Usually yes, if your scheme is funded: you can request a cash equivalent transfer value and move it to a defined contribution pension. But if it is worth over £30,000 you must take regulated advice first, and most unfunded public-sector schemes such as the NHS cannot be transferred at all.
The short answer
- Funded private-sector DB pensions can usually be transferred; unfunded public-sector ones cannot.
- You request a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) from the scheme.
- Regulated advice is legally required if the value exceeds £30,000.
In most cases you can transfer a defined benefit (final-salary) pension, but “can” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Whether the option is open to you, whether you are allowed to proceed without advice, and whether doing so is remotely sensible are three separate matters. For a funded private-sector scheme the mechanism exists; for an unfunded public-sector scheme like the NHS it usually does not; and in almost all cases the regulator’s starting point is that you should think very hard before giving up a guaranteed income for life.
When a DB transfer is possible
If your defined benefit pension is with a funded private-sector scheme, you can ask the trustees for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV): the lump sum they will pay in exchange for you surrendering your future pension. You can then move that value into a defined contribution pension such as a personal pension or SIPP. Unfunded public-sector schemes are the main exception: NHS, teachers’, armed forces and civil service pensions cannot be transferred out to a DC arrangement at all, as our guide to the pros and cons of transferring a final-salary pension explains.
Can you transfer a defined benefit pension?
| Situation | Can you transfer? |
|---|---|
| Funded private-sector DB scheme | Yes, request a CETV |
| Value over £30,000 | Yes, but regulated advice is legally required |
| Unfunded public-sector scheme (e.g. NHS) | No, transfers out are blocked |
| Already receiving the pension | No, you cannot transfer once it is in payment |
The advice requirement and the process
The single most important rule: if your transfer value exceeds £30,000, you are legally required to take advice from an FCA-authorised pension transfer specialist before you can proceed. This is not a formality you can skip: the receiving scheme will insist on evidence that advice was taken. The adviser must carry out a detailed comparison, weighing the guaranteed benefits you would lose against what a transferred pot might deliver, and factoring in your age, health, other income, attitude to risk and objectives. Our answer on the £30,000 advice rule covers exactly how this works.
- 1
Request your CETV
Ask the scheme for a cash equivalent transfer value. You are normally entitled to one free quote a year; it is guaranteed for three months.
- 2
Take regulated advice
If the value tops £30,000, a pension transfer specialist must assess whether a transfer suits you: this step is legally required.
- 3
Understand what you give up
A DB pension is a guaranteed, usually inflation-linked income for life, often with a spouse’s pension. Be clear on the value of that certainty.
- 4
Weigh the recommendation seriously
If the adviser recommends against transferring, that is common and usually sound. Proceeding against advice as an “insistent client” is possible but strongly discouraged.
Once it’s in payment, the door closes
You generally cannot transfer a defined benefit pension after it has started paying out. The decision has to be made while the benefits are still deferred, which is one more reason not to leave it to the last minute.
The CETV itself deserves scrutiny. It is not a fixed valuation of your pension but the scheme’s estimate of the capital needed to provide your benefits, calculated using assumptions about interest rates, inflation and how long members live. Those assumptions move, so transfer values rise and fall over time: the same pension can be worth noticeably more or less from one year to the next. A tempting headline figure reflects the economic conditions of the moment, not a windfall, and it says nothing about whether transferring is right for you. A specialist will look past the number to what income it could realistically sustain across a retirement that might span thirty years or more.
Just because you can, should you?
Being able to transfer is not the same as it being a good idea. A defined benefit pension removes investment risk, inflation risk and the danger of outliving your money, protections that are hard and expensive to buy back. The Financial Conduct Authority assumes a transfer is unsuitable for most people, and the statistics on regret bear that out. There are exceptions, serious ill health, no dependants, or other guaranteed income that already covers your needs, but they are genuinely exceptions rather than the rule, and each has to be evidenced rather than assumed. Whether a transfer is a good idea depends on your whole picture, your age, your health, your other income, your appetite for risk and what you want to leave behind. This is information, not personal advice, and investments can fall as well as rise. Vetted Wealth’s free service matches you with independently vetted, FCA-regulated pension transfer specialists who can tell you, objectively, whether it stacks up.
In summary
- Funded private-sector DB pensions can usually be transferred; unfunded public-sector ones cannot.
- You request a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) from the scheme.
- Regulated advice is legally required if the value exceeds £30,000.
- You generally cannot transfer once the pension is already in payment.
- The regulator assumes a DB transfer is unsuitable for most people, so tread carefully.
Sources and further reading
- Defined benefit pension transfers Financial Conduct Authority
- Transferring your defined benefit pension MoneyHelper
Read the full guide
For the complete picture, see our in-depth guide: The Pros and Cons of Transferring a Final-Salary Pension.
Speak to a vetted defined-benefit pension transfer advice specialist
This is free information, not personal advice. When you’re ready, we’ll match you with an independently vetted, FCA-regulated specialist, free, and with no obligation.
