Seven questions before consolidating old pensions

Consolidation sounds tidy. It can also erase valuable features. Before you move an old workplace pension, answer these seven questions in writing.

First: does the scheme include any guaranteed annuity rate, protected tax-free cash, or with-profits final bonus? Second: are there exit charges or market value reductions in the next few years? Third: would leaving the scheme end any employer contribution you still receive?

Fourth: how do the ongoing charges of the receiving scheme compare once advice fees are included? Fifth: will the move trigger crystallisation or complicate lifetime allowance records? Sixth: how easy is it to take phased tax-free cash from each arrangement?

Seventh: who will administer the consolidated pot, and how do you change advice later if you need a second opinion? A single provider is convenient; it is not automatically safer.

If any answer is uncertain, request a second opinion before signing transfer paperwork. Staying put for another tax year is a legitimate outcome when guarantees outweigh the administrative burden of multiple statements.