A pension is an investment. Its value can go down as well as up and could be worth less than was paid in
Pension transfers are easy
Bringing old pensions together is easy. All you need is:
Provider name
Plan number
Rough estimate of the value
We'll contact your old provider, so you don't have to do the heavy lifting.
You can open your Standard Life pension with a transfer. Or you can transfer other pension pots later.
A trusted pension provider
Millions of customers trust Standard Life with their money.
In 2022, we were awarded a Gold rating for our overall pensions service by independent research company Defaqto. Our experts handle thousands of pension transfers every year.
Reasons to transfer your pension
All your pensions in one place
Bringing pensions together can make things easier to manage, and help you understand your retirement savings.
You could save on fees
Our charges could be lower than your current provider, and the more you save with us the higher your discount can be. We'll never charge for transfers, though other providers might charge an exit fee.
Flexible access to your money
Unlike some pensions, our Active Money Personal Pension offers the full range of options for taking your money - from tax-free lump sums to a guaranteed income for life (annuity).
However, transferring isn't right for everyone
Some pensions have exit fees, so check before you transfer (we never charge exit fees). You may also have pension benefits or guarantees you'd lose on transfer. Check with your provider or a financial adviser if you're unsure.
Tracing old pensions
There's an estimated £26 billion in lost pensions in the UK. When you move jobs, it's easy to lose track, so it's worth checking.
A pension transfer is when you move your pension savings from one plan to another, and this could be with another provider. This is also known as 'combining' your pensions.
If you’ve had several jobs, you probably have a few workplace pension pots scattered around. If you’ve ever been self-employed, you may have set up your own personal or stakeholder pension too. Having multiple pension pots can become difficult to manage, so it could be beneficial to bring them together into one plan.
To transfer your pension, all you need is the name of your pension provider, your pension plan number, and a rough value. All of these should be on a recent statement. Remember you'll need to check there are no benefits or guarantees you'd lose on transfer. You may find these mentioned in the statement or any other pension documents you have.
If you can’t find a policy number then you can find the contact details for a workplace or personal pension scheme using the Government Pension Tracing Service
Transferring your pension to Standard Life is easy. We will ask your existing pension provider to transfer your funds and we’ll let you know that the transfer has been applied. This could take a few weeks from start to finish.
At Standard Life, we don’t charge you for transferring a pension to us. But your old pension providers may charge you an exit fee for leaving. Every plan has its own set of charges, and you may be able to save money by combining your pension pots.
The transfer value of a pension is simply the amount your old pension plan will pay into your new one. The transfer value could be different to your pension value if your old provider applies an exit fee. If you’re unsure, you should ask your existing pension provider.
The amount you pay depends on which funds your pension is invested into. For information on the charges that apply to our range of pension funds visit our personal pension charges page and also refer to the AMPP fund choices and charges.
Charges aren't transferable from your old plan which means you might pay more in your new plan. It's important to compare charges. Charges are not guaranteed and can change in the future.
Millions of customers trust Standard Life with their money.
