Trafalgar House has announced the launch of an online transfer portal as part of a pilot programme to improve the pension transfer process for members and advisers.

The portal is designed to simplify the transfer journey, accelerate processing times, and enhance communication between all parties involved. The pilot programme went live in October for a select group of clients and will run until January 2025. Trafalgar House managing director, Daniel Taylor, commented: "The industry widely agrees that the current pension transfer process is cumbersome and outdated. As an industry, we need to embrace technology as a core part of our service offering to deliver seamless, efficient processes that members expect and deserve."

Smart Pension has launched an integrated retirement savings calculator.

The new interactive tool is designed to help members model and predict the monthly pension contributions required for a comfortable retirement. It allows individuals to see how much they save and view their expected retirement income against the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's (PLSA) Retirement Living Standards. Smart Pension senior director of strategic delivery, Eve Read, commented: "We recognised that lots of UK savers don't know how much they're currently putting into their pension pot each month, how much they should be saving and what will be enough to retire on. This is just one step among many aimed at improving our online tools and services to help members get the best out of their pension."

Insignis Cash has launched a new pension solution that allows advisers to retain control over client cash within a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) to support clients in pre- and post-retirement planning.

Advisers can use the Insignis Hub to request funds from partner pension providers. These funds can be kept within the SIPP wrapper and diversified across multiple cash savings products. The process can be executed digitally with a single application form. Insignis Cash CEO and co-founder, Giles Hutson, said: "At a time when uncertainty around retirement planning is rife, our new pension solution helps advisers manage client assets efficiently while offering competitive, tax-efficient returns. It's a straightforward way for advisers to deliver value, risk management and flexibility in retirement planning, particularly whilst navigating the longer-term impacts of the new Budget."

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