PensionBee Personal Pension: plans, fees and transfers

PensionBee is an online personal pension provider. You open an account, transfer in old workplace or personal pensions, and manage the whole thing yourself through an app or website called the BeeHive. It is a defined contribution pension, so what you end up with depends on what you pay in and how the investments perform, not on a salary promise. PensionBee describes its plans as personal pensions you can manage online, and it is an execution-only provider: it does not give advice or personal recommendations¹.

The main draw is consolidation. PensionBee combines old pensions into one plan, and it charges a single annual management fee taken from the pot rather than a list of separate charges. It says transfers take 12 weeks on average, and that you can switch between its plans at any time at no cost³.

This page covers what the plans are, how the charges work, who can open one, how transfers and withdrawals happen, and what protection applies if something goes wrong. PensionBee's own site carries today's fee figures and plan details.

PensionBee's plans and how your money is invested

PensionBee plans are all defined contribution personal pensions, and each one invests your money into diversified pension funds with a different mix of assets and a different approach to investment decisions¹. The money is managed by large fund managers, including BlackRock, State Street Global Advisors and HSBC¹¹. The funds are institutional funds that pool money from many investors, and PensionBee states that all its investment plans are liquid¹⁰.

Legally, each plan is structured as a long-term unit-linked insurance policy provided by a money manager under an insurance contract entered into by PensionBee Trustees, and the scheme is governed by a Trust Deed and Rules³. That structure matters for protection, which is covered below.

If you do not pick a plan, PensionBee invests you in a default based on your age: the Global Leaders Plan if you are under 50, or the 4Plus Plan if you are 50 or over⁴. One PensionBee page says customers who are unsure are placed into its most popular plan, Tailored, so the provider's own documents do not agree on which default applies¹². If the default matters to you, it is worth confirming which one applies before you transfer.

You can switch plans at any time, and PensionBee does not charge for plan switches³. The switch means selling the investments in the old plan, moving the cash and buying into the new one, which PensionBee says usually takes around 12 working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays³. To do it, you log in to the BeeHive, go to My Pension, select Switch plan and follow the steps⁴.

How PensionBee's charges work

PensionBee charges a single annual management fee, taken directly from the pension pot¹³. The fee is calculated on the daily value of the plan and charged monthly, so it rises and falls with your balance rather than being a flat amount¹⁴. PensionBee's own site has the current figure for each plan.

There is no contribution charge on any PensionBee plan, and no separate charge for switching plans¹³. Death benefits are offered with all PensionBee pensions free of charge¹⁶. Fee rebates and reinvestment of charges do not apply to PensionBee³.

Because the fee is a percentage of the pot, the amount you pay in pounds grows as the pot grows. On a larger pot the same percentage is a larger sum, which is worth checking against what you currently pay before transferring, particularly if an old workplace scheme sits under the charge cap that applies to workplace pensions.

Transferring old pensions in: what is checked and what is not accepted

PensionBee's core service is combining old pensions into one plan you manage online¹⁷. It accepts cash transfers only, not transfers in specie, so investments are sold and moved as cash³. It does not accept overseas pension transfers, and it cannot accept international bank payments¹⁸. As of May 2026, PensionBee states it does not accept overseas pension transfers¹⁸.

The usual steps for any transfer are to check your current scheme allows transfers out, make sure you will not lose any benefits, decide which scheme to transfer into, check whether you need to pay for financial advice, ask your current provider for a transfer value, and ask the new scheme to start the transfer¹⁹. Some schemes will not accept a transfer without advice whatever the value, so an old scheme's rules can block a move even where you want it²⁰.

PensionBee says transfers take 12 weeks on average, and that most providers respond within a few weeks, though some take longer¹⁷. It also states the legal deadline for a pension transfer can be up to six months³. Once money arrives, it takes up to five working days for the money managers to invest it, or around eight working days for a regular bank transfer to show as live³.

You cannot transfer a pension you are still paying into with your current employer until after you have changed jobs and received your final employer contributions²¹. Old workplace pensions and old personal pensions can be transferred, and your employer can also choose to pay into a PensionBee plan¹.

If you hold a protected pension age of 55 or 56 from an earlier provider, PensionBee says it will honour that on transferred pensions where it has been correctly informed²³.

Who can open a PensionBee pension

You do not need an existing pension to open one. PensionBee says first-time savers can start a plan without having an existing pension, and self-employed people can start one without needing an existing pension²⁵. It offers a self-employed pension that it says can be opened in minutes²⁷. Anyone can choose the Shariah Plan, including those who want to invest according to the Islamic faith²⁸.

Once open, you can set up monthly contributions and make one-off payments from your online account²⁵. It does not claim higher or additional rate relief for you; that is claimed separately, usually through Self Assessment or by asking HMRC to change your tax code.

