Smart Pension has completed the bulk transfer of assets and members from the Options Workplace Pension Trust (OWPT) into its master trust, understood to be the largest master-trust-to-master-trust consolidation of the year so far.

OWPT’s migration was delivered through Smart’s Keystone platform, which the firm said enabled a “swift and seamless” transfer of data, assets and member records.

Transferred savers now fall under the governance of the Smart Pension trustee board and gain access to Smart’s digital tools, including its pension app.

The deal brings a further £650m in assets under management (AUM) to Smart Pension, taking its total to more than £9.3bn and annual contributions to £1.6bn.

The provider said the move places it within “touching distance” of £10bn by the end of H1 2026 and strengthens its position as a leading consolidator in the defined contribution (DC) market.

The transfer follows Smart Pension’s acquisition of the WS Stakeholder pension scheme from Waystone Management (UK) Limited, the first example of a stakeholder scheme being absorbed into a DC master trust.

Smart suggested that this signalled the start of a "new wave" of potential contract-to-trust consolidations.

Indeed, the latest acquisition brings the number of schemes absorbed by Smart Pension’s master trust to 10, including Crystal Trust, Ensign Master Trust, Welplan Master Trust, the Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.

Smart UK CEO, Jamie Fiveash, claimed the transfer was a “significant milestone” in the company’s consolidation strategy.

“With assets now nearly at £10bn, and positive regular contribution flows of £1.6bn per annum, we are on track to achieve the scale target of £25bn well before 2035, based on organic growth alone,” he continued.

“The master trust has grown sustainably in excess of 30 per cent per annum for some years now.

“In 2026, we expect this to be no different, with strong momentum in both AUM and membership, and a healthy pipeline of opportunities.

"As we grow, our focus remains on delivering outstanding value for savers and providing employers with a dependable, modern pension experience.”

Global Pension Corporation group CEO, Kem Hogg, added that the transfer followed an “extensive and robust process”.

“The two teams have worked collaboratively to ensure that member interests remained at the centre of this significant transfer while continuing to support and provide high levels of customer service to employers throughout,” he concluded.

---