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Take control of your pensions

Important information - please keep in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. Pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on personal circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. You cannot normally access money in a SIPP until age 55 (57 from 2028).

Bring them together in one place

Moving your pensions to our award winning Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) can help you manage your money more effectively. Plus, with our wide investment range and excellent service, you’ll have everything you need to make more of your retirement savings.

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Learn more

Our SIPP is a flexible, tax-efficient way to save for your retirement. Learn more about how you could benefit by bringing your pensions together.

Transfer now

If you’re ready to transfer you can do this online or, if you prefer, for pension transfers you can download an application form.

Access my pension

If you’re thinking of taking tax free cash or a more regular income from your pension, find out more about the options available to you and how we can help with retirement planning.

Why a Fidelity SIPP

We’ll take good care of you. Here’s just a few of the benefits and services you’ll be able to enjoy when you bring your pensions together with us.

Investment choice

Access to one of the UK’s most extensive fund ranges, as well as shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds - giving you more ways to meet your goals.

Secure online account

A single view of your investments, so you can more easily see what you have, where you’re invested and how your money’s performing, and take action if you need to.

Guidance and support

Know that we’re here for you. You’ll find plenty of information, tools and guidance on our website, but we’re also on hand for extra support when you want to speak to someone.

Flexible access

Easier access to your pension when you’re ready, together with flexible income options so you can take what you want, when you want.

Expert insights

We’ll keep you updated with the latest market news and views and what this means for your money. Opt in to receive direct to your inbox through our ‘Preference centre’ at the bottom of this page.

Additional benefits

Automatically qualify for our Wealth Management service, including exclusive event invites and your own Relationship Manager, when you invest over £250,000 with us or use our ongoing Advice service.

Apply to transfer

Before taking the next step, please read the following important information.

The value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may not get back what you originally invest. It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone. Before going ahead with a pension transfer, we strongly recommend that you undertake a full comparison of the benefits, charges and features offered.

The normal minimum pension age (NMPA) is the earliest age most people can start withdrawing money from their pensions. After 6 April 2028, some people may retain the right to draw benefits before age 57 depending on the rules of the transferring pension scheme. You should check this with your current provider before transferring. Learn more about the NMPA. Please also read our pension transfer factsheet and our exit fee T&Cs. You may also wish to download our guide to moving investments.​

This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular product, service or course of action. If you are in any doubt about whether or not a pension transfer is suitable for your circumstances we strongly recommend that you seek advice from one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.

Ways to transfer

There are two ways you can transfer a pension. You should read the differences as it could have an impact on your investments. Regardless of which method you opt for, your cash or investments will remain in your tax wrapper and retain tax-efficiencies throughout the transfer process.

Transfer your pensions as cash - the assets in your old pension will be sold and the proceeds transferred to your Fidelity SIPP as cash. While your pension is being transferred, it won’t be subject to any potential growth or losses from market rises and falls. Average transfer time is 10 days if your provider uses an electronic transfer system but it could take longer if they don’t. See steps involved in a pension cash transfer

Transfer your pensions as they are - with this option (re-registration) you can keep the same investments in your existing pension as long as they're available on our platform, otherwise it will be sold and transferred to us as cash. You can check if the fund is available on our platform here. Before you apply, it’s best to check with your current provider that they can re-register your investments to us. Depending who they are, you may not be able to make any changes to your investments while they’re being transferred. Allow an average of 14 weeks. See steps involved in a pension re-registration transfer

Before you go any further

If any of the following apply to you, you MUST speak to one of our retirement specialists before starting your pension transfer.
 

  • Your pension has any safeguarded benefits or guarantees.
  • You’ve taken all or part of your tax-free allowance or pensions commencement lump sum.
  • You’re already taking an income from your pension, known as drawdown.
  • You plan to take your tax-free allowance or take an income from your pension after your transfer is complete.
  • If the pension plan being transferred is subject to any existing or proposed bankruptcy, earmarking, pension sharing order or other receiving order, you should notify Fidelity of this as soon as possible
  • You have read any information provided or made available by the ceding providers named in this application, in connection with the transfer(s)

Start pension transfer

Call us

If you’d like to discuss transferring a pension or would like us to send you an application form.

Transfer online

To find out what you need to consider before you transfer, please read the factsheet.

Transfer by post

Whether you already have a SIPP with Fidelity or not, download the relevant application form, fill it in and return it to the address on the form.

Transfer my ISAs and other investments

Transfer my ISAs

Start your ISA transfer in just a few simple steps.

Transfer other investments

Transferring investments to us has never been easier

Our award-winning approach

We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but it's nice when someone else does. We’re also proud to recognised by Which? as a Recommended Provider for our Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Pension Drawdown.

which-stack-of-four.jpg (265×178)  Boring Best for Customer Service 2024 Logowhich-logo

Transferring your pension FAQs

Transfer your pension to Fidelity in three simple steps.

