guarantee and a cheaper new plan can pull in different directions. Balancing those three against your own plans is something to talk through with an FCA-authorised adviser, reachable once you have sent the form on this page.

Questions people ask about the cost of transferring pensions

Do I lose money transferring pensions?

Not necessarily through a fee, but you can lose value: MoneyHelper names exit fees and lost features such as guarantees, and for a move out of a defined benefit scheme the FCA's list of risks includes that you "May see your pension pot fall in value, as well as rise." A cheaper new plan can work the other way, so the answer depends on the pots.

Is there free pension transfer advice?

Free guidance, yes: Pension Wise for defined contribution pots. MoneyHelper says many advisers offer a first meeting free, but regulated advice itself is charged for: advisers on pensions must charge a fee for the advice, though an employer that offered an incentive to transfer a defined benefit pension must pay for that advice.

Is there a fixed fee for final salary transfer advice?

MoneyHelper lists "A set fee for a piece of work" as one way advisers charge, so a fixed fee is possible. Ask what it covers, whether abridged advice (which it says might be cheaper) would do, and get the amount in writing.

Do I pay tax when I transfer?

That is covered in tax on a pension transfer. In short, GOV.UK treats a move to anything but another registered pension scheme as an unauthorised payment, with tax due on the amount moved.

Your next step

Get each pension's exit terms, guarantees and the new plan's charges in writing before moving anything. If you want those costs weighed against your own pots, jot them down in the form on this page, which goes to an FCA-authorised adviser. Staying where you are is also a choice.

Sources, accessed 18 October 2026: FCA Handbook, COBS 19.6A and COBS 19.1; Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, section 137FBB; SI 2015/879 (Occupational Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) Regulations 2015), regulations 2 and 13A to 13C; SI 2015/742, regulation 5; Pension Schemes Act 2015, section 48; FCA, Considering a defined benefit pension transfer; GOV.UK, Transferring your pension; MoneyHelper, Should I transfer or combine my pensions?, How to transfer out of a defined benefit pension, Pension scheme fees and charges explained and Financial adviser fees (archived copies); HMRC, Increasing normal minimum pension age.