What is the DB Pension CETV Transfer vs Stay Simulator?
The DB Pension CETV Transfer vs Stay Simulator helps you compare two possible retirement paths in the UK: keeping your defined benefit pension as scheme income, or transferring its cash equivalent transfer value into a personal pension pot and drawing from that instead.
It is designed as a planning and education tool, not a recommendation engine. The aim is to help you understand the trade-offs around guaranteed income, flexibility, sustainability, and inheritance before speaking to a regulated pension transfer specialist.
How the Calculator Works?
This calculator runs two scenarios side by side over the same timeline. In the “stay” scenario, it models the income you would receive from your defined benefit pension from retirement onward. In the “transfer” scenario, it projects how a CETV-based pot might grow before retirement, then how it may behave once withdrawals begin.
You can use a simple single-pot version or an optional wrapper model that splits the transfer route across pension, ISA, and GIA allowances using simplified rules. The tool also provides a rough CETV plausibility check using an illustrative multiple-of-pension range, plus a simple withdrawal-rate sense check. Results are shown as scenario-based projections so you can compare certainty versus flexibility in a structured way.
Step One: Enter Your Pension and Timeline Details
Add your current age, retirement age, planning end age, expected DB pension at retirement, CETV today, inflation, investment growth assumptions, charges, and your target withdrawal level.
Step Two: Choose How to Model the Transfer Route
Use either a simple transfer pot model or the optional wrapper approach to explore how pension, ISA, and GIA allowances might affect the transferred funds over time.
Step Three: Review the Comparison
Compare the “stay” and “transfer” outcomes using the results board, plain-language verdicts, chart, and year-by-year table. Check where the transfer looks stronger, where it looks weaker, and whether the pot remains sustainable over the full timeline.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides illustrative projections only and should not be taken as financial advice. Defined benefit transfers are highly regulated in the UK, and individual circumstances vary, so regulated professional advice is essential before making any transfer decision.
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What is the DB Pension CETV Transfer vs Stay Simulator?
The DB Pension CETV Transfer vs Stay Simulator is a UK planning tool that helps you compare the long-term difference between keeping a defined benefit pension and transferring its CETV into a drawdown-style pot. It is useful for exploring cash flow, certainty, flexibility, and sustainability, but it is not a substitute for regulated pension transfer advice.
What does this calculator do?
It compares two retirement scenarios: keeping your defined benefit pension where it is, or transferring the CETV into a personal pot and drawing income from that instead.
What is a CETV?
A CETV, or cash equivalent transfer value, is the lump sum value a pension scheme may offer if you want to transfer out of a defined benefit pension into a defined contribution arrangement.
Does this calculator tell me whether I should transfer?
No. It does not recommend either option. It is designed to help you understand the financial trade-offs and prepare better questions for a regulated adviser.
What does the “stay” option show?
The “stay” side shows the projected scheme income from your defined benefit pension, which is usually more certain than income drawn from a transferred investment pot.
What does the “transfer” option show?
The “transfer” side shows how the CETV might grow before retirement and how withdrawals could affect the pot after retirement, based on your assumptions for returns, inflation, charges, and withdrawals.
What is the CETV plausibility strip?
It is a rough contextual check showing whether your CETV appears below, within, or above a simple illustrative multiple-of-pension band. It is not a formal valuation and should not be used as a decision tool on its own.
What is the wrapper model?
The wrapper model is an optional, simplified way of showing the transfer route across pension, ISA, and GIA wrappers rather than treating the whole transfer as one single pot. It helps illustrate tax-wrapper structure, but it does not fully model real-world tax advice.
Does the calculator include tax?
No. Outputs are mainly gross and scenario-based. Personal tax, scheme-specific features, and detailed pension legislation are not comprehensively captured.
Does it show whether the transfer pot might run out?
Yes. One of the main outputs is whether the transfer pot appears to remain sustainable over the chosen planning period or whether it runs out under your chosen assumptions.
Why is this comparison important?
Because the choice is not just about which number looks bigger. It is about balancing guaranteed income against flexibility, investment risk, sustainability, and what may be left for beneficiaries.
Can this capture all scheme benefits?
No. Defined benefit pensions can include valuable features such as spouse benefits, inflation linking, early retirement factors, and other protections. These are not always fully reflected in a simplified calculator.
Is my data stored?
No. The calculator is designed as a client-side planning tool, so personal information does not need to be stored or transmitted.