Final Salary Transfers
Last updated 29 April 2026
A comprehensive box set for deferred members of final salary schemes who are weighing up a transfer. It walks through staying versus transferring, covers risk, tax, dependants, flexibility and death, and gives advisers documented evidence of client engagement with impartial information.
The box set is widely used by pension transfer specialists to help meet triage requirements, and the summary video forms part of the PFS Gold Standard process.
What's covered
| Chapter | Description |
|---|---|
| Important update (1 min) | A short notice on inheritance tax changes. |
| Stay or Transfer? (3 mins) | The options for members with preserved pensions reviewing their benefits. |
| Guide to staying in the scheme (4 mins) | How a final salary scheme works and the advantages and disadvantages of the benefits it provides. |
| Is my preserved pension frozen? (5 mins) | What happens to a pension while the member is deferred. |
| What happens when I retire? (4 mins) | Retirement options and how the guaranteed income increases. |
| How will my pension be taxed? (2 mins) | How a final salary pension is taxed at retirement and beyond. |
| What will happen on my death? (3 mins) | The benefits offered to the member's family on death. |
| Are there any risks? (3 mins) | What would happen if the scheme and the employer were both in severe financial difficulty. |
| Case study — staying in (5 mins) | An example of someone who might benefit from keeping their final salary benefits. |
| Transferring to a private pension (4 mins) | A summary of the implications of transferring to a private pension pot. |
| Do I need advice? (5 mins) | Why professional advice is required to formally review a preserved pension and who can help. |
| Is a transfer financially viable? (5 mins) | What 'Critical Yield' and 'Transfer Value Comparator' mean and why they matter. |
| What would happen when I retire? (4 mins) | Options for taking benefits from a private pension pot. |
| What are the risks if I transfer? (4 mins) | The risks the member would be exposed to after transferring. |
| How do I avoid scams? (3 mins) | The threat scams pose to pension savings and steps to take to stay safe. |
| How would my pension be taxed? (2 mins) | How the new pension benefits would be taxed when taken. |
| What happens on my death? (3 mins) | What happens to a private pension pot, the beneficiaries' options and how benefits are taxed. |
| Case study — transferring out (6 mins) | An example of someone who might benefit from transferring to a private pension pot. |
Who it's for
Deferred members of final salary pension schemes who are considering transferring, and the pension transfer specialists and schemes that need impartial member education to support a triage or review process.