How to switch your workplace pension.
Someone with old workplace pensionsWorkplace pensionA pension your employer sets up. They contribute alongside your contributions (the 'employer match'). Most are DC schemes; some older ones are DB. from previous jobs sitting in default schemes — or someone whose current workplace scheme charges materially more than a low-cost SIPPSelf-Invested Personal PensionA pension where you pick the investments yourself. Cheaper than legacy adviser-led pensions, but you choose the funds. would for the same default fund. What follows is illustrative — the sequence a typical switch goes through, and the parts the receiving provider handles for you.
The typical sequence.
- 01
Locate every old workplace pension. The Pension Tracing Service helps with any forgotten ones.
- 02
Open a SIPP at the chosen lower-fee platform.
- 03
Use the new SIPP’s transfer-in form. The receiving provider handles contacting the old schemes.
- 04
For a current workplace pension, employer matching usually makes contributing in the active scheme worthwhile. Some schemes allow regular partial transfers-out (typically every 3–6 months) to a personal SIPP while keeping the wrapper open — that lifts the fee dragFee dragHow much investment growth gets eaten by ongoing fees. A 1.5% fee can reduce a 30-year pot by ~30% — not because the fee compounds, but because every year you have less invested to grow. without sacrificing the match. Whether the scheme permits this depends on its rules.
Gotchas.
- !Schemes with guaranteed annuity ratesGuaranteed Annuity RateA pre-promised annuity rate written into older personal pensions, often well above today's market rates. Counts as a safeguarded benefit — transferring out forfeits it., guaranteed minimum pensionGuaranteed Minimum PensionA guaranteed pension benefit accrued in contracted-out workplace schemes between 1978 and 1997. Counts as a safeguarded benefit. benefits, or any final-salary (defined benefitDefined Benefit pensionA pension that pays a contractual income for life, based on your salary and years of service. Usually called a 'final salary' or 'career average' pension. Transferring out forfeits the safeguarded benefit — FCA rules require regulated advice for any DB transfer with safeguarded benefits worth £30,000 or more (FCA COBS 19.1).) element fall under the FCA’s safeguarded-benefitsSafeguarded benefitsPension features the regulator considers valuable enough to protect: guaranteed annuity rates (GARs), guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs), and any defined-benefit element. Transfers worth £30k+ require regulated advice. regime — regulated advice is required for any transfer where the safeguarded benefits are worth £30k+. Feefee doesn’t model these.
- !Some workplace schemes are genuinely cheap (NEST is 0.3% AMC, L&G’s default can be 0.5%) — they may already sit at or below typical SIPP fees.
- !Partial-transfer permission depends on the scheme. Some allow it freely; others charge or restrict to 1–2 transfers per year. The scheme rules are the canonical source.
- !Receiving-SIPP fee structure matters. Vanguard’s 0.15% has a £48/yr minimum and is capped at £375/yr above ~£250k; AJ Bell Dodl charges 0.15% with no cap; Interactive Investor’s flat-monthly tiers (£5.99–£39.99) win at very large balances.
Who Feefee compares.
- St. James's Place1.40% / year
Adviser-led firm. Restructured fees August 2025 for new clients: roughly 1.6–1.7% ongoing total — 0.8% advice + 0.27–0.35% product + ~0.52% fund cost. Exit fees abolished on new investments. Pre-Aug-2025 clients remain on legacy structure (~1.9% with 6-year exit charges).
- Scottish Widows0.70% / year
Common workplace-pension provider; Lloyds Banking Group. Headline is a typical retail/default-fund AMC. YOUR employer's scheme may have a negotiated rate as low as 0.30–0.45% — check your scheme booklet, not this number. UK auto-enrolment defaults are capped at 0.75% by statute.
- Aviva0.65% / year
Common workplace-pension provider, also offers a retail SIPP. Headline is a typical retail/default-fund AMC. YOUR employer's scheme may have a negotiated rate as low as 0.30–0.45% — check your scheme booklet, not this number. UK auto-enrolment defaults are capped at 0.75% by statute.
- Aegon0.75% / year
Major UK workplace-pension provider (formerly Cofunds). Default-fund charges typically 0.75% all-in for older schemes. Headline is a typical retail/default-fund AMC. YOUR employer's scheme may have a negotiated rate as low as 0.30–0.45% — check your scheme booklet. UK auto-enrolment defaults are capped at 0.75% by statute.
- Standard Life0.70% / year
Phoenix Group; common with bigger employers. Headline is a typical retail/default-fund AMC. YOUR employer's scheme may have a negotiated rate as low as 0.30–0.45% — large-employer schemes often hit the lower end of this band. UK auto-enrolment defaults are capped at 0.75% by statute.
- Legal & General0.50% / year
Common auto-enrol workplace pension; ~0.5% on default funds. YOUR employer's scheme may have a negotiated rate as low as 0.30–0.45% — check your scheme booklet, not this number. UK auto-enrolment defaults are capped at 0.75% by statute.
- NEST0.30% / year
Government-backed default scheme. 0.3% AMC + 1.8% contribution charge — the contribution charge isn't captured in the AMC alone, so effective ongoing cost is ~0.3% on balance but new contributions take a 1.8% hit. Engine surfaces both via the contributionChargePct field.
- NOW: Pensions0.30% / year
Common with smaller employers. £2/month flat admin charge (£24/year) plus 0.3% AMC — effective rate higher for small balances. Full admin charge skipped if it would push pot below £100. Verified 2 May 2026.
- Smart Pension0.30% / year
Smart Sustainable Growth default: 0.30% AMC + £1.75/month flat (waived if pot ≤£100). 15% private-markets allocation in default since 2025.
- The People's Pension0.50% / year
B&CE-run workplace scheme. 0.5% AMC + £6.50/year flat admin. Tiered savings-reward rebate: 0.05% above £3k, 0.15% above £10k, 0.25% above £25k, 0.30% above £50k — effective AMC drops to ~0.2% on large pots. Verified 18 Aug 2026.
- Royal London0.60% / year
Mutual; competitive workplace pension fees with profit-share rebate.
- PensionBee0.50% / year
Pension consolidator — pulls old workplace pots into one SIPP-style account. Tracker (default cheap) 0.50% AMC under £100k; other plans 0.70–0.95%. Fee halved on portion above £100k. Tailored / Fossil Fuel Free / Impact plans discontinued.
- Other / not listed—
Not on the list? Pick this and tell Feefee what you're getting (rate or fee). We'll compare against the lowest-fee or highest-rate alternative we track.
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