Aegon UK has made changes to the way money is transferred on to its Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC) platform.
The firm said this will strengthen support for advisers consolidating pensions and investments and managing platform switches at scale.
The changes remove the need for transfer authorities on eligible cash and re-registration transfers via Origo and Equisoft, enabling fully online transfer journeys for ARC across pensions and investments.
There is also a simpler way to select the transferring provider, reducing duplication and helping transfers progress quickly.
These updates come as platform switching activity continues to accelerate across the market.
Assets supported through Aegon UK’s platform switch service increased by 42 per cent over 2025, with first quarter (2026) inflows up 136 per cent year on year.
Ronnie Taylor, chief distribution officer at Aegon UK, said: “Transfers and consolidation are pivotal moments in an advice journey. They shape how clearly clients understand their savings and the outcome they experience.
“Our platform switch service, combined with simpler, fully digital transfer journeys on ARC, is designed to help advisers manage transitions efficiently and at scale, reducing friction, maintaining momentum and keeping the focus on delivering good client outcomes.”
Recent Aegon UK insight into investor behaviour showed consolidation is most commonly driven by a desire for simpler money management (45 per cent), lower overall charges (41 per cent) and a clearer understanding of their retirement position (31 per cent).
For advisers, consolidation can also help reduce administrative burden and support more focused review conversations, particularly in helping to evidence good outcomes under the FCA’s consumer duty.
The value of unused pensions being included in estates from April 6 2027 will increase the burden on personal representatives, responsible for reporting and settling any inheritance tax due within six months of the end of month of death.
Aegon said bringing clients’ assets together, where suitable, may make it easier for personal representatives to identify all assets, obtain speedier valuations and meet the reporting and payment deadline.
Taylor added: “As consumer duty continues to be embedded into day‑to‑day advice, platforms have a responsibility to support advisers with services that are clear, efficient and easy to evidence.
“These updates are designed to help unburden advisers with complex administrative processes, freeing them up to focus on clients’ needs and priorities.”
Meanwhile, Aegon said ARC’s tiered and capped annual charging structure also supports consolidation, as the more assets a client has, the lower the rate of platform charge could be across each product.
sonia.rach@ft.com