Pension Pot Transfer Process

BazzerPontefract

I am considering transferring my pension pot from my current provider, who won't be offering UFPLS on April 6th, to a provider who will.
My question is about the transfer process and the impact this might have the value of the pot.
My principal concern is about the volatility of funds, for example, if there were a substantial time lag between the calculation of the pot value, and the actual transfer of the fund and purchase of a new investment, losses might be incurred if there were substantial movements in the value of stocks.
How long might this transfer window be.

Mirador

I understand that the funds go over in specie, so remain invested at all times, but as I am also in the learning stage, perhaps we should both wait for someone more knowledgeable to come along!

dunstonh

I understand that the funds go over in specie

Only if they are not pension funds and both the old and new provider support it. Otherwise the funds will be sold to cash and will be out of the market for about a week or two.

System

It can be done but both providers have to allow it:

http://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/information-guidance/transfers/in-specie-transfers/

dunstonh

It is important to note that in-specie requires the investments to be things like unit trusts, shares, ETFs etc. Pension funds cannot be transferred in-specie.

One of the easiest ways to see if you have a pension fund is if the pension provider name is part of the fund name.

e..g Invesco Perpetual high Income Z Acc is not a pension fund
Scottish Widows Invesco Perpetual High income is a pension fund.

Pension funds are typically used in stakeholder and personal pensions. UT/OEICs are typically used in SIPPs and platform based pensions.

HardCoreProgrammer

For your reference, I started a thread last year about transferring my employer's pension to a SIPP. Hopefully it will be helpful to you.

It is a complicated and long process, and I am still nowhere near the end.

Chickereeeee

HardCoreProgrammer wrote: »

It is a complicated and long process, and I am still nowhere near the end.

I did two a couple of years ago, and it was quick (about 2 weeks) and easy. Depends on where the employers pension is held I guess: mine were with Standard Life.

dunstonh

It is a complicated and long process, and I am still nowhere near the end.

Most get completed in about 1-2 weeks. Its not a complicated unless the provider thinks you may be committing tax fraud and/or using a liberation scheme and suspends the transfer pending an investigation.

TrustyOven

My pension transfer is taking 2 months so far. Is that normal? I think the underlying investment with both pensions are with Scottish Widows (old with CM, using SW, new Capita with SW I think). You'd think an in-speccie transfer would take 2 seconds, not 2 months. No idea when it will be completed.

kangoora

I see a lot of posts about people worrying about being 'out of the market' for a period of time whilst transferring to a different platform because they may lose out on gains.

Well, what happens if we get a mini-drop as in October during this process and the stock market drops by 10%. If that happens and you are transferring cash then you would be quids in providing you can get beck in the market during that time period.

Seems to me it's a total guess whether transferring funds is better in specie or selling up and going for cash transfer, which appears to be a much less complicated process. I suppose you don't pay any sell/buy charges if transferring in specie?

Flipping a coin may be the way to go when deciding how to transfer funds

gadgetmind

I've moved about half a dozen pension pots over the last few years, and some S&S ISAs too.

Some companies are fast, some painfully slow, and it's often many weeks before it's all sorted. For small pots, I just moved as cash, but larger ones I did n Specie. Where this was on "my tab" I moved everything to a single global fund to keep the costs in check.