Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Bulk transfer definition

What does Bulk transfer mean? Bulk transfer describes moving, in a single transaction, the value of accrued pension rights (and corresponding liabilities/assets) for a defined group of members from one occupational pension scheme to another. It is a descriptive pensions term, with conditions and safeguards set by legislation rather than case law. Across England & Wales and Scotland, and in Northern Ireland via corresponding regulations, bulk transfers may proceed with or without member consent, subject to statutory tests. For defined benefit (DB) rights, trustees typically require an actuary’s certificate that members’ rights in the receiving scheme are, broadly, no less favourable. For defined...

Bulk transfers between occupational pension schemes: powers, Reg 12 requirements, DC reforms (2018), trustees’ duties, contracting‑out, tax and practical guidance

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note looks at bulk transfers between occupational pension schemes. A bulk transfer involves moving a cohort of members from one arrangement (the transferring scheme) to another (the receiving scheme). The transferring scheme makes a single payment to the receiving scheme that covers all the transferring members. Those members stop having rights in the transferring scheme and instead acquire rights under the receiving scheme. In effect, the group’s position in the transferring scheme ends and restarts within the receiving scheme...

Circumstances in which bulk transfers are made

Bulk transfers are most commonly undertaken alongside the merger or demerger of schemes. This can arise where an employer is selling or demerging part of its business, or when an employer wishes to bring two schemes together to achieve economies of scale. Even where the intention is to wind up the transferring scheme, standard practice is to carry out a bulk transfer while the scheme is still ongoing, with the scheme then being wound up later as an empty shell. For simplicity, this Practice Note deals only with bulk transfers from ongoing schemes...

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Richard Evans

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Richard is a Professional Support Lawyer in Herbert Smith Freehills' pensions group. He has worked as a pensions lawyer for more than 30 years. For most of that time was a partner at another major firm, where he was the lead adviser to various household-name pension schemes. Richard is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and a member of the Association of Pensions Lawyers. He sits on Lexis PSL's Pensions Consulting Editorial Board, and on the Society of Pensions Professionals' Legislation Committee. He has spoken at various industry conferences and seminars....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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