An in specie pension transfer moves your investments to a new provider as they are, without selling them first; a cash transfer sells them and moves the proceeds.

Whether it suits a pot depends on the holdings; the form on this page is all it takes to have an FCA-authorised adviser study yours on a free ring-back. Values can drop as well as climb, so a pension pot may end up smaller than the total paid in.

What is an in specie pension transfer?

"In specie" is Latin for "in its actual form". HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual says a pension transfer can be made "as cash", "by assignment of insurance policies" or "as an asset (in specie)", or any combination of these, as long as the cash and assets together represent the full value of the member's rights being moved. Providers often call the asset route re-registration.

In a cash transfer your old provider sells the holdings and sends the money, and the new provider buys again. With an in specie transfer the same shares, funds or other assets are re-registered in the name of your new pension, so the pot is never turned into cash. Both are transfers, not new contributions: interactive investor notes that either way the move "does not qualify for tax relief but neither does it count towards your annual allowance".

Why do people choose to transfer in specie?

The main reasons are staying invested and avoiding dealing costs. interactive investor says that because nothing is sold and bought back there are no dealing charges, and you remain invested throughout. Hargreaves Lansdown describes the other side of a cash transfer: if investments are sold, you are "out of the market until your transfer completes", which helps if markets fall and costs you if they rise.

Staying invested cuts both ways: if the value falls by more than the cost of selling and buying, you would have been better off in cash. Someone happy with their current funds may value the continuity; someone wanting a fresh mix may prefer cash.

What are the drawbacks of an in specie transfer?

It can take a while. interactive investor calls it more complex for the provider, with each investment re-registered in the new scheme, and gives a rough guide of 8 to 12 weeks depending on the investments.

Three further limits apply:

  • The new provider must offer the asset. Per interactive investor, if you hold a fund bespoke to your current provider, or something the new one does not offer, it cannot move in specie and must be sold first, with the proceeds moved and reinvested.
  • Share classes may need converting. Where the new provider holds a fund in a different share class, Hargreaves Lansdown says it has to be converted before the transfer, which can take a few days.
  • Some providers only take cash. PensionBee says it can only accept cash transfers and does not accept "in specie" transfers.

Insurance-company pension funds and lifestyle funds that move automatically towards a target retirement date are also named by interactive investor as holdings that may not be able to move in specie. A pension scheme is not required to accept a transfer, stakeholder schemes aside, according to HMRC's manual, so both ends must agree. An FCA-authorised adviser can match your funds to what the receiving provider holds on a call-back, requested through the short form here.

Which pensions and assets can move in specie?

It depends on the receiving scheme's rules and what its provider will hold. interactive investor says shares and funds are common in specie transfers, and that any asset can be transferred in specie "as long as it has come from another pension". A defined contribution workplace pension can usually move into a SIPP, and the new provider will ask whether you want cash or in specie. Defined benefit and other safeguarded rights are a different matter, covered in how to transfer a pension.

Property is one asset HMRC names. Its manual says that if an asset such as "a property or a work of art" moves between schemes, it must be valued in cash terms "by an appropriately qualified independent person before being transferred". The position inside a SSAS is covered in SSAS pensions and commercial property, with the two structures compared in SIPP vs SSAS. What a SIPP or SSAS will accept is for its trustees and provider to confirm, and the SIPP guide explains how these pensions are run.

A pension already in payment can move too, but extra conditions apply; transferring a drawdown pension covers that case, and pension transfer tax covers the tax side.

What does an in specie transfer cost?

Charges vary by provider. Hargreaves Lansdown says it makes no charge to transfer an account away, though selling investments first might attract dealing charges. Interactive investor says it charges nothing for moves in or out, in specie moves included, and advises checking your existing provider's fees. Some firms pay towards the cost: AJ Bell's offer terms (reference AJBYI/ISAAFC/T&C/20260901) include up to £35 per line of stock for in specie transfers, up to £100 for exit fees, and up to £500 in all, normally on transfers worth at least £20,000 and with other conditions. Our guides to transfer fees, transfer bonuses and pension charges cover the rest.

Look at what each firm charges per holding, any exit fee and what the new provider charges to hold the assets, not only at the headline figure.

Is putting assets into a pension in specie the same thing?

No, and the tax treatment differs. A transfer between pension schemes is not a contribution. An in specie contribution is different: it means handing shares or property you own personally to a pension to claim tax relief. HMRC's Pensions Tax Manual says contributions to a registered pension scheme "must be a monetary amount, for example, in cash, cheque, direct debit and bank transfers", and that where an asset is transferred to satisfy an earlier obligation to contribute money, "the resulting contribution is not a monetary amount", so the requirements for relief are not met.

That is the position the Upper Tribunal reached in HMRC v Sippchoice Ltd, released on 12 May 2020. It held that transfers of non-cash assets are not "contributions paid" within section 188(1) Finance Act 2004, and allowed HMRC's appeal against an earlier First-tier Tribunal decision in the company's favour. The manual names one exception, certain shares from a Save As You Earn option scheme or share incentive plan moved in within 90 days, and accepts that a cash contribution offset against the scheme buying an asset can keep its monetary form if strict conditions are met. Anyone thinking of contributing assets rather than cash needs specialist advice first, and the pension tax relief guide explains the cash rules.

Re-registration questions: trading, tax and scams

Can I move some investments in specie and sell the rest?

Yes, HMRC's manual allows a transfer to be made as cash, assets or a combination, provided together they represent the full value of the rights moved. In practice the new provider tells you which holdings it cannot take, and you can have those sold. The proceeds then go to the new pension.

Can I still trade while an in specie transfer is under way?

Often, until a holding is being re-registered. Interactive investor says most providers allow trading during the transfer for investments not yet in the process of being re-registered, and suggests asking the provider you are leaving.

Is an in specie transfer taxed?

A recognised transfer between registered schemes is not an unauthorised payment, whether moved as cash or assets, according to HMRC's manual. Whether yours qualifies depends on both schemes, so pension transfer tax sets out the checks.

How do I know the transfer offer is genuine?

Check the receiving firm on the FCA register, and read the FCA's guidance on pension scams before any transfer. For choosing where to move, see the best place to transfer a pension, and how long a transfer takes for timings.

Choosing between cash and re-registration is simpler once someone has seen your actual holdings: the short form here lets you request a phone call, free, from an FCA-authorised adviser.

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