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Transfer into a Ready-Made Pension
Transfer existing pensions with other providers to a Bank of Scotland Ready-Made Pension
Why transfer into a Ready-Made Pension?
We make saving for the future easy and we serve millions of customers across the UK. With our Ready-Made Pension, you can build your retirement savings and track your pension performance alongside your other accounts.
Here’s how our Ready-Made Pension could make it easier to save for your retirement.
Benefits of transferring your pension
- One easy-to-manage place: Combine your pensions into one place and manage them online using our Bank of Scotland Mobile Banking app or Internet Banking.
- No transfer cost: We won’t charge you for pension transfers – whether you’re transferring in or out.
- Managed by experts: Our experts manage your investments for you, targeting the age you’re planning to retire. If you’re years away from retirement, our experts invest you in our highest risk fund. The nearer you get to your retirement window, our experts slowly move your portfolio into lower-risk investments to help protect your pension’s value.
We do the hard work, so you don’t have to.
How to apply?
Things to consider before transferring
While there are benefits to combining your pensions, there are a few things you may want to understand before continuing.
Here are some examples of why you wouldn’t be able to transfer your pensions.
Overseas or partial pensions
- If you want to transfer a pension that’s with an overseas provider.
- If you only want to transfer part of your pension (a partial transfer).
- An employer or someone other than you is currently paying into the pension you want to transfer. Be careful you don’t inadvertently stop or cancel any active employer contributions.
Pensions with benefits
- The pension is with a final salary (defined benefits) scheme.
- You have safeguarded benefits within your existing pension – this may be a Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR), Guaranteed Conversion Option (GCO), Section 9(2B) rights, or a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP).
- You have other valuable features within your existing pension you don’t want to lose by transferring.
Drawdown and other considerations
- The pension is already in drawdown – this means you’re taking an income, or you’ve taken a tax-free lump sum, from the existing pension.
- The pension is currently subject to a bankruptcy order, pension earmarking or sharing order, or other receiving orders.
- Your pension has been set up using ‘disqualifying’ pension credits from a pension sharing order (a pension sharing order has been applied to a pension already in payment or income drawdown).
Frequently asked questions
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This can depend on whether we have all the correct details and how quickly your current provider responds to our requests.
However, we’ll keep in touch with you along the way, and will contact you about your application if:
- There’s information missing from your application or if there’s something we need to check.
- Your pension was set up by your employer, which might be managed by trustees. If so, you’ll need to get permission from these trustees before you transfer to us.
Making sure your personal and contact information is up-to-date and accurate is important and will help reduce unnecessary delays.
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We don’t charge for transferring your pension to us, but your existing provider might charge you for transferring out. Please check this.
Also, it’s always worth comparing your current fees and charges with those for our Ready-Made Pension. For a full breakdown of costs see our Ready-Made Pension Charges page.
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Some older pensions have safeguarded benefits or guarantees that you would lose if you transferred. With that in mind, we can’t accept pensions with:
- Pensions with defined benefits: also known as a final salary pension, this is where you receive guaranteed pension income based on your salary, rather than how much you’ve paid in.
- A Guaranteed Annuity Rate: usually, this means you’d get a higher income for life at retirement than you’d receive at today’s annuity rates.
- Guaranteed Conversion Option: this allows you to convert your pension into a fund, which gives you access to a wider, more flexible range of benefit options. At today’s rates, it’s unlikely that this fund will be worth as much as your original pension.
- Section 9(2B) rights: these would provide you with an income that’s based on your earnings at the time the pension was set up.
- Guaranteed Minimum Pension: some older pensions set up by an employer might offer this benefit. You’d receive this if your employer’s scheme was contracted out of part of the State Pension. To find out more details, contact your scheme administrator.
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It’s important to review any features you have with your current pensions, and how valuable they are to you. Bear in mind that you’d give these benefits up when you transfer. If you’re unsure of anything, please check with the providers of the pensions you want to transfer.
The types of features to look out for include:
- Protected tax-free lump sum – this gives you the right to take more than 25% of the value of your pension as a tax-free lump sum, from the age of 55 (this will rise to age 57 from 6 April 2028).
- Protected pension age – this gives you the right to access your pension benefits before the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) of 55 (this will rise to age 57 from 6 April 2028).
- Life insurance, Critical illness, or Waiver of premium cover – these are benefits you would give up when you transfer as they aren’t features of the Ready-Made Pension.
- Pensions invested in a With-Profits fund – this could reduce your share of profits if you transfer out before a certain date.
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We can’t give you financial advice.
If you want financial advice, you could speak to an Independent Financial Adviser. Unbiased and Vouchedfor will help you find an adviser near you. You normally pay for advice.
Remember - you can get free and impartial guidance from the government’s Pension Wise service, which is provided by Money Helper. If you’re over 50, you’ll also benefit from a free 60-minute appointment.
Alternatively, our partners Schroders Personal Wealth could also help. They provide personalised advice on a range of different products and services. It all starts with a free, no obligation chat, then a financial plan that’s tailored to you. To be eligible, you’ll have at least £100,000 in sole or joint savings, investments or personal pensions, or sole income of at least £100,000. Fees and charges may apply.
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Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628.
