Transfers - frequently asked questions

A: Yes, if it's a 'recognised transfer', it will be an authorised member payment with no adverse tax consequences.

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM100010: Transfers: essential principles

A: No they don’t.

Cheryl does not have the right to remain a member of her ex-husbands scheme; her only option is to move the money to a new arrangement. Because of this it is not treated as a transfer and her adviser doesn’t have to be a PTS.

A: It depends

Uncrystallised benefits

Not all benefits need to be transferred at once; they can be transferred in stages. Benefits are not usually tested against the lifetime allowance at date of transfer, except where the transfer is to an overseas scheme (QROPS).

Crystallised benefits

If the benefits have been designated to drawdown the whole of the drawdown pension fund or flexi-access drawdown fund under an arrangement must be transferred - a partial transfer is not possible.

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM100010: Partial transfers

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM101999: Transfers to a QROPS

A: If the individual had enhanced or primary protection the benefits could be transferred to another registered pension scheme after A-Day and they would keep the higher tax-free cash entitlement.

However, the same would not apply to somebody with a tax-free cash entitlement of more than 25% who had not applied for primary or enhanced protection. These people will lose their entitlement to the higher amount of tax-free cash under the new plan, unless they transfer as part of a 'block transfer' or in certain circumstances on the wind-up of an occupational scheme.

Tax-free cash protection on transfer

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM063150: scheme-specific lump sum protection - transfers and winding-up

A: No, the Open Market Option (OMO) only applies where someone buys an annuity from their current scheme and the annuity is actually bought on the open market to take advantage of better annuity rates available from another provider. An OMO can only be used to buy annuity it can't be used to provide a different kind of benefit.

As John has an entitlement to more than 25% tax-free cash but no access to drawdown from his current pension scheme, the only way he can access drawdown is to transfer, before taking benefits, to a pension scheme that provides it.

For the higher tax-free cash entitlement to survive the transfer, the transfer will have to be a block transfer or a wind-up transfer.

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM062400: Open market option

HMRC Pensions Tax Manual - PTM063210: Entitlement to pension

A: DWP rules require the transfer value to include enough to cover the cost of any GMP. So the transfer can't happen even although Lily says she wants it to go ahead.

A: There is nothing to stop you transferring your registered pension benefits between UK pension providers.  However, not all providers allow people resident overseas to start a new pension arrangement.