Pension transfer times took just 10.2 days on average as £75 billion transfers completed in 2025

Pension transfer times got even faster in 2025, according to the latest Origo Transfer Index (OTI) data. The latest figure covering the whole of 2025 shows simple transfers took an average of just 10.2 days to complete, compared to 10.5 for the previous year.

Simple transfers (which account for nearly 90% of all transfers on the Origo Transfer Service) relate to a company’s performance when they have more control over the process for relatively straightforward pension assets moving away from their business.

The overall pension transfer time, which includes slightly more complex transfers where providers may need additional information from third parties, came in at 11.4 days during 2025. This compares to 12.3 days for the previous year.

A busy year for transfer volumes and values

2025 saw 1.7 million transfers completed across the OTI group, increasing from 1.5 million last year. Meanwhile the combined value of transfers reached £75 billion over the period, up from approximately £66 billion in 2024.

The Origo Transfer Index

Origo’s Transfer Index tracks the pension transfer times of almost 30 voluntary participants from its pension transfer service, including all of the big pension providers in the industry.

Performance is measured on how long it takes the ceding provider to transfer the request, including any due diligence and divestment of funds before sending the customer’s money to the acquiring provider.

Those firms which publish their transfer times as part of the Origo Transfer Index make up over 90% of all completed transfers (by volume) on the Origo Transfer Service in the 12-month period.

The transfer service provided by Origo accounts for well over 80% of all Defined Contribution pension transfers in the UK market.

Anthony Rafferty, our CEO, says:“The pension industry has been dealing with more and more pension transfers in recent years as volumes increase. And there was also plenty of volatility around in 2025 created by unprecedented Budget speculation and unpredictable geopolitics. Against this backdrop, it’s really encouraging to see that pension transfer times have continued to speed up despite these ongoing pressures.

“All this means the sector is starting off 2026 in a really strong position to continue delivering fast turnaround times for transfers, even as we head into what looks set to be another busy year as advisers and clients prepare for major changes to IHT on pensions. While these new rules don’t come into effect until April 2027, it will be interesting to see if and how transfer volumes and values are impacted over the year as people consider their options. Nevertheless, we expect transfer times to hold up very well despite any challenges 2026 has in store.”

This article was originally published on: https://ifamagazine.com/pensio...