Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of mechanisms for transferring pensions.

The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021 were introduced to protect pension savers against the threat of scams by enabling trustees to pause or halt a transfer in certain circumstances.

DWP conducted a year long review of the regulations in 2022, as agreed with the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

The review concluded that the measures had been largely successful in delivering the policy intent, approximately 2000 potentially fraudulent transfers were blocked during the period considered and industry participants confirmed that there remained an ongoing need for the enhanced protection the regulations provide.

However, whilst feedback concerning the protections was positive, findings of the review also suggested that the practical application of some parts of the regulations may have caused administrative issues in certain areas.

DWP officials are conducting work with other government departments and industry representatives to consider if changes could be made to improve the transfer process whilst ensuring that appropriate protections remain in place.