A pension transfer is when you transfer over all the funds with your current pension provider over to a new pension provider. Any tax benefits should not be affected and if you are transferring into a pension wrapper such as a sipp they may be improved.
There are many reasons you may wish to transfer your pension including; changes in employment, divorce, poor performance and the need to improve control and flexibility of your investment. Further reasons it might make financial sense to transfer your pension include; the company you are currently working for is winding down or your existing personal pension has high fees and one of the low costing sipp pensions may be more beneficial.
In recent years all of the above reasons are why customers are now choosing to transfer into a Self Invested Personal Pension.
Additionally from the 1st of October 2008 consumers were able to opt out of a state second pension and transfer all existing national insurance rebates into a sipp, this is called protected rights. However understanding whether you will benefit from a pension transfer is complicated and before going ahead it should be considered whether you will lose out by transferring funds. All potential investors should seek advice from an independent financial advisor.
At sipps.org.uk our partnered independent case managers will cover these possibilities in a free 5 minute review and help to make the best decision for you. Additionally if you decide to go ahead and take on a Self invested personal pension then your case manager will work in close conjunction with your existing pension provider to ensure a smooth funds transfer.