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A defined benefit pension transfer claim can arise if you were advised to move out of a defined benefit or final salary pension into another arrangement, such as a personal pension, defined contribution pension or SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension).
If the advice was unsuitable for your circumstances and caused you financial loss, you may be able to pursue a claim against the adviser or firm responsible.
Defined benefit pension transfer advice is subject to particular scrutiny because leaving the scheme can mean losing important retirement benefits.
The FCA’s starting position is that a transfer will not normally be suitable. An adviser must therefore be able to demonstrate why transferring was in your best interests based on your individual circumstances.
It is also a specialist area. The advice must be provided or checked by an appropriately qualified Pension Transfer Specialist.
Depending on the scheme, transferring out of a defined benefit or final salary pension may mean giving up:
One of our pension solicitors described this as a “precious guarantee.”
These long-term benefits can be less immediately visible than a large Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV). A substantial figure may have looked attractive at the time, but it represented what could be moved then, not necessarily what remaining in the scheme could provide over the course of your retirement.
In defined benefit transfer cases our solicitors have handled, problems have often centred on how the transfer was presented and whether the trade-off involved was properly explained.
Examples may include:
The question is whether the advice gave you a fair understanding of the transfer and why it was considered suitable for your circumstances.
Where relevant, we may check whether the advice was provided or checked by an appropriately qualified Pension Transfer Specialist.
Request a free call back and one of our team will call you back for a no-obligation chat
You may not question a defined benefit pension transfer at the time. Concerns can arise later, perhaps after receiving a pension statement, checking an online account or noticing that the replacement pension has fallen in value or performed differently from what you expected.
We often hear from people after a fall in value has prompted them to start asking questions. Their first concern may be the performance of the new pension rather than the advice that led to the transfer.
A fall in value does not, by itself, mean the transfer advice was unsuitable. But it can prompt you to look back at the decision and question whether leaving the original scheme was right for you.
To understand whether your transfer advice may have been unsuitable, we look at how the decision was reached and what the evidence shows.
We start by establishing:
We then review the supporting documents, which may include scheme benefit information, a transfer analysis or comparison, the suitability report, risk assessment and information about the new pension arrangement.
Taken together, this helps us determine whether the advice reflected your circumstances and objectives, and whether the evidence supports the decision to leave the original scheme.
“We’d want to see all the paper trail of what the advice was, why it was given, the justification for that advice.”
Strict time limits apply to defined benefit pension transfer claims.
However, the date of the original transfer does not necessarily tell you whether a claim is too late. Depending on the circumstances, other dates can also matter, including when you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that something may have gone wrong.
Some claims will be out of time. But if you have only recently started questioning advice you received years ago, it may be worth establishing the position rather than assuming you are too late.
For a fuller explanation, see Think Your Pension Claim Is Too Old? The Answer May Not Be That Simple.
You may have a claim if you were advised to leave a defined benefit or final salary scheme, the advice was unsuitable for your circumstances and you suffered financial loss as a result.
It may be worth looking more closely at what happened if:
None of these points proves that the advice was negligent on its own. What matters is whether the advice was suitable for you and whether any failings caused you financial loss.
We keep you informed every step of the way, from your free initial consultation through to pursuing compensation. Our team has over 17 years’ specialist experience in pension negligence, and we’ll guide you through the process from start to finish.
If you are concerned about financial losses following pension transfer advice, we may be able to handle your claim on a “No Win, No Fee” basis.
What This Means for You
For over 17 years, our solicitors have specialised in pension mis-selling, SIPP claims, and negligent financial advice.
We’ve successfully recovered more than £150 million for clients affected by mis-sold pensions, unsuitable SIPPs, and poor financial advice.
For pension mis-selling cases we agree to take on, we succeed in around 90% of them.
You won’t pay us a penny unless we win your case. Our fees are transparent and based on a percentage of the compensation we recover for you.
Neglect Assist is operated by Wixted & Co Solicitors, a firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 468940).
You’ll have direct contact with the same experienced solicitor throughout your claim, providing continuity from the initial review through to the outcome.
Pension problems can arise at different stages, from the original transfer advice to the investments or retirement decisions that follow. You may also find these related services useful:
Yes. A final salary pension is a type of defined benefit pension, where retirement benefits are calculated according to the scheme rules rather than simply the value of an individual investment pot.
No. A transfer was not automatically unsuitable in every case, but because defined benefit schemes can provide valuable guaranteed benefits, the adviser should have been able to show why transferring was suitable for your particular circumstances.
Being classed as an insistent client does not necessarily prevent the advice from being reviewed. We would look at whether you genuinely chose to transfer despite advice not to do so and what the records show about how that decision was reached.
The original transfer advice can still be considered if your defined benefit pension was moved into a SIPP. The key question is why you were advised to leave the original scheme and whether that was suitable for you.
A claim may still be possible. Depending on the circumstances, another route, such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) may be available, so we first need to establish who was responsible for the advice and what route remains.
Strict time limits apply, but the date of the transfer does not always tell you whether you are too late. Other dates can also matter, including when you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that something may have gone wrong.
Useful documents can include your suitability report, transfer analysis or comparison, scheme benefit information, risk assessment, pension statements and adviser correspondence. If you no longer have the complete file, further records may still be obtainable.
Potentially. You do not need to have lost your entire pension, but any claim will still depend on whether the transfer advice was unsuitable and caused you a financial loss. A fall in value may simply be what prompts you to question the original decision.
Our pension solicitors share practical insights from their experience of reviewing pension and retirement advice claims.
Is a falling pension always the sign of poor financial advice? Discover why our pension solicitors look beyond investment performance when assessing retirement advice.
Making changes to your pension isn't always the answer. Discover why experienced pension solicitors believe doing nothing can sometimes be the right approach.
Think your pension claim is too old? The age of the advice may not tell the whole story. Discover why pension claim time limits aren't always straightforward.
Tim qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and has more than 25 years of experience advising clients on professional negligence, financial mis-selling and complex civil litigation matters. He oversees the firm’s professional negligence cases and advises on case strategy.
Tim has reviewed this page to help ensure the legal information is accurate, up to date and relevant to individuals considering a potential claim.
If you were advised to transfer out of a defined benefit or final salary pension and now have concerns about that advice, speak to our pension solicitors. We can review what happened and explain whether you may have a claim.
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Provide your details to start your free eligibility check. You’ll be guided through a few short questions so we can direct you to the right specialist and assess how we can help.
You do not need legal representation to make a financial services claim. You can complain yourself at no cost and under FCA rules, the financial services provider must provide a response. If you feel this is unsatisfactory, you can complain to the statutory redress bodies, the FOS and FSCS who can award you compensation. This is a free service.
The information appearing within this website does not constitute legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only. No warranty, whether express or implied, is given in relation to such material, and we do not accept any liability for reliance on it.
Neglect Assist is a trading style of Wixted & Co Solicitors which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) A copy of the SRA handbook can be obtained from www.sra.org.uk. Wixted & Co Solicitors, 57 Putney Bridge Road, London SW18 1NP.
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