PensionBee, a company that helps individuals combine their pension pots, has launched a national petition calling for a legally enforceable 10-day pension switch guarantee.
The company has also warned that systemic delays are undermining consumer confidence and damaging retirement outcomes.
The campaign builds on a PensionBee report, ‘Ending Pension Purgatory’, which highlights widespread delays and consumer frustration. According to the research, pension transfers are now seen as the second most difficult administrative task after moving house.
The report also found that almost two-thirds (63%) of consumers believe slow transfers prevent effective retirement planning, while nearly half (46%) described at least one past transfer as “difficult”.
Despite technical advances, many providers continue to rely on paper-based processes, with the worst-performing schemes taking more than 60 days on average to complete a transfer, according to PensionBee’s research.
Previous reports from PensionBee have singled out specific providers for long transfer times, although these providers have pushed back on some of the findings.
“In 2025, people can switch their bank account in a week and send money instantly – so why are pensions still stuck in the Stone Age?” said Lisa Picardo, UK chief business officer at PensionBee. “Delays have real opportunity costs – hampering engagement, costing people real money, limiting their choices, and undermining trust in the whole pensions system.”
The PensionBee report called for the introduction and enforcement of a 10-day limit on the time it takes to transfer a pension from one provider to another. In addition, it recommended urgent reform of scam prevention rules, and the establishment of a joint taskforce to oversee implementation of the proposed changes, to be led by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator.
Last year saw a record 1.5 million electronic pension transfers completed, according to technology company Origo, worth £67bn. This was up from £52bn in 2023 and £42bn the year before.
However, PensionBee said many savers still faced administrative obstacles and delays. Its research estimated that at least 4.8 million pension pots are currently ‘lost’ in the UK, with nearly one in 10 workers believing they have misplaced a pot worth over £10,000.
The Pensions Policy Institute’s continuing research on lost pots estimated that there were around 3.3 million such accounts in 2024, worth a combined £31bn.
The PensionBee report argues that, without enforceable standards, progress will remain patchy, with savers left at the mercy of individual providers’ systems and priorities.
This is despite the prospect of a small pots consolidation system as proposed through the Pension Schemes Bill, which PensionBee said would only address a fraction of the issue.
With dashboards set to expose fragmented savings, the report warned that, unless urgently addressed, the system’s current failings risk “pushing individuals away from engaging with their pensions altogether”.
