First review of the 2021 transfer conditions regulations published

The Department for Work and Pensions published an options assessment on 9 June 2026 covering proposed amendments to the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021¹. The assessment follows the first review of those regulations, which was published in June 2023, and says the feedback and data gathered during that review resulted in the amendments discussed¹.

The 2021 regulations created conditions that must be satisfied before a statutory pension transfer can take place, using red and amber flags to indicate potential risk¹. Under the first condition, trustees or managers of the transferring scheme must satisfy themselves the receiving scheme is a Public Service Pension Scheme, an authorised Master Trust or an authorised Collective Money Purchase Scheme¹. The second condition applies to all statutory transfers not covered by the first, requiring schemes to decide whether red or amber flags may be present¹. Red flags cover indicators of high scam risk, such as a member failing to provide a substantive response to a request for evidence or information; amber flags cover possible risk, such as incomplete evidence¹. These powers let trustees prevent transfers (red flags) or require the member to take prescribed pension transfer scams guidance from the Money and Pensions Service before the transfer can go ahead (amber flags)¹.

The 2023 review concluded the original policy intent remained appropriate but found four key concerns about practical application: the criteria for the first condition were too narrow and blocked transfers where trustees had no scam concern; the wording of the incentives red flag required a transfer to be blocked even with no scam risk concern; the overseas investment amber flag wording could require a Money and Pensions Service safeguarding appointment even where the transferring scheme did not believe there was a scam risk; and members had to attend multiple safeguarding appointments when consolidating pots¹. Waiting times for Money and Pensions Service safeguarding appointments increased from 2 to 6 weeks during the 18-month review period, with many members attending appointments where there was no suspicion of a scam due to the interpretation of the regulations¹.

The assessment sets out a targeted response to what it calls an emerging risk associated with transfers into smaller schemes, specifically Small Self-Administered Schemes¹. It says there are currently around 60,000 SSAS savers across 21,000 schemes, and that SSASs are a form of occupational pension scheme typically established by company directors for themselves and key employees¹. It estimates there are on average over 100 transfers into SSASs per year based on data from The Pensions Regulator, and that data from Report Fraud suggests up to 1 in 10 of these could be a fraudulent transfer, although this is likely to be a significant underestimate due to under-reporting¹.

The assessment also gives wider market figures. It says over 23 million people now save into a workplace pension, and that DC trust memberships reached 32.8 million in 2025, a 7% increase from the year before, with DC trust workplace pension assets growing to £249 billion from £22 billion in 2012¹. The number of pension providers has fallen from around 3,700 in 2012 to around 800 schemes now with 12 or more members¹. In 2024, 0.8 million adults (1.5%) reported experiencing a pensions-related and/or investments-related fraud or scam in the previous 12 months¹. One company facilitating pension transfers reported around 1.5 million transfers completed in 2024 worth approximately £66.7 billion, up from 1.2 million transfers worth £52.4 billion in 2023 and just over one million transfers worth £42 billion in 2022¹. The assessment states the average financial loss from pension fraud in 2024/25 was £18,400, rising to £38,400 per victim where an investment was the primary vehicle¹.

Why it matters for households

The rules govern when a pension transfer can be stopped or delayed, so they affect anyone moving a defined contribution or defined benefit pot to another scheme. The assessment describes a framework in which trustees can block a transfer or require guidance from the Money and Pensions Service before it proceeds¹. It records that the 2023 review found the first condition's criteria were too narrow and could block transfers where trustees had no scam concern, and that members consolidating pots faced multiple safeguarding appointments¹. It also records that waiting times for Money and Pensions Service safeguarding appointments rose from 2 to 6 weeks during the 18-month review period¹. For the roughly 60,000 savers in SSASs, the proposed new red flag would apply where a member cannot demonstrate a verifiable employment link with the receiving scheme, allowing trustees to refuse the transfer¹. The assessment says the consultation will include questions on available data and evidence stakeholders may have to support the final impact assessment¹. The regulations sit within the wider framework covered in our guide to who regulates what across the FCA, PRA, Bank of England, PSR and The Pensions Regulator, and to The Pensions Regulator and how workplace pensions are supervised.

What happens next

The options assessment was published alongside a consultation described as closed on the page, and the assessment says the consultation will include questions on available data and evidence stakeholders may have to support the final impact assessment¹. No date for the amendments coming into force is given in the assessment. The document is signed by Laura Adelman¹.