Petition closes as savers from Land’s End to John O’Groats trigger Government response on pension switching

London, 22 January 2026: PensionBee, a leading online retirement savings provider, has welcomed a formal response from the UK Government to its parliamentary petition calling for a 10-day pension switch guarantee, after more than 16,500 savers from all 650 UK constituencies added their names to the campaign.

The Government response recognises the importance of improving efficiency in the pension transfer system while maintaining strong protections for savers, and confirms that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering operational improvements, including greater use of electronic processes, alongside further work on the pensions transfer regulations introduced in 2021.

From Land’s End to John O’Groats, savers across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland backed the petition, underlining widespread public frustration with pension transfer delays that can leave people waiting weeks or even months to move their retirement savings.

The constituencies with the highest number of petition signatories are:

• Bracknell (54 signatures)
• Twickenham (52 signatures)
• Greenwich and Woolwich / Hackney South and Shoreditch (all 50 signatures)
• Tunbridge Wells (49 signatures)
• Lewisham North (48 signatures)
• Islington South and Finsbury (47 signatures)
• Lewisham West & East Dulwich / Maidenhead / Milton Keynes Central (all 46 signatures)
• Tooting / Weald of Kent (all 44 signatures)
• Daventry / Esher and Walton / Lewisham East / North Cotswolds  (all 43 signatures)
• Croydon East / Eltham & Chislehurst / Hemel Hempstead / North East Hertfordshire / Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (all 42 signatures)
• Aylesbury / Bermondsey and Old Southwark / East Grinstead and Uckfield / Mid Sussex  (all 41 signatures)
• Brentford and Isleworth / Croydon South / Derby North / Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard / Huntingdon / North West Hampshire / St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire / Streatham and Croydon North / Swindon South / Witney (all 40 signatures)

Despite advances in digital financial services, pension switching remains slow, inconsistent and opaque. PensionBee’s campaign highlights how prolonged transfer times can discourage engagement, expose savers to financial risk and undermine confidence in long-term saving.

Alongside the petition, PensionBee published three reports setting that set out five key reforms for a fairer, faster pension transfer system, urging the Government and regulators to:

• Mandate digital pension transfers across all schemes, with an immediate focus on trust-based schemes regulated by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
• Introduce a Pension Switch Guarantee to ensure the majority of defined contribution transfers are completed within ten working days.
• Require providers to publish performance data, giving consumers transparency and enabling meaningful comparison between providers.
• Fix transfer scams legislation by reforming the current Amber and Red Flag system, which can be misused as a pretext for delay.
• Reduce the statutory six-month transfer deadline, which has not been updated for over thirty years and is no longer fit for a digital era.

PensionBee said it was pleased to receive the Government’s response that recognised the importance of improving efficiency in the pension transfer system and that the DWP was considering operational improvement including the greater use of electronic processes. It was also pleased to see acknowledgement that aspects of the current anti-scams framework may be contributing to delays in how they are practically applied, and that the DWP plans to consult on changes aimed at smoothing the transfer process and proactively responding to any developing risks.

The company also noted the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing consultation on pension transfers, but stressed that this only applies primarily to pension transfers between FCA-regulated defined contribution schemes. For meaningful, system-wide change and improvement for all pension savers across the UK, PensionBee argues strongly that reforms must extend to the trust-based schemes regulated by TPR, where many of the longest delays persist.

With nationwide support clearly demonstrated, PensionBee is calling on the DWP, FCA and TPR to work together with industry to modernise pension switching, reduce unnecessary friction and deliver outcomes that reflect how consumers expect modern financial services to work.

The petition ran for six months from 24 July 2025 to 24 January 2026.

Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer UK at PensionBee, said: “From Land’s End to John O’Groats, savers in every part of the UK have made their views clear that slow pension transfers are no longer acceptable, and we welcome the Government’s response and its recognition that improvements are needed to make the system more efficient while maintaining strong protections against scams.

“We would now be keen to understand the timelines the Government is working to in order to address these issues for all pension savers across the UK, particularly given the real and ongoing impact that delays can have on people’s retirement outcomes. We would also welcome the opportunity to meet with the DWP and regulators to discuss our recommendations in more detail and to help shape reforms that deliver a faster, fairer pension switching process for savers.”