Pension transfer analysis
Imported 6 November 2026 from the September Obsidian vault before that folder was retired. The analysis is dated September 2026; the numbers below are as written then, not re-verified.
The question
Should the Scottish Widows (workplace) pension be transferred into the SIPP monthly or twice-yearly?
The figures
- SW OCF: 0.75%
- SIPP (VALL): 0.07% all-in
- Fee gap: 0.68% a year
- Starting balance: £3,000
- Monthly contribution: £600 (Joe + employer)
- Transfer: cash only (no in-specie), no fee, about 7 days
Thirty-year projection
| Scenario | Final pot | Total fees |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly transfers | £919,566 | £6,184 |
| Twice-yearly | £918,327 | £6,483 |
| Stay in Scottish Widows | £800,017 | £60,105 |
What the modelling actually says
- Monthly vs twice-yearly: £1,240 apart over thirty years. A rounding error.
- Any transfer vs staying in SW: £119,000 apart over thirty years.
- Transfer frequency is not the decision. Doing it at all is.
- The dead time in transit costs about £11 a year regardless of frequency.
- The 0.68% fee gap is the entire story — compounding fees, not timing.
Decision (Sep 2026)
Twice-yearly transfers. The £1,240 advantage of monthly does not pay for twelve admin events a year instead of two. The win is getting contributions out of 0.75% and into 0.07%.
Reassess if any of these change:
- Scottish Widows restructures its fees
- the transfer process becomes online or automatic
- salary changes materially
- the VALL fee changes
Review date: 1 April 2027.
Related
- Investment gains tracker — machine-written, current values
- Mortgage position — the other long-running financial commitment
- Decisions — the wider decision log