Hargreaves Lansdown has improved its pension transfer times by over 60 per cent, according to data from the latest Origo Transfer Index.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s performance has seen some significant improvements over the past year. Origo’s latest figures show that their average transfer time is now 14.1 calendar days, bringing it in line with the average for this quarter of 13.7 calendar days.
The Origo Transfer Index is a quarterly report from a voluntary group of 28 providers. It records the average time taken when money is transferred out of a provider’s business.
This quarter’s data also shows that despite the industry having to factor regulatory changes around pensions scam, stronger nudges and normal minimum pension age into their procedures, the average ceding time for pensions transfers among these companies has remained broadly the same over the past year, increasing by just 0.3. calendar days since January.
Participants in this initiative account for over 80 per cent of the transfers completed through Origo’s Transfer Service, and more than half of all the completed transfers, over 400,000, were ceded in seven days or less.
Origo CEO Anthony Rafferty says: “Origo established the Transfer Index with a group of volunteer providers as a means to increase transparency and benchmark transfer performance for the benefit of the industry as a whole. Participants commit to publish their transfer times on a quarterly basis, whether their times have gone up or down.
“Hargreaves Lansdown are the latest to demonstrate the value of that transparency, and I think it’s great news for consumers that they and others are putting in the effort to deliver better outcomes.
“Given the increased regulatory requirements for providers, it is also a mark of the efficiencies of participants that the overall average transfer time for the group has not increased materially over the year.”
Hargreaves Lansdown CEO Chris Hill says: “Our programme of sustained improvements to our service has built our capacity as well as reduced transfer times and most importantly, we have seen improved outcomes for clients.
“Ongoing strengthening will improve efficiencies further and this includes the strategic automation of the transfer journey and the introduction of a digital mailroom.”
