Best And Worst Performing UK Pensions Of 2018 Revealed - Are You Losing Out?

A new report has revealed the best and worst performing UK pension providers of 2018. Which scheme are you with?

Pensions are a stash of cash that people rely on to live after they retire. However, some pension providers are better when it comes to the service you can expect. New research from industry experts reveals which pension providers were most efficient in providing information across the nation in 2018. Pension advice specialists, Portafina, has recently published its 2018 league table of pension provider service times.

The annual list benchmarks the time taken by different pension schemes to provide the basic information necessary to advise clients on areas like the pension freedoms.

The analysis covers 11,431 requests for information made by Portafina on behalf of 5,523 new clients to over 650 different defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) pension scheme providers and scheme administrators.

This year sees DB scheme providers continuing to improve their response time and closing the gap on the fastest DC scheme providers.

However, those at the bottom of the table are worryingly taking even longer to provide basic information.

The two fastest DC scheme providers of 2018, Hargreaves Lansdown and Canada Life, were also in the top five in 2017’s league tables, showing great consistency in the service they are providing. The fastest DB scheme provider was Legal & General.

Shockingly, the slowest DB scheme providers’ performance is best measured in months rather than weeks, with Royal Mail Pension taking an average of 22 weeks to provide information (five months), 12 weeks slower than their 2017 performance, compared to just one and a half weeks for top performer Legal & General. Once again, the bottom of table is dominated by local council schemes.

Jamie Smith-Thompson, Managing Director of Portafina said: “The pension freedoms put a strain on providers and it took a while for a number of providers to gear up to cope.

“The majority have things under control now and we are generally seeing an improvement in response times overall, even if the very fastest are no faster than the timescales we were seeing three or four years ago.”

2018 Results for Defined Contribution Schemes:

Fastest DC schemes based on average number of weeks to provide information

Hargreaves Lansdown - 1.4 weeks (3rd fastest in 2017)

Canada Life - 1.7 weeks (Fastest in 2017)

Scottish Widows - 1.7 weeks (6th fastest in 2017)

Virgin Money - 1.8 weeks (10th fastest in 2017)

Slowest DC Schemes based on average number of weeks to provide information

Equitable Life Assurance Society - 7.5 weeks (Slowest in 2017)

The Pensions Trust - 5.4 weeks

Mercer - 5.1 weeks (2nd slowest in 2017)

Aon Hewitt - 4.9 weeks

Reliance Mutual - 4.9 weeks

2018 Results for Defined Benefit (Final Salary) Schemes:

Fastest DB Schemes based on average number of weeks to provide information

Legal & General - 1.5 weeks

The Pensions Trust - 1.9 weeks

Lafarge UK Pension Plan - 1.9 weeks

Railways Pension Scheme - 2.0 weeks

DHL Group Retirement Plan - 2.4 weeks

Slowest DB Schemes based on average number of weeks to provide information

Royal Mail Pension - 22.0 weeks (10.2 weeks in 2017)

Staffordshire County Council - 17.2 weeks

Peninsula Pensions - 14.0 weeks

Kent County Council - 13.7 weeks

Merseyside Pension Fund - 11.5 weeks

Should you like to learn more, feel free to get in touch & we can explore how this may impact you. Furthermore, do you think you may have some unclaimed UK pension assets you have lost touch with? My team are here to help. Be it by locating & reviewing old schemes (currently a complimentary service), or simply helping you top up your NI contributions, feel free to get in touch & we'll be delighted to assist.

Complimentary UK Pension Review Now Available for all East-Asia Expats.

Utilise our complimentary pension tracing service if you are also interested in receiving a simple breakdown of the following:

✓ Full valuation of all schemes; occupational or private✓ National Insurance Contribution status (£8,296 per annum available)✓ Legal entitlements (significantly enhanced as now a non UK tax-paying resident)✓ Debt level/solvency of scheme✓ Current/past fund performance✓ Current death benefits (how much is passed to whom upon death)✓ Guaranteed minimum pension (GMP)

Unfortunately with the UK pension system now at a staggering 2.3 trillion pounds in debt (3 billion shy of the UK's GDP), exploring how protect your entitlements from any losses & take advantage of being non UK-based is something strongly encouraged. 

Simply click below to find the form needed to get the ball rolling - Full review currently an entirely complimentary service for East-Asia based expats.