Everyone in the pensions world, from providers to policymakers, says the same thing: we want people to be more engaged with their retirement savings. That’s the foundation of the new pension schemes bill and the rationale behind small pots consolidation.

But if we’re serious about that goal, we need to confront a painful truth: the transfer process is not fit for purpose.

Many providers still require wet signatures. Some demand forms over ten pages long. Red and amber flags, designed to protect savers from scams, are being used so broadly and uncritically that they often block legitimate, regulated transfers. In seeking to prevent one kind of harm, we are causing another.

Today’s savers expect slick digital-first experiences. They open bank accounts, make payments, apply for mortgages and invest from their phones. But when they try to move their pension, they’re met with requests for  paperwork, long delays and vague suspicion.

This isn’t intentional. It’s simply a process that hasn’t kept up.

And yet we keep building on top of it. Each reform, each well meaning initiative, gets bolted onto a creaking structure. We want savers to consolidate, but we haven’t fixed the mechanism that lets them move their money in the first place. It’s like building a house on quicksand.

Research shows many people want to consolidate, but don’t bother because it’s too complex. Instead of addressing that complexity, we’re pushing more people into a system that doesn’t work.

In the grand scheme of technological ambition, a fully digital pension transfer process that completes in weeks, if not days, shouldn’t be visionary. It should be standard.

Open banking transformed payments. Faster payments means money can move in seconds. In pensions, we already have a blueprint for this kind of shift.

Proposals for a regulated, industry-funded transfer body to standardise and digitise transfers across ISAs and SIPPs are whirling around Westminster as part of the government’s retail investment strategy, specifically in relation to the push towards individual share ownership.It would operate like a utility; with enforceable service standards, firm-level accreditation, and centralised oversight. Transfers would become faster, safer, and clearer; not just for savers, but for schemes too.

And when it comes to pension scams, imagine the impact of a centralised approval mechanism. A system that could consistently flag concerns and give real-time visibility of the full transfer picture. With aligned standards and policy intent, we could shift the focus to genuine risk, not just unfamiliarity. Scam prevention would improve, and consumer confidence would follow.

None of this is far-fetched.

Seven-day transfers. Digital authorisations. Real-time updates. These are standard in most other industries and there is no good reason that pensions should be the exception.

Pension reform isn’t just about where people’s money ends up. It’s about how easily, safely, and transparently they can move it. If we want to see real engagement, we need to start by removing the barriers that actively put people off and start meeting savers expectations.

Transfers matter. It’s time we built a system that works for pension savers and brought pension transfers into the digital age.

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