  • Step 1: We’ll ask you for your details and those of your current pension provider(s).
  • Step 2: You can choose your investments when you apply, during the transfer process, or once we receive your transfer application. If the investments you hold in your existing pension are offered by us and your existing pension provider allows the transfer, we can move your pension into the same funds that you currently hold. If not, you can choose to have your investments transferred to the Fidelity SIPP as cash, and then you can decide.
  • Step 3: Review your details and confirm the transfer.

When we receive your transfer application we’ll send you a confirmation, then contact your providers to arrange for your investments (or cash) to be brought into your Fidelity account. Please be aware that you may be out of the market while the transfer takes place, so you could miss out on any growth or income that occurs while we complete your request.

Sometimes the value of your pension can be different to what your provider will actually send to a new provider. This might be because of guarantees that are lost on transfer or charges your current provider will take if you leave now.

For example your pension might currently be worth £100,000 but because of the type of investment you hold, there is a 5% early withdrawal charge, which would make your transfer value £95,000. Your current provider should be able to explain how the difference is calculated.

Fidelity doesn’t charge you for transferring your pension to us, but your current provider might. If they do, it may interest you to know that we’ll cover up to £500 exit fees ( T&Cs apply). Once you’ve transferred your pension to Fidelity, we’ll charge you a service fee for holding your pension with us. There may also be charges set by the company managing your funds, as well as charges for any share dealing you carry out. Read more about our SIPP charges and fees here.  Depending on the type of pension you have you might need to take financial advice on if transferring is the right thing for you and there will normally be a charge for this advice.

Changing jobs is a good time to review your pensions and make sure that you’re happy with everything as your new company will normally start a new pension for you. A Pension like the Fidelity SIPP can give you a place to transfer pensions from employers to keep them all in one place, but you should also consider leaving the pension where it is or transferring to your new company pension scheme, if that is possible.

Before you apply to transfer a pension you’ve taken retirement benefits from, you must speak to Fidelity’s Retirement Service. They’ll discuss the transfer with you and prepare the application form.

We’re unable to accept an online application for these types of transfer.

  • A cash transfer should take about 10 working days, if your current provider acts promptly and has signed up to an industry-accepted, paperless transfer service; if the provider hasn’t signed up for paperless transfer it could take up to 10 weeks, possibly more. If you’re moving your pension to us and would like to keep the same investments that are in your existing pension (re-register), this takes 14 weeks on average.

See the steps involved in a pension cash transfer.
See the steps involved in a pension re-registration transfer.

  • You can view your order for each transfer request and track its progress online; for example, you can see if we’re waiting for the company you’re moving from to send us information or a payment.
  • Please remember that, once the transfer has begun, you won't be able to switch, top up or sell the investments you’re moving, until the process is complete.

When you move your investments (minimum of £100) to us, we’ll reimburse any exit fees that your former providers charge you, up to a maximum of £500 per customer. Of course, you need to decide whether these fees will impact the future value of your pension.

Read the terms and conditions

Download and complete the short Exit Fees Reimbursement Form

Send the form to us at:
Fidelity International
PO Box 391
Tadworth
KT20 9FU

Please remember, you still need to complete the transfer application process online and qualify for the reimbursement.

Yes

  • If the transfer is from another pension provider and you’re going to immediately start taking money from it, the minimum is £50,000.
  • For all other transfers the minimum is £100. This includes:
    • a cash-only transfer
    • a combination of cash and existing pension funds
    • a pension that you’re already taking money from
    • an existing pension fund whether it is all of your fund holdings or a selection.
  • If you have an existing Fidelity SIPP and want to transfer other pensions into it, unless you’re not already taking, or are about to take, money from them, the minimum transfer amount is £100.

You can transfer a wide range of pensions to Fidelity.

  • Personal pensions
  • Self-Invested Personal Pensions
  • Stakeholder pensions
  • Defined-contribution occupational schemes
  • Pension schemes already paying a retirement income (pension drawdown plans)
  • Free-standing additional voluntary contribution (FSAVC) plans
  • Executive pension plans (EPPs)
  • Section 32 (buyout) plans
  • Defined benefit schemes (for example final salary pension schemes). Please read the next question regarding advice requirements for this type of pension.

If you are in any doubt about the suitability of a pension transfer or investment you should speak to an authorised financial adviser.

A pension that contains any kind of promise or guarantee requires careful consideration. This is because such benefits are normally lost once you transfer and cannot usually be reinstated. The value of some benefits can be substantial and a transfer, giving them up, may prove to be both costly and inappropriate.

