Important note

Following the suspension of certain casework by HM Treasury, the following services have now resumed:

  • Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETVs) and Divorce Quotations
  • Non-Club Transfers Out
  • Non-Club Transfers In

IMPORTANT: The guidance documents below contain factors made for calculations before 29 March 2023. We will be updating these documents throughout 2024.

If you have a public or private sector pension from a previous job outside of the Civil Service, you may be able to transfer it into your Civil Service alpha pension. This means all your pension benefits will be paid by Civil Service Pensions when you retire - keeping things all in one place and making it simple for you.

We must receive your signed declaration to proceed within 12 months of the date you joined the Civil Service.  

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How to request a pension transfer

When you first join the Civil Service, your new employer will give you a Pension Choices pack with information on the pension scheme and how to transfer in an old pension.

To request a transfer in please:

  1. Complete and return the Pension Choices form within the pack to your employer.
  2. Complete a Provisional Application Form and return it to us.

It’s not always possible to transfer a pension. Once you tell us you’re interested in making a transfer, we will contact you to tell you if it’s possible.

Contact us

Step by step guide to requesting a pension transfer

  1. Complete and return the Pension Choices form to your employer. You’ll find this form in the Pension Choices pack given to you by your employer when you first joined the Civil Service.
  2. Complete a provisional application form and return to us.

2 weeks after we receive your completed forms, we’ll request transfer details from your previous pension provider.

3 weeks after we receive your transfer details from your previous pension provider, we’ll write to you to confirm how much Civil Service pension benefits the transfer will buy you and information on how to proceed.   

Once your previous pension provider receives your instruction to proceed, they will send the funds to us. Once we receive the transfer funds, we will contact you to confirm the transfer is completed.

The transfer process may take 3-6 months. We must receive your signed declaration to proceed within 12 months of the date you joined the Civil Service.

Transfer valuation

When you request a transfer, we'll contact your previous pension provider who will send us the value of your previous pension benefits. We’ll then send you a quote confirming how much pension that amount will buy you in the Civil Service alpha pension scheme. If you are happy with the valuation, you can apply for the transfer to go ahead. Your transferred pension will be subject to the Yearly Pensions Increase.

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

You can’t transfer AVCs into the alpha scheme. However, you may be able to transfer your AVCs into the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS).

Club and non-Club transfer

There are two main types of transfer - a Club transfer and a non-Club transfer.
The Public Sector Transfer Club is a group of pensions that may offer special terms for transfers.

Find out more about the Public Sector Transfer Club

Transfer your Civil Service pension out to another provider

If you leave employment in the Civil Service, you can request to transfer your Civil Service pension out to another pension provider.

Find out more about transferring your pension out

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Published:
15 December 2021
Last updated:
4 December 2023
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