PensionBee also runs a referral arrangement: it will make a £100 contribution into your pension if a friend you tell opens an account with a pension balance of £100 or more³.

The scheme rules confirm that the age customers can start taking benefits is in line with the normal minimum pension age²⁴. PensionBee states that access is from 55, rising to 57 from 2028³.

Managing your pension through the BeeHive and your BeeKeeper

Your online account is called the BeeHive, and you can log in through the website or the app, from any device, to check your balance and see whether you are on target²⁹. You can also add pensions you hold elsewhere to a Retirement Planner inside the BeeHive, so the dashboard can show more than just your PensionBee pot²⁰.

Every customer is assigned a personal account manager, known as a BeeKeeper, who helps set up the pension and guides you through the transfer process and answers queries¹⁷. PensionBee says the BeeKeeper provides regular updates at each step¹².

PensionBee states it has more than 315,000 customers in one place and 327,000 or more in another, so the two figures do not agree⁸.

Withdrawing money: access age, drawdown and annuities

PensionBee allows paper-free online withdrawals from the age of 55, rising to 57 from 2028³¹. There is no maximum age for withdrawing funds or available tax-free cash³. Pension Wise, the free government guidance service, is available to anyone over the age of 50 with a defined contribution pension pot³³.

Drawdown means leaving your money invested while you withdraw as you need it, and PensionBee offers it from age 55, rising to 57 from 2028¹². You can choose a withdrawal amount and a payment date and have the payment made automatically to your bank¹². Once a withdrawal is requested and your bank details are verified, PensionBee says it should take around 10 working days for you to receive the money³.

The general rule across the market is that most people can begin drawing down from age 55, rising to 57 from April 2028, with exceptions for ill health and for providers that honour an earlier protected age³⁴. PensionBee states it does not permit unauthorised payments before 55 under any circumstances³².

Annuities are a separate product: you exchange part or all of your pot for a guaranteed income. PensionBee has an annuity service, and buying an annuity is a one-way decision, so it is worth using the free guidance before committing³⁰.

Splitting a pension on divorce

PensionBee can send and receive a split pension as part of a divorce settlement if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland³⁴. In Scotland the calculation works differently: only the pension amounts saved during the marriage are considered, so anything saved early in a career, before the relationship, or after separation is excluded³⁴.

The usual mechanism is a Pension Sharing Order, which lets one party take a percentage share of the other's pension pot straight away, provides a clean break, and allows the recipient either to join the original scheme or transfer the money to a scheme in their own name³⁴. Independent guidance describes the Pension Sharing Order as the most common way of dividing pensions in divorce³⁵.

To action a split, PensionBee requires a Pension Sharing Order, a Consent Order and a Decree Absolute, certified by an authorised person with name, date, signature and address³⁴. The NHS Scotland pension scheme, as an example of a public sector scheme, asks for a copy of the Extract Decree or Dissolution Order, the Pension Sharing Order including the information required by the Pensions on Divorce (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000 Section 5, and payment of the administration charges for implementing the order³⁶.

Two limits are worth knowing. The basic State Pension cannot be shared on divorce³⁷. And where both partners have already retired, pensions can still be split, but it will not be possible to take a share as a lump sum³⁴.

Death benefits, complaints and FSCS protection

You nominate beneficiaries in the Account section of your BeeHive, and you can set a percentage for each one. Beneficiaries can be anyone: a friend, a partner, a relative or a charity³⁸. When PensionBee is notified of a death it reviews and agrees the beneficiaries of the plan, taking your nominations into account³⁸. PensionBee states it only offers accepted beneficiaries the option of taking the inherited pot as a lump sum³.

On protection, PensionBee is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and it states that its scheme is classed as a long-term insurance contract, so if one of its money managers fails the FSCS could cover up to 100% of the pension with no upper cap⁸. The FSCS confirms that whole of life assurance claims are covered at 100%⁹. Cash held in a customer bank account may also attract FSCS compensation for any shortfall in recovery³.

That is a different level of cover from the limits that apply elsewhere. The FSCS states that protection varies by pension product and that there are limits to what it can compensate³⁹. Its own guide suggests asking any provider a set of questions, including whether the FSCS protects the pension, how much of the pot is protected, whether other protections apply, whether you are still protected if you buy an annuity, and what would happen if something happened to the business³⁹.

If something goes wrong, the first step is PensionBee's own complaints process. If that does not resolve it, the Pensions Ombudsman can look at complaints about pension schemes, and the Financial Ombudsman Service covers some pension provider complaints. Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and Pension Wise, and debt advice charities can help where a pension sits alongside problem debt.