Pension transfers and consolidation

A pension is a good way of building up a pot of money to live on when you may no longer work. If you can wait until you’re at least 55 (rising to 57 from April 2028) to access your savings and you’re comfortable making your own decisions, a personal pension might work for you.

A personal pension should not be considered as a replacement for a workplace pension, if you have access to one, as your employer will also make contributions.

However, a personal pension is an important savings tool if a workplace scheme is not an option or you want to supplement your workplace pension savings.

If you want the option to withdraw your money before you’re 55 (rising to 57 from April 2028), an ISA may be a better option.

Our Personal Pension may be right for you if:

• You are self-employed.
• You need flexibility.
• You are looking to consolidate your pension pot.
• You are happy to choose from a small range of funds based on your attitude to risk or a default investment option if you don't want to select your investments.

Our Personal Pension may not be right for you if:

• You already have a workplace pension, which satisfies your retirement goals.
• You have a limited company and want to contribute from your business.
• You are looking to invest in multiple funds or a wide choice of investment funds, specific equities or property funds.

It depends on your individual circumstances. You might want to consolidate your pensions to one product, for lower fees and charges or to make it easier to see how much you’ve saved. But you might have good reasons not to transfer or consolidate a particular pension. For example, if:

• Your existing pension has lower charges or penalties for transferring.
• You'd lose benefits or guarantees - We can't accept 'final salary' schemes, plans invested in With Profit funds and those with Guaranteed benefits.
• The pension is still being paid into by an employer - we can't accept active workplace pensions.

We can help you find out which pensions you can consolidate, but we can’t advise on whether it’s the right thing to do. Before making a decision, you should compare pension products and maybe get financial advice.

If you're a member of a Legal & General Workplace Pension, you may have the option to consolidate into that scheme, which could be suitable for your needs.

Yes, you can trace your pensions by using the Government's Pension Tracing Service and contacting your previous employers and pension providers yourself. Once you know where all of your pensions are you would need to check each one to decide whether consolidating is the best thing to do before applying for a product to consolidate them to.

You can find a local adviser at www.unbiased.co.uk. They can advise you on any aspect of consolidation, from pension charges to investment choices.

After you’ve given us the go ahead, you can cancel any consolidations that haven’t started by contacting us on 0345 076 0084. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Call charges will vary. We may record and monitor calls.

You'll also have a 30 day cancellation period for any new product that you sign up for, including our Personal Pension. You should read the conditions of cancellation carefully before applying for a new product.

We don’t consolidate active workplace pension schemes that have been set up and contributed into by your employer. This is because it could mean that you'll miss out on future valuable contributions from your employer.

If you have a Legal & General Workplace Pension, you may be able to consolidate your other pensions into it.