Simpler pension transfers took an average of 11 days to complete in the 12 months to 31 March 2025, despite this being one of the busiest times for the industry ahead of the tax year end, analysis from Origo has revealed.

The data showed that the figures for the 12 months from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 31 2025 remained close to the 10.5 days previously recorded at the end of last December, before the industry headed into one of the busiest periods ahead of the end of the fiscal year.

The overall average pension transfer figure, which allows for slightly more complex transfers where providers may need to rely on third parties for additional information, came in at 12.7 days, compared to 12.3 days at the end of last year.

In addition to this, Origo found that half of all transfers were completed in seven working days or less.

This is despite significant transfer volumes and values within the Origo Transfer Index, which tracks the pension transfer times of almost 30 voluntary participants, including most of the big names in the industry.

According to Origo, transfer volumes for the period reached 1.4 million for the OTI group, with a value of more than £57bn.

Commenting on the update, Origo CEO, Anthony Rafferty, said: “Tax year end is typically the busiest time of year for advisers, clients and providers alike, reflected by rising transfer volumes and pension transfer values over the period.

“Against this backdrop, we can see why pension transfer times have crept up that little bit in recent months but we would expect these to drop back down now that this busy period is behind us.

“Overall this is still good news for consumers who are mostly having their pensions transferred in close to 10 days and as an industry we should feel proud of that.”

Those firms that publish their transfer times as part of the Origo Transfer Index made up 90 per cent of all completed transfers in the 12-month period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 31 2025.

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