Could you benefit from moving your other pensions to TPT?

Keeping track of your retirement savings isn’t always easy. Depending on how long you’ve been working, you might have a few pensions dotted around the place - with previous employers and with different providers.

Sometimes, it makes sense to have your retirement savings in more than one place (there’s that old saying about eggs and baskets…). But in other circumstances, getting everything together in one place can help organise and maximise your retirement savings.
There’s no right or wrong answer - it’s all about doing what works best for you.

If you’re still contributing to your TPT Scheme, you might be able to transfer other retirement savings into it.  So, if you have savings elsewhere and would like to bring them all together in one place, this is an option for you to consider.

Why transfer your other pensions to TPT?

The most immediate benefit of transferring your other pensions to TPT is simplicity. You might have had several jobs and employers over the course of your life, which means several workplace pensions to keep track of, with a lot of pension statements, online accounts and personal details to manage. Consolidating your pensions can be a straightforward way of reducing your admin and  ensuring you don’t lose track of older pension pots as you continue your career.

There can be financial benefits to transferring a pension. All providers charge an annual fee for managing your pension, but some will charge more than others. Even a 0.5% difference in annual fees could make a big impact upon the value of your pension pot when you come to retire, so if you have a historic pension with a higher annual charge it could be financially beneficial to transfer, even if there is a cost to do so.

All pension providers look to provide the best return of investment for their members but different providers have different approaches to this. If you have multiple pensions, it’s possible that some of these will not offer you as much flexibility in terms of how you invest your money and some may consistently perform worse than others. In these situations, you could consider transferring out of these plans to give you the options you want and (hopefully)  more favourable financial returns.

Is it the right choice for you?

Everyone’s circumstances are different and depending on your situation, combining your pensions might not be right for you.

It might be that your investments with your other pension funds are performing well and that you would rather keep your funds where they are with the hopes of continuing this strong investment return.
There can also be exit costs associated with transferring your pension from one provider to another. These exit fees are capped at 1% of the existing value of contract-based personal pensions, and some providers may not charge an exit fee at all, but if you have several pensions you are looking to consolidate it might be that you decide that the cost of the fees do not make it worthwhile.

A major factor to consider is that not all pensions are the same and your older pensions may have benefits and bonuses that will be lost if you transfer. For example, some pensions plans include life assurance as a bonus and depending on the details of your plan with TPT, this is something that could be lost when transferring. If that is the case and you wanted to replace a lost life assurance policy, that is an additional cost you would have to pay.

IMPORTANT – If you have a Defined Benefit (DB) Pension

Crucially, while there isn’t usually a problem with combining similar pension schemes, if you have a previous Defined Benefit (DB) pension you are thinking of combining with your current pension plan it’s important that you take the time to properly evaluate this decision.

DB pensions come with very distinct benefits that are often preferable to those of a Defined Contribution (DC) pension and will be lost if you were to combine the two. For this reason, it’s important to be aware of risks before seeking to combine any DB pensions.

Do you need a hand?

Combining your retirement savings is a big decision and it might be one you’d like a bit of help with. Everyone’s circumstances are different and everyone needs different things from their money in retirement.

You should speak to a financial adviser for advice and guidance. It can provide real peace of mind to know you’ve taken advice on a big decision. Financial advisers cost money, but you may be able to organise the first meeting for free to decide if you want to work with them.

How does it work?

If you decide that you’d like to combine your other retirement savings with TPT, there are 4 steps to take:

1. The first step is to ask your previous pension provider(s) for a transfer out statement/pack. Complete our transfer details form - this includes all the details you’ll need to give to your previous pension provider. We’ll also need you to fill in our transfer in application form. You can send this to us using your online account – Contact TPT.
2. Once you’ve confirmed that you are happy to transfer and that we can contact your previous provider(s), we’ll work with them to transfer the funds.
3. We’ll ask you about your preferred investment choice(s) and invest the amount transferred accordingly.
4. We’ll let you know once the transfer's been completed!

IMPORTANT - Upcoming pause to pension transfers

We’re launching some new services next year, which will make it even easier to manage your defined contribution (DC) pension savings with TPT and prepare for your financial future.

While we prepare these new services your employer will continue to collect and pay your pension contributions to us in the usual way, but we won’t be able to carry out some key transactions on your pension account, including pension transfers.

If you are actively contributing to your TPT DC pension and are planning to transfer your DC savings, we will need to receive all the completed paperwork by 17 December 2024. We also need to receive the scheme monies by this date in order to invest. If you have a TPT pension but are not currently contributing, this deadline is 10 January 2025. Please complete any required actions by the relevant date or we will be unable to complete your transfer until May 2025, when our new services launch.