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Pension transfer and consolidation

Manage your pensions in one place

There are pros and cons to combining pensions, so it’s important to read this page before you get started. Here's why it could suit you:

  • It’s easier to keep track if you combine several pensions
  • You’ll have a clearer view of how your retirement is shaping up
  • You might benefit from lower charges

Why you might consolidate your pensions

Consolidating your pensions simply means combining them. If you’ve had jobs at different companies over the years, you could have pensions from them all, scattered across different providers. Consolidating them is like tipping each pot into one bigger pot, so you can see exactly how the money you’ve put away is shaping up.

And remember, the value of a pension can go down as well as up – and you could get less than the amount that's been put in.

  • Easier to manage

    Bringing them into a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) with us means you can use MyAviva, your secure account, to manage your pension online and stay up-to-date on how your investments are performing

  • It’s your future, invest your way

    You have control over how you invest in your SIPP with us, thanks to a range of investment options. Whether you’re new to investing, or have more experience, there’s an option for you

  • Lower charges

    Older pensions sometimes have higher charges, so you may pay lower costs when you transfer to our SIPP, depending on how you invest your pension

Already have a pension with us?

Before you apply to transfer

Benefits of consolidating pensions with us

  • One set of charges
    Make it easier to track how much you're paying to manage your pension. Older pensions can sometimes have higher charges too, so you may benefit from lower charges when you move them into a new SIPP.
  • A lower Aviva Charge
    The Aviva Charge is what we charge each year to hold cash and funds in our SIPP. The more money you invest with us, the lower the percentage Aviva Charge you may pay. Bringing your pensions together can help you hold on to more of your hard-earned money over the longer term.
  • Simpler to manage
    Top up your pension pot, keep track of your pension performance and view one set of documents all in one place online or in our app.
  • Range of investment choices
    Moving to a SIPP may open the door to a greater range of investment options. Choose from our Universal Retirement Fund, which gives you pension investments you don't need to manage, as their risk level reduces closer to your retirement date. Or pick ready-made funds or a portfolio you build yourself, including ethical and environmental options. You can also opt for individual shares and exchange traded investments.
  • Planning for the future
    Seeing your investments together helps keep you on track to meet your goals, and lets you manage your retirement options.

 

Things to think about:

  1. Exit costs
    We won’t charge you if you transfer your pension to us. However, your existing pension provider might have an exit charge. Be sure to check with them first.
  2. Investment fees
    Before transferring your pension, compare your current fees and charges with our pension costs. We keep our costs as low as possible. However, before you make the move, you should understand the different fees and charges, and check that everything makes financial sense for you.
  3. Pension benefits and guarantees
    If your existing pension has benefits or guarantees you're relying on, you may lose these if you transfer. These might include pensions with a safeguarded benefit such as a guaranteed income, or valuable benefits like getting more than 25% of your cash tax-free. Other benefits could include loyalty bonuses, enhanced life insurance or death benefits, or early access to your money or pension.
  4. Putting your investments on hold
    If you transfer funds they stay invested, so will be subject to any market gains or falls. You won't be able to trade them while the transfer is going through. If you choose to transfer the cash value, it won't be subject to market volatility, but you'll also need to factor in the time it takes for your cash to be re-invested in funds.
  5. It’s not certain you’ll be better off
    There are never any guarantees about how investments will perform over time. Which means that combining two or more pensions does not promise you’ll have more money in your retirement than you would if you kept them separate.
  6. Pensions you won’t be able to move:
    1. Defined contribution pensions with a guaranteed annuity rate, safeguarded benefits or guarantees
    2. Defined benefit pensions
    3. Pensions you’ve already taken money from
    4. If you have a workplace pension, you'll need to talk to your employer before transferring, as a transfer may mean they stop paying into it.

If you're not sure about any of these points, we recommend that you get financial advice first. For some pensions you must take advice before you transfer. If you don't have a financial adviser already you can find one at Unbiased - there will be a charge for advice. 

Important documents

If you plan to open a new SIPP and transfer any pensions into it, make sure you read and understand all the details before you apply.

