People’s Pension has reduced average pension transfer times to 13.5 days after joining the Origo Transfer Service (OTS), cutting the process by more than half.

The master trust, which has more than seven million members and over £40bn in assets, said the service had improved members’ transfer experience. OTS processes around 1.6 million transfers and more than £70bn of customer assets annually. Origo chief executive officer, Anthony Rafferty, stressed that transfer times remained an important measure of customer outcomes, while People’s Pension chief operating officer, Angela Staral, stated that transfers should be completed smoothly once members had made an informed decision and scam safeguards had been satisfied. She added that speed needed to be accompanied by clear comparisons to help savers select products offering good retirement value.

Twenty defined benefit pension schemes have joined Isio’s PenUltimate Micro solution during its first year, with two buy-ins already completed and more transactions expected this year.

The service was created for schemes with fewer than 100 members seeking to progress efficiently towards buy-in, buyout and wind-up, with participating schemes ranging in size from less than £1m to around £15m. Isio completed buy-ins for the Pension and Life Assurance Plan of the Godolphin Company Limited and the Graham Asset Management Pension and Life Assurance Scheme, with the first transaction completing seven months after Isio’s appointment. The consultancy claimed that insurer appetite for smaller schemes was increasing, with six of the UK’s 10 bulk annuity providers now showing interest in the solution and four insurers expected to have completed transactions through it by the end of the year. Isio has also launched PenUltimate Micro+ for schemes that require more time to become financially ready to insure, providing interim administration, actuarial, investment, and governance support. Isio insurance director, Christian Costi, said smaller schemes faced many of the same regulatory and governance challenges as larger arrangements but had fewer resources, while Isio director, Rob Hammond, added that early preparation enabled trustees to act quickly when favourable market opportunities emerged.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s Ready-Made Pension Plan has passed £1bn in assets under management less than three years after launch, attracting almost 50,000 clients.

Around three in 10 new self-invested personal pension clients select the plan, rising to four in 10 among customers new to HL, while more than 14,000 clients contribute through a monthly direct debit at an average of around £200. The plan has proved particularly popular among younger savers, with 54 per cent of investors aged under 45 and more than 80 per cent remaining in its growth phase. Around 17 per cent have moved into the de-risking phase, which begins eight years before retirement, while 1 per cent are in the retirement phase. Approximately 60 per cent of investors hold no other investments within their HL pension, suggesting the plan is being used as an all-in-one retirement solution. Hargreaves Lansdown chief product officer, Doug Abbott, noted that the plan gave clients access to a professionally managed strategy that automatically reduced investment risk as retirement approached.

Aviva has expanded access to Tembo’s mortgage support service following a successful pilot, making it a permanent part of its workplace pension proposition.

The service is intended to support staff balancing home ownership ambitions with retirement saving and other financial priorities by providing access to specialist mortgage guidance and a wider range of borrowing options. Tembo works with around 110 lenders and can identify specialist products, family-assisted mortgages and affordability-enhancing solutions designed to help customers increase their borrowing potential, build larger deposits or enter the housing market sooner. The service was developed through Aviva’s partnership with Founders Factory, with the insurer backing Tembo from its launch in April 2021 and investing in its seed and subsequent funding rounds. Aviva director of workplace pensions, Simon Ellis, argued that home ownership remained central to many people’s long-term financial goals and that expanding the service could help employees escape the “rental trap”, while also enabling employers to offer more practical financial wellbeing support. Tembo chief executive officer, Richard Dana, added that affordability pressures meant access to expert guidance and more innovative mortgage solutions had become increasingly important.

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