PensionBee, a leader in the consumer retirement market, has today launched its third report,
Faster, Fairer, Digital: The Pension Transfer Reset, calling for urgent Government and regulatory action to modernise the UK’s outdated pension transfer system.
The new report exposes a system that continues to fail savers who want to engage with their retirement savings, with some pension transfers still routinely taking months – or even years – to complete. Despite examples of excellent practice on the part of some providers, others continue to drag their feet, remaining reliant on paper forms and manual processes that create unnecessary friction and using ‘sludge’ tactics to delay transfers. The result is confusion, frustration and anxiety for consumers trying to move their own money.
Building on PensionBee’s ongoing 10-Day Pension Switch Guarantee campaign and earlier reports –
A Switch in Time (May 2025) and
Ending Pension Purgatory (July 2025) – the latest publication moves beyond diagnosis to a clear call for policy action. It outlines five practical recommendations to create a faster, fairer system and warns that without decisive intervention, progress will remain inconsistent and uneven.
Among them, is the call for a 10-day Pension Switch Guarantee, which should apply in all but the most complex cases. Existing legislation urgently requires reform to remove structural barriers to efficient transfers and modernise the system.
Five key reforms for a fairer, faster system
The report urges the Government and regulators to:
- Mandate digital transfers across all pension schemes, with an immediate focus on trust-based schemes regulated by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
- Introduce a Pension Switch Guarantee to ensure the majority of defined contribution pension transfers are completed within ten working days.
- Require providers to publish performance data, giving consumers transparency and the ability to compare providers, holding providers to account.
- Fix transfer scams legislation by reforming the current Amber and Red Flag system to prevent misuse as a pretext for delay.
- Reduce the statutory six-month transfer deadline, which has not been updated for over thirty years and is no longer fit for a digital era.
A fragmented system holding back progress
PensionBee’s analysis highlights that having two regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) – has led to a confusing two-tier system for consumers. While FCA-regulated providers routinely complete digital transfers in days, many trust-based schemes overseen by TPR are lagging behind..
This fragmentation, combined with legacy IT systems and a lack of enforceable service standards, has created a lottery for savers. The report highlights that despite widespread acknowledgement that the pension transfer system requires an overhaul, the industry has proven incapable of raising its own standards to a level that would produce a materially better experience for savers. It concludes that whilst voluntary collaboration has been an important step, only government and regulatory leadership can deliver consistent outcomes across the market.
Growing momentum for reform
More than 6,500 people have already signed PensionBee’s public
petition for a 10-Day Pension Switch Guarantee, with numbers rising ahead of the January 2026 deadline.
With the Pensions Dashboard rollout and upcoming inheritance tax changes expected to trigger a surge in pension consolidations, PensionBee warns that millions more savers could soon face the frustration of avoidable transfer delays unless action is taken now.
A clear call for Government and Regulator leadership
PensionBee’s report finds that voluntary initiatives, such as STAR, while helpful, have not achieved universal adoption or enforceable standards. Instead, the report calls for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the FCA and TPR to act together to deliver a digital-first pensions system with clear rights for consumers and accountability for pension providers.
Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer UK at PensionBee, said:
“Britain’s pension transfer system is broken, but it’s capable of being fixed. People quite rightly expect their pensions to work like every other part of their financial life – to be simple, efficient and digital. If you can move money between banks in seconds, there’s no excuse for pensions taking months.
“In 2025, it’s unacceptable that savers are still waiting months – sometimes even years – just to move their own money. The technology to deliver fast, secure digital transfers already exists and is proven to work. What’s missing is the consistency, accountability and the will to make it universal.
“It’s now time for the Government and regulators to step in, set enforceable standards, and hold providers to account. Savers deserve a system that’s fast, fair and trustworthy – not one that traps them in endless paperwork and delay.”