We may, at our discretion, accept a transfer from a pension that contains such benefits, provided that our requirements have been met.

Generally, for transfers containing safeguarded benefits, we will require confirmation that you have received appropriate financial advice and that the advice confirmed it was in your best interests to transfer. Without this, the transfer to us cannot proceed.

See ‘What are safeguarded benefits?’ further down the page for more information about these.

For transfers containing other benefits we will need you to provide confirmation that you are aware of the benefit you will be giving up by transferring but that you still wish to proceed.

See ‘What are other benefits?’ further down the page for more information about these.

For more information on your options and to discuss what we may need from you in order for the transfer to proceed, you can speak to one of our retirement specialists.

If you are unsure about the type of pension you currently hold and what benefits are available to you, contact the provider of the pension. We believe that it is essential that you receive financial advice in order to make an informed decision.

These generally offer a guaranteed level of income at retirement or provide a promise about the rate of secure pension income that may be obtained from your pension pot at a future date, typically upon retirement.

They are typically found in older policies and are often valuable today as many were written at a time when interest rates were much higher and people weren’t living as long. With lower interest rates and higher life-expectancy, the guaranteed income from these plans is often much better than you could buy if you shopped around.

From a Fidelity perspective we generally consider the following to be safeguarded benefits:

  • Any defined benefit pension (for example a final salary or career average scheme)
    These pay a retirement income based on your salary and how long you’ve worked for your employer. They are generally only available from public sector or older workplace pension schemes.
  • Any pension arrangement that contains a guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) valued at £30,000 or more
    This is a valuable guaranteed income sometimes offered by your own pension scheme or provider if you take a lifetime annuity with them. A GAR is likely to provide a higher guaranteed income than would normally be available on the open market.
  • Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) or Reference Scheme Test benefits (RST)
    If you have a GMP or RST, you originally built up pension rights in an employer’s scheme that was contracted out of the Additional State Pension.
    When this happened the new scheme had to promise to provide you with a pension broadly equivalent to the state pension you would have received under the Additional State Pension.
    You may not be able to take these benefits early unless the pension pot is already large enough to cover the cost of providing the pension.

Similarly, you may not be able to transfer a pension containing GMP or RST to another scheme unless the transfer value also covers the cost of providing the GMP or RST. When you transfer a pension containing GMP or RST to another pension scheme, that scheme has no obligation to provide benefits on the same basis.

The lists above are not exhaustive and you should research the benefits available to you within your existing pension before you request a transfer.

These generally do not provide guarantees of future income at retirement but may still be valuable.

From a Fidelity perspective, examples of such benefits include:

  • Protected tax-free cash (you can take more than the normal 25% of your fund as tax-free cash);
  • Protected pension age (you can access your pension earlier than age 55);
  • Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR) valued at less than £30,000 (likely to provide a higher guaranteed income than would normally be available on the open market);
  • Guaranteed investment returns (a guaranteed fixed increase on your money each year regardless of investment performance);
  • With-profits bonuses (if you are invested in a with-profits fund, you may benefit from annual and terminal/maturity bonuses depending on the underlying investment performance. You should consider how a transfer and the timing of it will impact the payment of those bonuses).

The above list is not exhaustive and you should research the benefits available to you within your existing pension before you request a transfer.

Safeguarded benefits

Fidelity’s retirement specialists can give you personal advice about transfer your pension. Call us on 0800 084 5045 to discuss your needs. We’ll base our recommendation on careful analysis of the value of your transfer in relation to your personal circumstances and goals. Please note, if you are considering taking our advice on a pension transfer we wanted to make you aware that this is a complete advice service including investment recommendations. Therefore this service would not be appropriate for anyone seeking to actively manage their own investments within their pension.

If you prefer, you can choose your own adviser and get them to complete and return the Third Party Advice Declaration to us, so we can process your request.

If you need help finding a financial adviser, the Money Advice Service provides an online directory of regulated advisers: https://directory.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

Other benefits

If your pension contains ‘other benefits’ but you still want to proceed with transferring your pension you can complete and return the Confirmation of benefits form to us so we can process your request.

If we identify any valuable benefits during the transfer process we’ll notify you and explain what we need from you before we can continue with your application. However, this could delay us in processing your application.

For free, independent and impartial information and guidance on workplace and personal pension matters you can visit www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk.

If you are eligible for cashback on the back of a special offer we have run, we will pay any cashback due to you within 90 days after the closure of the Offer. If your transfer has not completed by then, we will pay within 90 days after the completion of your last eligible transfer.

There is no need to contact us, as the amount will be automatically paid to you by the method confirmed in the offer.  Please remember that terms and conditions apply, and only investments held directly with Fidelity through our Personal Investing service qualify.

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Important information - This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.