 Aviva Pension Key Features (PDF 253 KB)

Aviva Pensions terms and conditions (PDF 298 KB)

Our guide to consolidating pensions (PDF 1.75 MB)

Target market statement (PDF 111 KB)

Exchange traded investments important information (PDF 56 KB)

Transfer a pension

Investments and charges for our SIPP

How to choose investments

There are five ways to invest in our SIPP.

  1. For a simple way to save for your pension, with investments you don’t need to manage as their risk level reduces closer to your retirement date, choose our Universal Retirement Fund.
  2. If you want easy options, you can pick one of our ready-made funds.
  3. If you’re a more experienced investor, you might prefer browsing a narrowed-down fund shortlist from our experts.
  4. The most confident investors can build their portfolio using our full range of funds.
  5. Finally, experienced investors can buy and sell shares and other exchange traded investments.
Understand more about your investment choices

What are the investment charges?

We won’t charge you for opening a SIPP and there’s no charge to transfer your investments to us. However, your existing provider may charge you for leaving them, so you’ll need to make sure it all adds up before making the move. Once you have a SIPP with us, these are the charges you can expect to pay:

Funds

You'll pay an Aviva Charge of up to 0.40% for the value of your funds or cash, depending on how much you invest.

For example, if you have £5,000 of funds or cash with us, your Aviva Charge will be £20 a year.

There's also a Fund Manager Charge that will depend on the funds that you've chosen. This charge is included in the price of the fund.

We won't charge you for buying or selling funds.

Shares and other exchange traded investments

We have an Aviva Share Charge for managing those investments. It's 0.40% of their value, up to a maximum of £120 a year.

For example, if you have £5,000 of shares or exchange traded funds with us, your Aviva Share Charge will be £20 a year.

There'll be a Fund Manager Charge for exchange traded funds and investment trusts that will be included in the price of the investment. 

When you buy shares and other exchange traded investments, there'll be a Trading Charge for every trade you make.

There may be other charges you’ll need to be aware of – you can read more about these on our charges page.

Find out more about charges

How it works

How to transfer and consolidate your pension

The first stage of transferring any pension is to understand what you’d get out of it – and unearth any reasons why it might not be right. Our video gives an overview to transferring a pension, and what to keep an eye out for, in less than 3 minutes.

Pension transfer FAQs

Can I transfer a pension that my employer pays into?

Is there a charge to transfer my pension?

How long does it take to transfer a pension?

Transferring into another type of pension with us

Most of the detail on this page is about transferring into our SIPP. You may also be able to transfer into one of these types of pension if you already have one with us:

  • A workplace pension
  • Another type of personal pension
  • A pension you applied for in person, over the phone or by post

If you’re not sure what type you have, follow the link to point you in the right direction – it’ll help if you have your policy number handy.

Find out how to manage your pension

Pension advice

Confused about how to plan for your retirement? You’re not alone – everyone approaching retirement has more pension options to choose from than ever before. If you have total pension savings of £75,000 or more, the Aviva Financial Advice Team can guide you on all your financial planning options.

Advice is also available for defined benefit pensions, sometimes called final salary pensions. Find out more on the defined benefit advice page.

Explore pension advice

Put more pieces of the pension puzzle together

Moving your pension into one pot

Transferring all your pensions into one could save time and provide a clearer picture when you’re making retirement plans. Capital at risk.

What's pension tax relief all about?

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Pensions for the self-employed: what you need to know

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What you need to know about defined benefit transfers

If you have a defined benefit pension, you may be able to transfer it into a more common type of pension.

Should I have more than one pension?

Things to think about when deciding whether to make additional payments into a workplace or a personal pension.

Six simple tricks to help you boost your pension

Giving your pension savings a little push can make a big difference. So take a look at our six tricks which could give it that boost.

Can't afford to retire

If your pension pot is falling short of your ideal number, there are some things you can do to help.

Platform provider: Aviva Wrap UK Limited. Registered in England No. 4470008. Aviva, Wellington Row, York, YO90 1WR. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm reference number 231530.

Pension product provided by: Aviva Pension Trustees UK Limited. Registered in England No. 2407799. Aviva, Wellington Row, York, YO90 1WR. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm reference number 465132.