Guide
Reading the small print on pension transfer offers
What to check before moving a defined benefit or safeguarded benefit into a personal pension.
Transfer value illustrations arrive with pages of assumptions. The cash equivalent transfer value looks generous beside a reduced early-retirement pension, yet the comparison is only meaningful once you know what guarantees you would leave behind.
Defined benefit schemes often include spouse pensions, inflation linking, and early retirement factors that a personal pension will not replicate pound for pound. We ask clients to list the guarantees they actually value — not every feature on the scheme booklet.
Charges on the receiving pension deserve equal attention. A lower platform fee does not help if the underlying funds carry high ongoing charges or exit penalties in the first years.
If a transfer is under consideration, pause marketing calls and request a full scheme booklet plus the latest transfer pack. Independent advice is required for many safeguarded benefits, and we treat that as a structured engagement rather than a quick phone opinion.