Pension Works Avis 

I was referred to Pension Works by my financial advisor who explained that due to increased regulation around Pension Transfers, the work must now be undertaken by a specialist company.

From start to finish the transfer took 6 months, not due to any delays by Pension Works, but because of the amount of bureaucracy surrounding the process now. In late December 22, it seems that 90% of cases were being referred to the Government's safeguarding service, most apparently needlessly. The process can feel like wading through red tape- it isn't easy, so you need a reliable company to do the 'heavy lifting'.

I'm pleased to say that I made the right choice with Pension Works. The analysis they provided on my case was detailed and the reasons for the recommended outcome were clearly explained. My advisor was Dylan Davies who was always professional, patient and responsive. After Dylan had completed his work, my case was passed to Angela Phillips assisted by Daniel Woodier to handle the transfers of the various funds to the chosen investments. They too were readily contactable by phone or email and they kept me updated throughout the process.

It's important to note that Pension Works have no vested interest in transferring your pension. They will only recommend that you proceed if their analysis shows it's right for you and they receive their fee whatever the outcome. Therefore there requires something of a leap of faith where you commit to proceeding to the full analysis stage. It's testament to the Pension Works employees I dealt with, that I felt happy to move forward to that stage, having built up a level of trust in the company to that point.

Transferring your pension is a huge life decision and you need a trusted advisor to guide you through it. I have no regrets about using Pension Works and would have no hesitation recommending them to others.

My wife has a life limiting illness. I am 56, she is 58 and we wanted to organise our pensions to enable us to enjoy together as much as possible the time she has left. We were recommended to use Pension Works for the transfer and consolidation of our DB pensions, in order to release our money in a way that would be useful to us whilst we can use it, whilst leaving sufficient provision for me in later years.
Pension Works began by assessing our situations and initially said what we wanted to do made perfect sense. Then it all started to unravel.
Pension works took so long to do the initial (pre-fee paying) assessment that the transfer values of our DB pensions expired even before the main process began. This initial assessment concluded that my DB pension should remain untouched, so the process for me ended there. The assessment for my wife concluded that both DB pensions should be transferred out, in order to use the money whilst my wife is able. However, as the process to this point had taken so long, we then had to pay hundreds of pounds for a re-valuation in order to go to the next (fee-paying) stage.
The revaluation of one of the pensions had dropped, so the final conclusion of Pension works was that this changed their initial findings and it is now better value to leave one of the DB pensions where it is and take the few hundred pounds per month until my wife dies, followed by a 50% spouses pension for me until I die. We would still have to pay the fees for this ‘advice’. This is useless for either of us. My wife cannot enjoy her hard-earned pension, and the spouses pension will be almost insignificant to me as I have my own pension arrangements (remember - Pension Works recommended I remain in the DB scheme, thus negating any need for a spouses pension!).
The whole process took more than 6 months to complete and has left us with insufficient retirement income to make what time we have left together as comfortable as it could have been, with approximately half of my wife’s pension remaining tied into a scheme that is better suited to someone of ‘normal’ life expectancy. It has cost us several thousand pounds just for Pension Works to apparently disregard our personal circumstance, using ‘industry guidelines’ to justify their decisions. They seem completely oblivious to the understanding that guidelines are not rules and that justified deviations are permissible where it makes sense. We got the distinct impression that all decisions made by Pension Works were computer-driven, and if the ‘computer says no’ then that’s how it is.
I would not recommend Pension Works for anything other than the most basic of transactions, and even then, only if you have plenty of time and are happy with their seemingly high fees. Our financial adviser has been shocked and disgusted at how they have operated and has expressed his profuse apologies for recommending them. He tells us that he will not be using Pension Works again!

I have dealt with numerous (PW) staff, who have helped and supported me through, at times, a very frustrating and arduous process, which is at no fault of (PW) staff who have been excellent throughout.

I must mention Andrew Murphy, who has been superb, professional and extremely helpful; ensuring that I am well versed with what is going on during each step of the process.

I honestly can’t recommend (PW) enough, and more importantly Andrew for all his hard work in making my request happen and for keeping me informed at each step.

Thank you Andrew and (PW).

My dealings with Pension Works so far have been a very professional and pleasant experience, with excellent communication throughout.

Pension Works advisors conducted a thorough assessment of my position, and gave sound advice as a result. Pension Works came very highly recommended, and I'd recommend them to others based on my experience.

I found Dylan to be very friendly and helpful making sure I understood every step with my pension.
It was a pleasure to be looked after by him and found him providing me with a professional service.
I have no hesitation recommending Pension Works to family or friends. A first class service.

