Pension transfer times remained steady over the 12-month period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, despite a 64 per cent increase in transfer volumes since 2018, the Origo Transfer Index (OTI) has revealed.

The overall number of days for ceding pensions from one pension provider to another had improved slightly, taking an average of 13.3 days for the 12 months to the end of June 2022, compared to 13.5 days for the 12-month period to March 2022.

In addition to this, the index revealed that simpler transfers, where the provider has complete control over the transfer process, took 11.4 days in in the 12-month period to end of June, which is the same as the previous period.

Origo CEO, Anthony Rafferty, also noted that although pension transfer times measured by the index "suffered" since the beginning of the pandemic, the average transfer time has since stabilised, with "many carried out within minutes".

“Given the far higher volume of transfers being dealt with now than four years ago, this can be seen to reflect positively on the 28 participants in the Origo Transfer Index," he continued.

“Participation in the OTI is on a voluntary basis, and we are grateful to the 28 companies who have agreed to publish their data in the interests of transparency and to help improve the transfer times and outcomes for pension holders."

Rafferty argued that "it is in everyone’s interests that transfers are executed as quickly as possible", highlighting tools such as Origo’s automated transfer service as "instrumental" in helping to reduce times significantly since it was launched in 2008.

"We continue to work with the industry to help bring transfer times down wherever possible," he added.

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