DB pension transfer timing?

Albermarle

desperate_times said:

dunstonh said:

Well thank you for your input but my question was whether others have done it and taken less time.

Your question cannot be answered to your satisfaction.    It will depend on the administrators, the trustees, whether anti-fraud checks are triggered and the receiving scheme.

I have seen transfers that have been quicker and longer than the timescale you have mentioned.

You could ask the IFA if they are handling the transfer.  A transfer via a pension on the agency of the IFA tends to be a little quicker.

Well it could be answered by somebody who has gone through a similar process recently. I was just asking for recent real experiences of anybody here. I will be speaking to my IFA next week and will ask them. 

Different pension schemes have different administration. Some big ones do it themselves, and others farm it to some well known administrator's who have reputations for dragging their heels.
It took me 6 months just to get a DB pension to start paying out.
So unless you post names, you can not get any sort of sensible answer. 

kempiejon

desperate_times said:

How long does it typically take from submitting documents to transfer taking place? I am about to do so and been told it could be up to 8 weeks. Seems like a long time and wondering if others have taken less in practice.   This is a transfer from a major company to a very large well-known pension firm - not be to SIPP and after taking advice from an IFA. 

I didn't us an IFA but I have transfered several pensions. I moved some old personal pensions to a SIPP I forget which company but one of them took around 8 weeks, it felt like longer with much back and forwards; the other 2 one big name one smaller cooperative were much simpler and quicker. My brother had a real to-do with sorting his DB pensions following his company winding up and finding a new home for the pension, he was in limbo for months.

How long has the process been so far? I remember I was told an approximate time when starting the process but my memory on exact dates is sketchy. If you've been told up to 8 weeks you must be confident it'll be less

Albermarle

kempiejon said:

desperate_times said:

How long does it typically take from submitting documents to transfer taking place? I am about to do so and been told it could be up to 8 weeks. Seems like a long time and wondering if others have taken less in practice.   This is a transfer from a major company to a very large well-known pension firm - not be to SIPP and after taking advice from an IFA. 

I didn't us an IFA but I have transfered several pensions. I moved some old personal pensions to a SIPP I forget which company but one of them took around 8 weeks, it felt like longer with much back and forwards; the other 2 one big name one smaller cooperative were much simpler and quicker. My brother had a real to-do with sorting his DB pensions following his company winding up and finding a new home for the pension, he was in limbo for months.

How long has the process been so far? I remember I was told an approximate time when starting the process but my memory on exact dates is sketchy. If you've been told up to 8 weeks you must be confident it'll be less

The OP is talking about transferring a DB pension, so not the same as transferring DC pensions.

kempiejon

I was just asking for recent real experiences of anybody here.

I thought the request was for examples of transfer times and a chance to compared to promised transfer times with actual transfer times. I thought the request was for more practical experiences. My brother's DB transfer took months. Anyone's examples are of little use for the specific situation of the OP,  we just dont have the specifics so are adding more anecdotes and examples.

artyboy

kempiejon said:

I was just asking for recent real experiences of anybody here.

I thought the request was for examples of transfer times and a chance to compared to promised transfer times with actual transfer times. I thought the request was for more practical experiences. My brother's DB transfer took months. Anyone's examples are of little use for the specific situation of the OP,  we just dont have the specifics so are adding more anecdotes and examples.

I think all of us, with the notable exception of the OP, would agree with you!

desperate_times

Well in case anybody ever reads this wondering the same as me, my transfer has completed and it took just 5 days (!) from submitting completed documents (of which just 2 days was checking documents and getting approval to secure the CETV and 3 for processing the payment.) My IFA said up to 12 weeks, the pension fund themselves said up to 8 weeks but far quicker. This was the pension fund of a big blue chip company transferring to one of the biggest pension providers as an insistent client. Of course another scheme or even this one at another time could have been 2-3 months but might be useful to know it can be a lot quicker if you get your forms right, have a good advisor etc. 

Marcon

desperate_times said:

Well in case anybody ever reads this wondering the same as me, my transfer has completed and it took just 5 days (!) from submitting completed documents (of which just 2 days was checking documents and getting approval to secure the CETV and 3 for processing the payment.) My IFA said up to 12 weeks, the pension fund themselves said up to 8 weeks but far quicker. This was the pension fund of a big blue chip company transferring to one of the biggest pension providers as an insistent client. 

Which is the exception to the rule, so your quest for 'examples' would have been hopelessly misleading - as almost all of us said in our replies, rather confirming the correctness of those responses!

desperate_times said:

Of course another scheme or even this one at another time could have been 2-3 months but might be useful to know it can be a lot quicker if you get your forms right, have a good advisor etc. 

Not remotely useful, I'm afraid, given the number of variables involved. Individual war stories rarely are - after all, nobody could rely on a particular timescale, especially a very short one.

Cobbler_tone

 Not a transfer but my brother’s civil service pension took 14 months to start paying post retirement due to admin issues, none caused by him. 20 months if you count the 6 months notice of his intention. I personally would have taken it further (or at least issued a complaint) as he had to take out a loan but he isn’t the type, i.e. he probably didn’t hound them, which TBF shouldn’t be down to the individual.

Albermarle

 This was the pension fund of a big blue chip company transferring to one of the biggest pension providers as an insistent client. 

I presume the transfer was to a stakeholder pension with either Aviva or Standard Life? as AFAIK ( could be wrong of course) these are the only mainstream options that will accept insistent clients.

Marcon

Albermarle said:

 This was the pension fund of a big blue chip company transferring to one of the biggest pension providers as an insistent client. 

I presume the transfer was to a stakeholder pension with either Aviva or Standard Life? as AFAIK ( could be wrong of course) these are the only mainstream options that will accept insistent clients.

An insistent client is a different animal from someone who is simply transferring without a positive recommendation from the adviser - in the latter case, that's where a stakeholder comes into play.