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Defined Benefit Pension Transfer Advice

Helping you get expert advice if you’re considering transferring your defined benefit pension

Speak to one of our expert advisers today

0800 032 9368

Lines open: 8:30am to 6pm Monday to Friday

WHY MIGHT YOU CHOOSE TO TRANSFER YOUR DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION?

There are a number of reasons you may choose to move your defined benefit pension

From greater freedom to investment opportunities, these are some of the reasons people may opt to transfer it:

You could outperform it
Some believe they can outperform their defined benefits pension in an alternative scheme, such as a SIPP or a defined contributions pension. However, doing this means you’ll sacrifice the benefits you already have.
Your life expectancy changes
Your life expectancy can change due to ill health, meaning a pension with greater access and flexibility offers you more support. If your medical diagnosis impacts your life expectancy, you might want to transfer your pension for more freedom.
You want your loved ones to benefit
With a defined benefit pension, some of your balance (if not all) will die with you. Whilst your spouse, or possibly a child, could receive up to 50%, the remaining is lost. However, other pension schemes can offer up to 100% of the remaining funds to your beneficiaries.
You want greater flexibility
Defined benefit pensions give you the same amount every month (or year) without the flexibility to take what you need. For some people, this can be a hindrance, meaning they aren’t able to save their pension for a rainy day or special project.

HOW DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION TRANSFERS WORK

Transferring your defined benefit pension can provide more flexibility in how you access your pension savings

Our advisers will only recommend the most suitable solution for you.

Defined benefit pensions have a number of additional benefits – including guaranteeing the amount of income you will get when you retire. This means transferring out will not be in most people’s best interest but there are certain circumstances where it makes sense.

Pension transfers with a value of £30,000 or more are required by law to seek financial advice.
Have a commitment-free chat with one of our pension transfer specialists to help you understand the value of your existing benefits before paying a fee.
Expert advice will ensure you get the right outcome for your circumstances. You’ll be provided with a personal recommendation that puts your interests first.
Confidence in your retirement decisions knowing that we’re committed to the Code of Professional Standards set by the Consumer Duty Alliance.
Competitive fixed-fee pricing from £3,885 + VAT (see fees and charges below).

WHY SEEK DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION TRANSFER ADVICE?

If your pension is worth £30,000 or more, you are required by law to get advice before it can be transferred

Defined benefit pensions can be complex. Our LV= pension transfer specialists will review your defined benefit pension and then talk you through the transfer process to highlight the pros and cons. They’ll also recommend other products that match your retirement needs and advise whether transferring your defined benefit pension to another provider is suitable for you.

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OUR DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION TRANSFER ADVICE PROCESS

Our tried and tested process follows three simple steps

We have specialist advisers at LV= who will help you determine whether a transfer to another pension scheme is right for you. If it isn’t, there are other ways we can help you as you reach retirement age.

It all starts with a chat

Our pension transfer specialists are trained and qualified to give advice about your defined benefit pension options.

Call us for a free conversation, with no obligation to continue accepting our advice. We’ll listen to you to understand what you’re hoping to achieve with your pension.

We can send you access to a suite of educational videos to help you understand whether transferring your defined benefit pension is right for you.

If you’re looking to transfer your defined benefits pension specifically, we’ll walk you through the process and the suitability report as well.

Decide if you'd like to proceed

After our initial chat, if you've come to the decision that you'd like to proceed with our advice, we can assist you with next steps. Once you agree to our advice, you'll be required to pay an upfront fee.

The fee will be explained to you clearly right at the start before proceeding, so it won’t be a surprise. We want you to feel comfortable with your choice, so if you don’t feel you’d like to continue with our advice, that’s fine too. Further information on our fees can be found under 'fees and charges' below.

If you do decide to proceed, we’ll send you a welcome pack and some simple questionnaires to help us get to know you better. You’ll then be allocated your own adviser to work with you from start to finish. They’ll be your regular point of contact.

Research and recommendations

Your adviser will have a conversation with you to gather information and discuss your needs and objectives in detail. This will give us a clear picture of your circumstances and what you are trying to achieve.

We will undertake a full review of all your personal, financial, and pension information. We’ll pull all this information together to research and recommend the most suitable solution for you. Our advice may be to keep your pension where it is, or it might be to transfer it. Either way, we’ll explain why.

Your personalised plan will be presented and explained in a report, which we will send to you. If you have any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask.

It’s important that you fully understand our recommendations, so we’ll arrange a time to explain the report and ensure you are clear about what we are advising you to do. It’s always ok to ask us questions.

If you choose to proceed with our recommendations, leave the rest to us. We’ll set everything up for you and keep you informed every step of the way.

