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First Equitable pension transfer advice at a glance
First Equitable is an independent, whole of market firm of financial advisers, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 782577, with Chartered expertise within the team.
Location: 3rd Floor, 14 Castle Street, Liverpool L2 0NE and Bridgegate House, 5 Bridgegate, Chester CH1 1SA, serving the North West and clients nationally
Advice type: independent and whole of market, recommendations from across the market rather than one provider
Specialisms: defined benefit and final salary transfers, transfer value analysis, and retirement income planning once a transfer completes
Credentials: FCA regulated, firm reference number 782577, pension transfer specialist permissions, a named adviser on every case
Getting started: a free initial consultation at our cost, with no obligation to proceed
What a defined benefit pension transfer actually involves
A defined benefit pension, often called a final salary pension, pays you a guaranteed income for life, usually rising with inflation, and usually continuing at a reduced rate to a spouse after you die. Transferring means giving up those guarantees in exchange for a one off cash sum, called a cash equivalent transfer value, which is moved into a personal pension you control and invest yourself.
That is a permanent decision. Once the guarantees are given up they cannot be bought back. This is why, where the transfer value is more than £30,000, the law requires you to take regulated advice from a firm holding specific pension transfer permissions before the scheme will act on your instruction. First Equitable holds those permissions, which is increasingly unusual, and a great many advice firms surrendered them between 2019 and 2022.
Staying put is usually the right answer
The Financial Conduct Authority’s starting position, and ours, is that transferring out of a defined benefit scheme is unlikely to be in most people’s interests. Advice begins from that assumption and the case has to be made against it, not for it.
| Reasons to stay | Circumstances where a transfer is sometimes suitable |
|---|---|
| A guaranteed income for life that you cannot outlive | You are in serious ill health and life expectancy is materially reduced |
| Increases linked to inflation, built in | You have no spouse or partner, so the survivor’s pension has little value to you |
| A pension for your spouse or civil partner after you die | You have other guaranteed income already covering your essential spending |
| No investment risk sitting with you | You need flexibility over when and how much income you take |
| Protection through the Pension Protection Fund if the employer fails | Passing the fund to children matters more to you than a guaranteed income, which the April 2027 inheritance tax changes make a more complex judgement than it used to be |
The Financial Conduct Authority’s starting position, and ours, is that transferring out of a defined benefit scheme is unlikely to be in most people’s interests. Advice begins from that assumption and the case has to be made against it, not for it.
How your transfer value is worked out
Your scheme calculates a cash equivalent transfer value, the lump sum it considers equivalent to the pension it has promised you. Schemes must provide one free of charge once every twelve months, and the figure is normally guaranteed for three months from the date it is issued.
The value moves with gilt yields, so the same pension can be worth materially different amounts in different years. Transfer values across the market fell substantially as interest rates rose, which is one reason the volume of transfers dropped. What matters is not whether the figure looks large, it is what that sum has to achieve over the rest of your life compared with the income you are giving up.
We analyse that comparison in full before any recommendation is made.
Our advice process, and how long it takes
Most cases run to between eight and twelve weeks from first meeting to final recommendation, which is why we would rather start before your transfer value guarantee is close to expiring.
Free first consultation
We look at your scheme, your circumstances and what you are trying to achieve. No charge, and no obligation to go further.
Gathering the detail
We request your transfer value and full scheme information, and build a picture of your other pensions, assets and income needs.
Analysis
We model what the transfer value would need to earn to match the income you are giving up, and test it against your circumstances.
Written recommendation
You receive a full written report explaining the recommendation and the reasoning. In most cases that recommendation is to stay in your scheme.
What pension transfer advice costs
The first consultation is free and at our cost. If you ask us to proceed, we charge a fixed fee for the financial planning report, agreed and confirmed in writing before any chargeable work starts.
A fixed initial fee for the report, agreed in writing up front
Full detail is on our charges page.
What our clients say
Regulated advice you can check
First Equitable (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 782577, and company number 09910371. You can verify our permissions, including our pension transfer permissions, on the Financial Services Register. If something ever goes wrong, you have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. More detail is on our regulation page.
Risk statement, keep prominent: The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Transferring out of a defined benefit scheme is unlikely to be in the best interests of most people.
Pension transfer FAQs
Can I transfer my final salary pension?
In most cases yes, if you have not yet started taking the pension and it is not an unfunded public sector scheme such as the NHS, teachers, police, fire service or civil service, which generally cannot be transferred at all. Whether you should is a separate question, and for most people the answer is no.
Do I have to take advice to transfer a final salary pension?
Yes, where the transfer value is more than £30,000. The law requires you to take advice from a firm holding specific pension transfer permissions, and your scheme will ask for confirmation that you have done so before it acts on your instruction.
What is a cash equivalent transfer value?
It is the lump sum your scheme offers in place of the pension it has promised you. Schemes must provide one free of charge once every twelve months, and the figure is usually guaranteed for three months from the date it is issued.
How long does a defined benefit pension transfer take?
Most cases take eight to twelve weeks from the first meeting to a written recommendation. Because transfer values are typically only guaranteed for three months, it is worth starting early rather than close to the expiry date.
What happens if you advise me not to transfer?
Do you advise on transfers if I live outside the North West?
Talk to a pension transfer specialist
The first conversation is free, at our cost, and there is no obligation to go any further. We will tell you plainly whether a transfer is worth exploring in your circumstances, including when it is not.
Liverpool 0151 236 9973 | Chester 01244 267485