Simple pension transfers took just 10.2 days to complete in 2025, down from 10.5 days the previous year, despite ongoing pressures, says Origo.
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.
According to the Origo Transfer Index, the overall pension transfer time, which includes slightly more complex transfers, came in at 11.4 days during 2025. This compares to 12.3 days in 2024.
The data showed that 1.7 million transfers were completed across the OTI group in 2025, increasing from 1.5 million the previous year. Meanwhile, the combined value of transfers reached £75 billion over the period, up from around £66 billion in 2024.
Origo’s Transfer Index tracks the pension transfer times of almost 30 participants from its pension transfer service. 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.
Anthony Rafferty, CEO of Origo, said: “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.”
Rafferty said the sector is starting off 2026 in a “really strong position” to continue delivering fast turnaround times for transfers, even as advisers and clients prepare for major changes to inheritance tax 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,” he added.
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