Fees and charges

We make advice more accessible by offering our initial consultation for free.

If you’ve agreed to proceed with advice, we offer a competitive fixed fee structure which will be explained to you clearly and right at the start.

The cost is £3,885 + VAT for the first defined benefit pension. There will be an additional charge of £1,900 + VAT for subsequent defined benefit pensions.

We are required by regulation to charge this as an upfront fee for defined benefit pensions.

For our optional ongoing service we charge 0.5% per annum, which is lower than average based on a Which? survey where more than 100 financial advisers were surveyed.

IS A DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION TRANSFER RIGHT FOR YOU?

It might seem sensible to transfer your pension, but advisers could suggest against it

Your loved ones will get 100% of your remaining pension balance if you pass away. Unfortunately, a defined benefit pension often dies with you, or a smaller portion is handed to your spouse.
You could end up with more money if the stock markets do well. Defined contribution pensions are often invested, depending on the level of risk you are willing to take.
You have the flexibility to vary your income in a way that works best for you.

A defined contribution pension scheme could be worth less than your current defined benefit pension, leaving you with less than you originally planned.
You’ll lose out on an income for life when you transfer your defined benefit pension. Instead, you’ll have to manage what you get, which could involve purchasing other retirement products.
You’ll lose the reassurance of a low-risk pension scheme, especially if you invest your pension into something more high-risk.

WHY CHOOSE LV=?

We’re experts in retirement advice and have been helping customers like you for over 25 years

Here are some reasons to get in touch…

Putting your needs first. We consider your long-term security in retirement, as well as short-term objectives to ensure you get the right outcome.
Confusion to confidence. Pensions are often large sums of money, and you may well need to rely on this for your lifetime. Our experts will explain your options to you clearly and help you understand what’s right for you.
Offering peace of mind. Our advisers are fully qualified and strictly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We’ll help you safely make the most of your money, and protect you from costly mistakes.
We offer pension and annuity products from the whole of market and investment products from the Liverpool Victoria group of companies and a limited number of other companies.
Trusted and impartial advice. We’re proud to be committed to the Code of Professional Standards set by the Consumer Duty Alliance. This means we adhere to these good practice principles to deliver quality pension transfer advice that are in your best interests from our in-house pension transfer specialists. We’ve also signed up to the Financial Vulnerability Taskforce Charter so you can rest assured our advice is delivered clearly and concisely in every case.

Pension Transfer Gold Standard and Financial Vulnerability Taskforce logos

WHAT OTHER SPECIALIST RETIREMENT ADVICE DO WE OFFER?

From combining your pension pots to approaching retirement, we’re here to help you feel confident in your choices

If you need a provider you can trust, that offers FCA-recognised advice, look no further. Here’s how we can help:
Combining your pension pots into one
Retirement advice
Long-term care planning

Combining your pension pots into one

It’s not uncommon to have more than one pension, especially if you’ve worked for several companies in your lifetime. As different workplaces offer different pension schemes, you might find you have more than one of these to your name.

Likewise, you might also have considered a personal pension that only you contribute to as an extra means to help you retire.

For your ease, it might be a good idea to consolidate them into one, helping you manage the risks and understand exactly what you’ll be getting to retire on. However, combining multiple pensions might not always be the right option, so it’s worth seeking advice before you do so.

Combining your pension can have many perks. Some of these include:

Paying less on fees.
Having an easy way to monitor your retirement funds.
Reaping the benefits of alternative pension schemes, such as investment opportunities.

As part of our retirement advice service, our expert advisers can look at your various pension pots alongside your personal needs to find solutions that could be right for you.

You can also be sure that any advice given is protected under the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority.

Retirement advice

After working hard for the majority of your adult life, you’ve earned a rest. However, stopping your monthly salary can be one of the hardest things you do, especially if you’re unsure how your retirement will be funded.

Fortunately, our expert retirement advisers are here to assist you with your plans, helping you understand how you’ll manage financially in your golden years. When you first approach us for conversation, we’ll simply start with a chat that lets us get to know you. At the same time, you’ll get a feel for if we’re right to aid your retirement plans.

From the first consultation, we’ll understand who you are, what you want from your retirement and how best to manage your income sources. If you like what we have to say and want to take our advice further, our team will walk you through the process. We normally charge a fee for any advice moving forward, but it’s a small price compared to the confidence you’ll feel when you retire.

We’ve been trusted to support our customers for over 25 years, empowering them to enjoy their retirement.

SPEAK TO AN ADVISER

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If you've got questions about your pensions, we're here to help.

0800 032 9368

Mon - Fri 8:30am - 6pm

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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