I contacted Pension Works through a recommendation to discuss my options of a transfer to a drawdown pension.
I have to say that I was very fortunate to deal with Louise Morgan who provided me with expert advice throughout the whole lengthy process. Her knowledge, professionalism, honesty and integrity were exemplary. Louise is an asset to her company. May I also add that all the team I dealt with were also very professional too.
Whilst I decided not to proceed with the transfer due to changes, I can wholeheartedly recommend Pension Works in particular Louise Morgan if you are looking for a financial adviser's advice.
I would like to wish Pension Works continued future success.
Regards
Lewis

I would highly recommend Pension Works for advice on all pension matters. Dylan provided me with accurate and detailed financial projections, which helped me make important decisions about how best to manage my DB pension fund and when to retire. Much appreciated. Thank you

I was put into contact with Pension Works to help me through the process of transferring out of two DB Schemes. In our initial conversations they were very clear on explaining the potential risks of doing so. Additionally their analysis of my income post retirement reinforced my own projections and increased my confidence in my retirement plans. Once the decision was made to go ahead with the transfer they provided excellent service. One of my pension providers in particular was extremely slow in responding to any request for action, and the calm diligence of Pension Works ensured that eventually, in the face of much prevarication on their part they released the funds. Having Pension Works professional assistance gave me confidence that eventually we would prevail!

Our Financial advisor Alistair Milner provided invaluable advice that helped us reach our required goals. We would also like to thank Chloe Lamb for her help in completing the transfer. We found our experience with Pension works very professional with all concerned and would recommending their services.

I was recommended to Pension Works by a local IFA I know and trust but who doesn't work on DB transfers. I have been very happy with the process. It is a slow process but that's certainly not down to them, they are very proactive throughout. Dylan has been a good professional person to have working on the transfer for me. The paperwork and recommendations are entirely centred on what I expressed and there is nothing generic to it all all. Thanks Dylan.

From the initial meeting through until the final follow up Louise Morgan, Financial Adviser, was professional, friendly, thorough and incredibly patient as she talked me through my own situation and the various options I had available, and most importantly not just telling me what I wanted to hear but giving good sound financial advice from her years of expertise in the sector. If you want robust, honest and detailed pension advice this is the person to call.

I would like to commend everyone at Pension Works whom I dealt with during my pension transfer. In particular I would like to thank Stephen Perkins for his helpful, professional and knowledgeable service. This was all very new to me and I was given all the patience and information I needed in a prompt and understanding manner. I highly recommend this firm to anyone in the same situation.

Many thanks to Pension Works for the very proffesional and knowledgeable dealings with the transfer of my pensions . Louise Morgan my advisor was spot on with what I wanted to achieve with my pensions, Louise kept me fully informed at every stage of the process which i originally found very daunting, but Louise elliminared all the stress. Also a thankyou to William ( team leader) for being very proffesional and having such a great telephone manner. Thankyou.

Good afternoon I have been very impressed with the service I have received from Pension Works. My advisor Edward Tee was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful ensuring I understood the processes involved and received regular updates. He was able to remove the stress which I had been experiencing in trying to transfer my pension. Pension Works continue to chase my pension provider in order to conclude the transfer.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this company for pension transfer. My advisor, Stephen Perkins, was incredibly helpful and thorough throughout the whole processes and went above and beyond in bringing my case to its conclusion within very tight time constraints under the terms of the guaranteed transfer value. Mr Perkins was also very well supported by the company's excellent admin team who provided regular and clear updates throughout the process. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Mr Perkins and the wider team of Pension Works for an outstanding service.
Darran Tilke

I contacted Pensionworks via a recommendation from my financial advisor and can honestly say that right from the start the team were professional and were always in touch with updates (even when there was no actual update at that time). Andrew dealt with my case and was always willing to listen to my reasoning whilst providing solid advice throughout. It was a pleasure to deal with the company and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking at options around transferring their pension.

I was recommended Pension Works by another firm of Financial Advisors as they do not deal with moving final salary pensions over to a Personal pension.

I have just received an email from Pension Works confirming that my DB has now been officially received by my personal pension provider.

My Financial advisor was Derek Winsland who was excellent from start to finish and after a one hour initial meeting provided a draft report that encapsulated everything we had discussed, nothing was missing and all the numbers were correct.

A second more detailed report was then generated which showed detailed cash flows, my reasoning for wanting to move away from a final salary pension scheme and their final advice.

The process took about three months from initial contact to actually have Capita transfer the funds and all charges were fully explained at the very beginning.

Pension Works chased Capita and kept me fully informed of the current status and for this I would also like to thank Amy Barnett who did a great job.

In summary, I would have no hesitation in recommending these guys.

Many thanks to the team who guided me through a very intense and somewhat tricky consultation through to the final recomendation.The financial advisor was very courteous and efficient and allways kept me informed.

Alistair was very good at explaining all my options open to me and explained all procedures fully from start to finish on transferring my pension . Excellent service .