The government has issued a response to PensionBee’s petition calling for a 10-day pension switch guarantee, after it received more than 16,500 signatures.

In its response, the government said it recognised the importance of improving efficiency in the pension transfer system while maintaining strong protections for savers.

It added that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was considering operational improvements, including the increased use of electronic processes, as well as further work on pension transfer regulations.

PensionBee said that, despite advances in digital financial services, pension switching remained “slow, inconsistent and opaque”.

Its campaign argued that prolonged transfer times can discourage engagement, expose savers to financial risk, and undermine confidence in long-term saving.

The provider said it was pleased to receive the government’s response and its acknowledgement that aspects of the anti-scam framework could be contributing to transfer delays.

It called on the DWP, Financial Conduct Authority, and The Pensions Regulator to work with the industry to ‘modernise’ pension switching, reduce unnecessary friction, and deliver outcomes that reflected how consumers expected modern financial services to work.

“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,” commented PensionBee chief business officer UK, Lisa Picardo.

“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.”

---