Pension leads for UK IFAs, booked as appointments

What is a pension appointment?

A pension appointment on InvestmentsBooked is a first meeting, already in your diary, with a UK resident whose defined-contribution pensions add up to £250k or more and who has asked for help with them. On this page that help is one of two things: bringing several pots together, or finding out whether their pensions are invested sensibly and what they're paying.

"Pension leads" usually means a contact detail you have to chase. We sell the meeting instead. The client picked the slot, knows which firm they're speaking to and has already heard that advice costs money. You pay £500 when they turn up and the conversation happens. Only FCA-authorised firms giving independent advice can buy.

What is on the brief before a pension meeting?

Every appointment comes with a written brief built from the client's own answers. For consolidation and review meetings, these are the fields that matter:

We don't ask about attitude to risk, suitability or specific funds. That's fact-find territory, and it belongs to you. This is how a consolidation appointment might look:

Illustrative appointment card. Every field is one the qualifier collects; the client and figures are examples, not an actual client. Contact details are shared once the appointment is yours.

Who books pension consolidation appointments?

Mostly people who've changed jobs a few times. Each employer left behind a workplace pension, and by their fifties they have four or five pots with different providers, different charges and different paperwork. Some aren't sure they've found them all. The Pensions Policy Institute estimated in 2024 that there were 3.3 million lost pension pots in the UK, worth £31.1bn between them.

Consolidation is already a meaningful slice of adviser work. In the FCA's survey of advice firms for 2025, published in April 2026, firms estimated that consolidating pensions or investments was the primary objective for 13% of their retail clients. Saving for retirement was 37%.

These clients have said, in their own answers, that combining pensions is one of the things they want help with. Whether they should is your call, and the brief doesn't pre-empt it. You'll still want to check for guarantees, protected tax-free cash, exit charges and anything else that makes a pot worth leaving where it is. Sometimes the right answer is to leave a pension where it is.

What does a pension review appointment cover?

In adviser language, a pension review is a look at what someone already holds: how it's invested, what it costs, whether it still matches when they want to retire, and whether anything needs to change. On the qualifier, clients tick "checking how my pension is invested and what I'm paying". We never describe these meetings to consumers as a free review, and we don't use that phrase in adverts.

Some of these clients already have an adviser. "Has one but wants a second opinion" and "has one and is unhappy" are separate answers on the brief, so you know whether you're walking into a comparison before the call starts.

If the client is within five years of stopping work, expect a review to turn into an income conversation. Those appointments are covered on the retirement planning leads page.

Will pensions dashboards bring more consolidation clients?

Possibly, but not yet. Pension schemes and providers in scope must connect to the dashboards system by 31 October 2026. That's an industry connection deadline, not the public launch.

The MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard isn't available to consumers yet. The Pensions Dashboards Programme currently expects it in the 2027/28 financial year, with six months' notice before it opens. Once people can see every pot in one place, more consolidation questions seem likely, though nobody can size the effect yet. We'll track it in our pensions dashboards guide for advisers as the timetable firms up.

What about final salary pensions and DB holders?

The £250k floor counts defined-contribution pensions only. A client who also holds a final salary pension is fine: it shows on the brief, and you choose whether to take DB holders at all. Clients who want to transfer one are excluded by default. That advice needs specific permissions, is expensive to insure and has a long history of harm linked to introducers.

Should you pay per pension enquiry or per show?

Most pension lead sources charge per enquiry or per lead. You pay when the contact arrives, then do the phoning, and the cost stands whether or not you ever speak to them. Here's how that compares like for like:

At this wealth level, one large directory lists £193 per financial enquiry (£135 for a marketplace enquiry), ex VAT, where the consumer states wealth of £250k–£500k, on top of a subscription. Another has announced £239 plus VAT from 1 October 2026 for advisers with a £250k+ minimum wealth setting, plus a monthly membership. If half of those enquiries reached a meeting (our assumption, not a published rate), that's roughly £270 to £478 per meeting before subscriptions and VAT.

An enquiry can still work well if your team calls within minutes and you're happy to sift. If you'd rather spend adviser time in meetings, paying per show moves the chasing off your desk. The honest guide to buying IFA leads compares the wider market.

What does a new pension client cost at £500 a show?

The number that matters is appointment spend per client won. Divide £500 by the share of shows that become clients:

Illustrative: appointment spend per new client at £500 per qualified show. Your results depend on your fees, speed and proposition. We don't publish an InvestmentsBooked conversion rate.

For context, NextWealth's 2026 average ongoing charge was 0.83%. On a £250,000 pension that's about £2,075 a year before costs, and more on larger pots. That's a mechanical illustration, not a fee you'll earn. Put your own numbers into the pricing calculator.

How do pricing and credits work?

One credit per qualified show. The minimum purchase is 10 appointments (£5,000), credits are valid for 6 months, and the price has no VAT added. No-shows, cancellations not rebooked within 7 days, invalid contact details and upheld disqualifications go back to your balance. No subscription, retainer or minimum term, and you can pause whenever your diary is full.

How are pension appointments qualified?

Pension appointments clear the same gates as everything else: UK resident, £250k+ in DC pensions (self-declared), fees acknowledged, a confirmed mobile and a request to be booked with one FCA-authorised independent firm. The rest of the process is the same for every appointment we book. Lead quality covers where prospects come from, how every advert is approved and what the consumer agrees to. How it works walks through booking, the brief and reminders. Pricing has the full show test and credit rules. If your firm leans towards estate planning, the inheritance tax planning leads page covers clients asking about passing pensions on. For the case against buying raw enquiries, read IFA leads vs appointments.

Sources and checks. Lost pots: Pensions Policy Institute, Lost Pensions 2024. Client objectives: FCA, Understanding the financial advice market (2025 survey, published 23 April 2026; firm estimates). Dashboards: Pensions Dashboards Programme. Enquiry prices: Unbiased enquiry pricing (stated wealth, ex VAT) and VouchedFor announced enquiry prices from 1 Oct 2026 and membership (ex VAT). Ongoing charge: NextWealth fee benchmarking 2026. Scam warning: FCA pension scams. Figures checked 27 September 2026. InvestmentsBooked is not authorised by the FCA and does not give financial advice.

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