If you have decided you want to transfer your pension pot to an alternative annuity provider, you may be wondering how long it takes to transfer the money. Annuity transfer times have been something that has dogged the industry and frustrated both annuitants and providers alike. The proposed solution was to create the”Options” initiative, an Origo developed scheme which is being used by many of the major annuity providers. This appears to be working, with annuity transfer times decreasing in 2009 from 31 days to 11 days, according to data from the ABI, with the time being as low as eight days in Q1 of this year.
Maggie Craig of the ABI said that “…It is still early days for Options and as more providers go online, it was always expected that average transfer times would fluctuate.” Companies use the “Options” system for Immediate Vesting Personal Pension (IVPP) and Open Market Option (OMO) transfers as well as for transferring information between providers.
Feedback from providers has also been positive. Andrew Tully from Standard Life said his experience of the “Options” system had been “very good” and said other annuity providers should use the system to offer to best possible service for annuitants.
