Defined benefit advice

A defined benefit transfer is when your defined benefit (DB) pension is transferred to a defined contribution (DC) pension. Transferring means exchanging the guaranteed annual income of a defined benefit pension for the investment potential and flexibility of a defined contribution pension.

The value of investments can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than is transferred.

Whether your adviser recommends a defined benefit pension transfer will depend on your financial situation and retirement goals. In some cases, transferring could be the best option. In others, remaining or transferring to a blended option might serve you better. Whatever they recommend, they’ll lay out the whole picture, including the risks and downsides of transferring that you might not be aware of.

Abridged advice is the first phase of defined benefit advice, it is where some initial analysis is undertaken to see if it's obvious that you should keep your defined benefit pension as it is.

If the abridged advice outcome is unclear, you could proceed on to full defined benefit advice and the abridged fee is not charged as this is included in the overall DB advice fee. If you’re interested in transferring your defined benefit pension, an adviser will always take you through an abridged advice phase first, as a stepping stone to full advice.

If your adviser recommends against transferring your defined benefit pension because they don’t believe it’s in your interests, the advice fee is still payable.

Whatever they recommend, your adviser will have looked through your case with the finest-toothed comb. If they recommend you keep your defined benefit pension instead of transferring, we’re confident their advice is well worth your money.

Not necessarily. Other options, like transferring part of your pension, might be a better fit. Your adviser will talk through all the possibilities and recommend whatever they think is best for you.