Should I consolidate my pensions?

If you find yourself juggling multiple pension pots, you might consider pension consolidation. Combining your pension pots can make your life and retirement planning a lot simpler, but it is not always the right decision. 

But what is consolidation? Why do people decide to consolidate, and how can you do it?

If you just want to find out more about retirement savings, head to our guide to pensions and how they work.

[H2] What is pension consolidation?

Pension consolidation is the act of combining separate pots together into one larger pot. It can help you to keep track of and organise your retirement finances, ensuring you don’t lose valuable long-term savings. 

Remember that partial consolidation is an option. If you have many different pots you may want to combine them all, or keep some separate in order to retain in-built benefits. 

[H3] Why do people consolidate pensions?

There are many reasons why someone might choose to consolidate their pensions:

• Moving jobs: When you move to a new job and start contributing to a new workplace pension, you might be interested in moving your pot from your previous workplace scheme across too. 
• Moving abroad: If you are moving overseas, transferring your pots across to a scheme in your new country of residence may be of interest. 
• Looking for a better deal: You may have heard of an attractive deal offered by a new provider. 
• Looking for more control: You might be searching for a pension that gives you more control over how your retirement savings are invested, such as a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
• Organising finances: Consolidators may just be catching up on financial admin. Consolidation may happen as part of retirement or estate planning, or be influenced by a major life event like a marriage, a divorce or an inheritance. 

[H2] How to consolidate your pensions

1. Gather information: Assemble all the information you can about your current pensions. This means getting a hold of login details, your National Insurance number, reference numbers, statements, and anything else you can get your hands on. The more information you have to hand, the smoother the process will be. If you cannot find the information you need, contact your providers or even previous workplaces. 
2. Check your current scheme(s): Before going ahead with consolidation, you should find out as much as possible about your current setup. Find out about your pot size, its performance, exit fees, and guaranteed benefits you may lose by transferring. If you are not sure what is going on with your pension pot(s), check out our guide to checking your pension’s performance. 
3. Find your new provider: Assess your options and find the right place to consolidate. This may be a scheme you are already a member of, or a new provider. For example, you might choose to consolidate your various pots into your current workplace’s scheme, or move some of your pots into a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) in order to gain more control. For help with this, read our guide to finding the right personal pension plan. 
4. Consider financial advice: If you are unsure about your consolidation plans, or have particularly complex retirement savings or needs, make sure to seek out professional advice. If you have a defined benefit plan or other guaranteed benefits, financial advice may be mandatory before you can proceed with a transfer.
5. Initiate your transfer(s): Contact your receiving pension provider to begin your consolidation. You will need to supply them with information about the schemes from which you intend to transfer. If you are transferring your current workplace pension, you should also inform your employer if you need to pause contributions. Otherwise, you may consider a partial transfer out of your current workplace scheme. 

If you are looking for more information, read our guide to pension transfer considerations.

[H2] Pros and cons of pension consolidation

[H2] Consolidating into a SIPP

One option when consolidating your pensions is to consolidate into a SIPP. A SIPP is a type of pension that allows savers to exert more control over their retirement savings. 

This is because SIPPs offer a wide range of ways for savers to invest their money, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gilts and more. SIPPs can also offer pension savers more flexible ways to withdraw their money at/during retirement. 

To find out more, read our explainer on different types of pensions. 

Freetrade currently offers SIPPs to Plus members (from £9.99 per month). 

[H2] Pension consolidation - FAQs

[H3] How much does it cost to consolidate a pension?

The cost of consolidation depends on the amount of pots you are merging and the terms of each scheme. Costs you may need to consider include:

• Exit fees: Some schemes, particularly those on the older side, will charge a fee if you transfer out (or otherwise access) your pension before your agreed retirement date. These are capped at 1% for over 55s and the Financial Conduct Authority blocked newer schemes from implementing exit fees from 2017/18 onward. Historically some exit fees exceeded 10%. This is a sizable chunk of your pension pot, so always make sure to check for any exit fees that may apply. 
• Administration fees: Your old or new provider may charge some kind of fee for processing your pension transfer.
• Financial advice: You might want to consider professional financial advice before going ahead with a pension transfer. In some cases, it's even mandatory. See the section below for more information. 
• Setup fees: There might be fees to pay to get your pension set up with your new provider. These could include investment charges.

Remember that there are likely to be ongoing fees as well, such as an annual management fee charged by your new provider. Each of these fees and charges may be a flat fee or a percentage of your pension pot. 

[H3] How long does it take to consolidate a pension?

Pension consolidation can be a lengthy process, taking weeks or months.

The average time it takes to transfer a single pension is 12.4 days, according to data released by Origo in 2025.¹ The admin workload of transferring multiple pensions at once means it could take you longer to organise. 

[H3] Can you merge all your pensions into one?

Yes, you can merge all of your pension pots into one. However, this may not be the right option if some of your pots include special benefits or charge high exit fees. Make sure to do your research and speak to a financial adviser if you are not sure what is right for you. 

[H3] Do you need professional advice to consolidate pensions?

There are some situations in which you will need professional advice if you are seeking pension consolidation:

• Transferring a defined benefit (DB) pension: If the value is over £30,000, you must have financial advice before transferring to a different scheme. This is because DB pension schemes provide valuable benefits, such as guaranteed income for life. 
• Defined contribution (DC) pensions with safeguarded benefits: When benefits like a guaranteed annuity rate or other guarantees are included in your pension, you are legally required to seek advice before transferring if the value of those benefits exceeds £30,000.

In most other cases, you do not need an independent adviser to consolidate your pensions. However, if you are finding it difficult to make financial decisions and need help, seeking professional advice could be the best option. 

Sources:

¹https://origo.com/news-and-press-releases/average-pension-transfer-times-speed-up-since-new-tax-year 

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